The full name of the tournament is - UEFA Champions League, and it is the most popular football competition in the World. It originated in 1955 as European Champions Cup, but in 1992 was renamed the Champions League. The most significant changes were made in the 1997/1998 season. Since then it has been expanded, and while some of Europe's leagues can still only enter 1 team (their champion), the strongest ones now provide up to 4 teams.

The tournament in its current form offers large number of matches, starting in July and ending at the end of May next year. There are four preliminary rounds, and they determine which teams from lower ranked championships, as well as the runners-up from the big championships will qualify. These matches usually take place from mid-July to the end of August.

The group stage of the Champions League starts around September 15. It includes 32 teams divided into 8 groups. The qualified teams from the qualification stage take part, as well as the best teams in Europe. Championships such as the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1 each have several representatives in the groups of the tournament.

The first two places in the group continue to the elimination stage, while the third is transferred to the eliminations of the Europa League. The 1/8-finals, quarter-finals and semi-finals of an exchanged visit are played, in which the away goals rule applies. In case of a tie after the two matches, two 15-minute overtimes are played, and if there is no change - penalties are taken.

The final match takes place at a stadium pre-determined by UEFA. It is possible that one of the finalists will play at his own stadium. The last such case was in 2012, when Bayern faced Chelsea at the Allianz Arena.

Over the years, the Champions League has offered a lot of spectacle and emotion to fans. The hegemon in the European tournament is Real Madrid with 13 titles won until 2019. In the last decade, the Madrid giants have triumphed in the race four times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018). Next in the ranking of the most titled clubs is Milan with 7 awards, followed by Liverpool with 6. The team with the most lost finals is Juventus - a total of seven, but the "Bianconeri" have two titles in 1985 and 1996 г.

A total of 10 countries have announced a winner in the Champions League. Spain is the most successful with a total of 18 trophies, while England has 13. France, Serbia, Scotland and Romania are the four countries that have only one title each.

The first place in the ranking for the most matches is occupied by Iker Casillas, but Cristiano Ronaldo is close to improve that records in a few meetings. The Portuguese striker also occupies the top position in the list of goal scorers with his 128 goals until June 2020. Leo Messi is right behind him, and the third place is currently held by Raul.

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