UEFA Champions League is one of the most popular betting events in the world, but not many people know much about its history. All the biggest bookmakers offer odds and Champions League betting offers during the tournament.
But how did this all come to be? Read on and you will find out.
How It All Began
The UEFA Champions League was first started in the mid-1950s. It was known at the time as the European Cup and featured 16 teams from around the continent. The early stages of the tournament were dominated by Spanish giants Real Madrid, who won the European Cup multiple times in the first few years of its existence.
The tournament later rebranded as the European Champion Clubs Cup, which put league champions into a tournament to determine the best team in Europe, and made the event gain in popularity.
In history, the Champions League in general has been a competition where a limited number of teams have had success. Less than 40 teams have ever qualified for the Champions League Final in over six decades of competition.
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Champions League – Best Teams Throughout History
Over the course of the Champions League’s history, Real Madrid has continued to be the most successful team in the tournament. They have won the Champions League an astounding 14 times. From those early European Cup titles to their modern era wins led by Cristiano Ronaldo, Los Blancos have been incredible in continental competition.
Other clubs have had massive successes in the Champions League as well. AC Milan has won the title seven times in their history, putting them second to Madrid’s total. Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Liverpool have all won five European crowns. Bayern and Barca have seen most of this success come in the modern era. The two clubs have combined for six titles since the year 2000.
The big clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona frequently stack up those accolades, while a very select club of other teams have had the honor of getting there.
UEFA Champions League Format
The format of the Champions League helps the event last the majority of the club football season. The first round of the tournament is the qualification rounds, where teams who have won lesser leagues play to determine who will qualify for the group stage.
These matchups usually culminate with teams that finished a little lower in high-profile league tables battling it out for the final spots in the group stage. However, teams from smaller leagues like Bulgaria’s Ludogorets have been known to sneak into the tournament as well.
UEFA Champions League Group stage
Once the qualification period is complete, the Champions League group stage draw takes place. Here, the 32 participating teams are separated into four pots. The first pot is reserved for the defending champions and champions of the top seven leagues in Europe.
Pots two through four are filled based on each team’s UEFA club coefficient score. One team from each pot is drawn into each group. Teams from the same country cannot be drawn into one group.
After the groups are drawn, the group stage gets started. In the group stage, teams play one home match and one away match against each of the three teams in their groups. In total, a team will play six matches against the three teams in their group. At the completion of six group stage rounds, the top two teams in each of the eight groups move onto the knockout rounds.
The third place team in each group are sent into the Europa League knockout round. If a team finishes in fourth place in their group, their season of European competition is over.
For the teams that advance to the knockout stages, they are randomly drawn against a new opponent in each round. To advance through each round, teams have to outscore their opponent in a two-legged tie, with each team hosting a leg.
If the teams are even on total goals after two 90-minute matches, the number of away goals serves as the tiebreaker. If that is also even, teams will play an additional 30 minutes of extra time. If things are still even after that, penalty kicks will decide the winner.
Once the knockout stages produce two remaining teams, they play in one match to determine the UEFA Champions League winner. That match is played at a neutral location that is predetermined before the beginning of the tournament. Of course, it is possible that the site of the final is the home of a team participating in it. However, that is rare.
Offers for sports events
Many bookmakers are following Champions League closely, and have offers in place for the whole tournament, or for some spesific games. Our article William Hill Champions League Betting tells you about one of our favourite bookmaker’s offers and betting markets.
Also, we have gathered many great betting sites for Champions League Offers separately. Another big football event to follow this year is of course the Euro 2024.
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