The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League is the biggest yearly championship in European club football (soccer). No one even remotely familiar with European club soccer needs that introduction, of course, and most know much more than just that! However, we are about to share 7 fun facts about the Champions League in this post, which might surprise even fans.
There was a Major Upset in 2021
Manchester City has never won a Champions League yet, unfortunately, but it was believed to be an assured maiden win for The Citizens in 2021. In what was considered to be a major upset, Chelsea managed to turn the tables around unexpectedly with a 1 – 0 win over the favourites. If you are one of the few fans who managed to predict the surprise win, be sure to stay updated with the latest soccer predictions and tips to land a winning bet in the coming major soccer tournaments.
The Champions League Anthem is Older than Modern Football!
The core idea behind kicking something roundish with one’s feet might have been around for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until 1863 that football was standardized with rules and an official association in England was formed for the first time. On the other hand, Tony Britten adapted and modified an ancient British coronation anthem called Zadok the Priest to suit the UEFA Champions League’s spirit.
Consider the fact that George Frideric Handel had composed the original Zadok the Priest for King George II’s coronation event over 136 years before football was even established in its earliest formal format in 1863. It’s safe to say that the Champions League is an infant compared to its own anthem!
Only 2 Players have Scored more than 100 Goals in the Champions League
Cristiano Ronaldo (139) and Lionel Messi (123) are the only two players to have ever scored 100 goals in the Champions League, as of 2021. They have indeed both also played the most number of matches out of all players within the Top Ten List of UEFA Champions League Goal Scorers.
No Winning Team Ever “Gets” the Champions League Trophy, Post 2007
Originally, when a team won the Champions League three times in a row, they could keep the UEFA Champions League Trophy with them permanently. If a team won the trophy five times in total, they also got the same privilege of getting to keep the original trophy forever.
However, starting from 2008 onwards, UEFA decided that winners would have to settle with a replica from now on, as they will not be giving the original trophy to any team anymore, irrespective of who wins it or how many times! It seems that the Union of European Football Associations really did not want to go through the hassle of making new trophies every few years.
Related: My Desire Is To Win UEFA Champions League – Mbappe
Only 1 Team Has Managed to Win the Cup 5 Times in a Row
Real Madrid leads the chart with 13 wins, and five of those wins were consecutive between 1956 and 1960. To date, they are the only team to have managed five wins in a row.
Only 3 Teams have Won the League Thrice in a Row
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich (1974 – 76), and Ajax (1971 – 73) are the only three teams to have won the Champions League in three consecutive seasons. As mentioned previously, real Madrid is the only team to have won the league for five seasons in a row, but that’s not the only time they did it.
Only 1 Team has Managed a Hattrick Win Post 1992
After the format was restructured to be a league rather than just a knockout tournament in 1992, only one team has pulled off a hat trick win since then. You may have noticed a pattern here because your suspicions are on point. In what was once again an extraordinary and exclusive feat, Real Madrid managed to win three consecutive Champions League Trophies between 2016 and 18.
Even if some readers were already aware of all seven facts shared here, it is nice to be reminded of them every once in a while. The oddities, specialties, and quirks are, after all, a part of what has always made soccer in general, the most popular sport in the world.
