7 things you should know about UEFA Champions League

The Champions League, or the European cup as it was known prior to the name change in 1992/1993 season, has been the greatest of venues for among the most brilliant displays of football over the years. When the best clubs from across Europe go head to head, it is only fair to expect the most scintillating of football games, and the Champions League has not disappointed.With the kind of nail-biting finishes, dominating displays, and sheer determination on display, that comes only when the best go head to head, the European Cup and the Champions league have played a pivotal role in scripting the history of many a European powerhouse. It has been the stage of the highest level where legends have been forged, and players have written their names into folklore.With the Champions League group stages about to kick off, here are 7 things you might not have known about the continent’s most elite club competition.

#1 No team has won the UEFA Champions League twice in a row

Patrick Kluivert of Ajax, who would later play for Milan, scored the goal that would prevent Milan from retaining the title in ‘95.

The name of the competition was changed to The UEFA Champions League only in the 1992-93 season, prior to which it was known as the European Cup. After this particular transformation, not once has a defending champion been able to retain the crown.

Back when the competition was called the European cup, back to back winners were more common, with Real Madrid winning the first five editions of the competition, and Benefica, Inter, Ajax, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, all having won back to back titles in their glory days. But with the advent of modern football, and more intense competition from across europe, in the UEFA Champions league era no one has achieved the feat.

 Milan came the closest in the 1994-95 season, with only an 85th minute goal from Patrick Kluivert of Ajax being the differnce between the two teams. Juventus in 1997 and Manchester United 2009 are the only other defending champions to feature in the finals of the competition, only to be thwarted by Borrusia Dortmund and Barcelona respectively.