All you need to know about UEFA Champions League - One of the illustrious tournaments in Europe
One of the most prestigious tournaments in Europe and world football is the Champions League – where the most influential clubs and teams in Europe converge. Since its inception, the UEFA Champions League has attracted great attention from fans. Let’s learn about the Champions League in the following article.
What is the Champions League?
Champions League is also known as C1 Cup. This is an annual football tournament for clubs with high rankings in the European national championships of the European Football Federation (UEFA).
This is where the strongest teams in Europe compete and gather many football-class superstars. The C1 Cup is only behind the World Cup and the Euro in terms of drama and attraction. This is the field where the strongest clubs in Europe play and compete. That’s why you’ll get to see today’s top superstars showcase their talents. The C1 Cup also has a very high commercial value, so its reputation is increasingly resounding around the world and attracting a large number of fans.
Champions League History
The UEFA Champions League is a football tournament that has its predecessors from the European Cup. In 1954, Gabriel Hanot – of the newspaper L’Equipe – proposed a tournament between the European football champions. The first match was played on 4 September 1955 in Lisbon (Portugal) between Sporting Lisbon and FK Partizan (Yugoslavia). The first championship team was Real Madrid (at this time, 16 teams were participating in the tournament).
In 1992, the C1 Cup was introduced to replace the European Cup. In 2002, the Champions League tournament was renamed the Champions League Cup (Cup of National Champion Teams).
After nearly 70 years of existence and development, the C1 Cup tournament is no longer limited to the European football market. Its heat and spread have expanded globally. The tournament was especially well received by football fans around the planet.
Champions League History
The UEFA Champions League is a football tournament that has its predecessors from the European Cup. In 1954, Gabriel Hanot – of the newspaper L’Equipe – proposed a tournament between the European football champions. The first match was played on 4 September 1955 in Lisbon (Portugal) between Sporting Lisbon and FK Partizan (Yugoslavia). The first championship team was Real Madrid (at this time, 16 teams were participating in the tournament).
In 1992, the C1 Cup was introduced to replace the European Cup. In 2002, the Champions League tournament was renamed the Champions League Cup (Cup of National Champion Teams).
After nearly 70 years of existence and development, the C1 Cup tournament is no longer limited to the European football market. Its heat and spread have expanded globally. The tournament was especially well received by football fans around the planet.
Champions League Format
Each UEFA Champions League season will be held annually around mid-July. There will be a play-off round and 3 preliminary rounds to take place. Of course, the 10 final winning teams will be given the right to participate in the group stage along with 22 other football teams. These teams must be eligible to go directly to the group stage.
Conditions to participate in the Champions League
A total of 54/55 members of the European Football Federation will participate in this tournament. In particular, Liechtenstein is not allowed to participate because there was no national football championship in this country. Based on the UEFA ranking, the criteria for participating countries include:
- 4 slots for countries ranked 1-4
- 3 slots for countries ranked 5-6
- 2 slots for countries ranked 7-12
- 1 slot for countries ranked 16-55
- The remaining 2 slots are for the Champions League and Europa League champions in the last season.
- For the 11th-ranked countries onward, there will be no direct participation unless the Champions League and Europa League winners continue through the national championship. The champion teams of the 11th and 12th countries will advance to the group stage.
- Countries from 12th place onwards will go through the play-off round with a total of 3 preliminary rounds and 1 play-off round to choose the last 10 winners.
Will the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League?
In early 2013, UEFA’s homepage had an official announcement on how the Europa League champion would start the journey to attend the next season. Specifically, the 2013 season is the first time the defending champion of the Europa League will have the right to participate in the Champions League next season.
The rule that the Euro-winning team has a place in the Champions League has been officially put into practice since 2015. Specifically, in the 2015-2016 C1 Cup season, the Euro-winning team in the 2014–2015 season was awarded permission to attend. The purpose of doing this is UEFA wishes to increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Euro.
Also, according to the regulations in 2013, the maximum number of participations for a C1 tournament is 5 seats. In addition, according to 2013 regulations, the winning team of Euro or C1, when finishing the domestic tournament with the top 4 positions, will not be able to give up the place to attend next year’s Champions League to the runner-up team.
At the same time, if the winning team of Euro or C1 at the end of the tournament has a position in the top 4, the team ranked 5th will not have the right to receive a place to participate. However, from 2019, the Europa League winners will be able to go directly to the next year’s Champions League play-off group stage regardless of their ranking in the domestic league.
The format of each round
Out of a total of 32 clubs registered to participate, they will be divided into 8 groups. Each table will include 4 teams competing against each other in a round-robin format, including the first and back legs at home and away. The top team of 8 groups continues to enter the knockout format in the next round.
Group stage
The group stage of the C1 Cup takes place from September to December. 32 teams are divided into 08 groups in total. The seeded teams are divided equally among the groups, and the remaining teams draw lots and ensure that the teams in the same country will not be in the same group. The top two teams in each group will progress to the next round, while the third-placed team will enter the UEFA Europa League.
The teams will use the scores to divide the rankings in the group stage. 3 points for each win, and 1 point for a draw.
If at the end of the group stage there are teams with equal points, the order on the rankings will be ranked based on the criteria in the direct confrontations, including the team with more points; the team with the higher goal difference; the team that scores more goals on the opponent’s field; the team with the higher goal difference with the matches in the group; the team with more goals with the games in the table; the country’s scoring coefficient is ranked by UEFA at the beginning of the season.
Qualifiers
At the end of the group stage, 16 teams will be selected. The top team of this group will play the runner-up of another group. Teams from the same country do not face each other. The knockout stage will be calculated according to the total score in the first and second legs and according to the away goal rule.
After the round of 16, 8 teams will be selected to go to the quarter-finals, then the semi-finals, and the final to find out which team is crowned champion. From the quarter-finals, the draw took place completely at random to choose a pair.
The knockout round starts in February. The matches are at home and away, respectively. Particularly, the final match takes place around the end of May or the beginning of June every year.
FAQ - Frequently asked questions
A total of 22 clubs have won the Champions League. Real Madrid holds the record for the most trophies won with 13 times, including the first season. They also hold the record of five consecutive championships from 1956 to 1960.
AC Milan is the second most traditional team in this tournament. During the peak period, the team from Italy also had 7 times to become the European champion. However, the last time they were honored was in 2007 – more than a decade ago.
As one of the most attractive tournaments on the planet, the Champions League attracts many betting players around the world. With the growth of the online betting industry as it is today, you can find bets on the Champions League tournament at any online bookmaker that is active.
To become a professional bettor, you need to go through a long time to learn and accumulate experience. You can refer to some of our practical betting tips: get detailed information about the tournament, place a bet on the standings, analyze recent form, head-to-head history, etc. The most important thing is not to forget to choose a reputable bookmaker to bet on.
A lot of people think that Champions League betting is very difficult to win because the Champions League is famous as a football tournament with suspense, drama, and unpredictability with many surprises. However, you can completely win the bet if you have a thorough review, good knowledge, and effective betting tips. Try to find a reputable bookie to bet on and test your prediction ability.
Champions League betting is safe or not is one of the things that the betting community is always interested in. Today, you can choose to bet online to experience the European C1 bets with the highest level of security. If you choose a reputable online bookie, you can completely enjoy the experience thanks to the bookie’s optimal security measures and privacy policy.
Thus, the above article has provided you with some basic knowledge about the Champions League tournament. We hope that this information will help you gain a more interesting understanding of the European Cup. Don’t miss out on this super exciting European annual tournament, and don’t miss its attractive bets!