The 15 English teams to win the European Cup/Champions League

Now, if we’re talking about the United Kingdom, one year earlier Celtic won the European Cup. For England, though, and the English football system specifically, Manchester United scored the first trophy. This was 10 years since the tragedy of the Munich air disaster that led to the death of eight of the “Busby Babes” literally as Manchester United was flying home after clinching a spot in the semifinals of the European Cup. United took down six-time champ Real Madrid in the semis and two-time champ Benfica in the finals to make English football history. The iconic Eusebio still played for Benfica, while United had George Best and Bobby Charlton.

After a stretch that included threepeats for both Ajax and Bayern Munich, a second English champion was crowned. Of course, in English football history the two most successful and storied clubs are Manchester United and Liverpool, so this tracks. It was a team effort from the Reds, who had four players score either three or four goals. Liverpool also didn’t have to sweat it out too much, including a 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in the finals.

The European Cup had already had several repeat champs, but this was the first time an English team managed to do it. Liverpool actually took down Borussia in the semis this time, before seeing a club you might not expect in the finals. Back in the day, the final of this tournament was not consolidated to a handful of countries. Liverpool played Club Brugge of Belgium. It is the only Belgian club to make it that far, though Liverpool won 1-0.

That’s right. While these days Nottingham Forest makes fitful appearances in the Premier League and is often relegation fodder, they qualified for the European Cup after winning the English league title the season prior. This was still back when if you were going to qualify for the European Cup you had to either win your league, or be the defending champion, which is why Liverpool got to play in this tourney. Forrest eliminated Liverpool in the first round, though, and then the finals beat…Malmo. Talk about a finals matchup we will never see again.

Funnily enough, roles were reversed in the 1979-80 tournament. Liverpool won the English title, so it was Forest who qualified as the defending champs. Unlike Liverpool, Forest managed to hold onto the title from that position. It eked out a 1-0 win over Hamburg. Brian Clough wasn’t the best guy, but he was a helluva manager.

Alright, the next year Liverpool didn’t mess around. It took home its third title in five years thanks to both Terry McDermott and Graeme Souness tallying six goals to joint lead the tournament alongside Bayern’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. It was a battle of titans in 1981, as Liverpool faced off with Real Madrid. Thanks to a goal from Alan Kennedy in the 82nd minute, Liverpool won 1-0.

Unlike Forest, Aston Villa has been a decent-to-good Premier League team for the most part, especially recently. It was even better back in the day, though. Villa won the English title and earned a spot in the European Cup. It faced Bayern Munich, who featured the top three goal scorers in the tournament. Ten minutes into the game, Villa goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer was injured and had to be replaced by Nigel Spink. Spink faced down Bayern, kept a clean sheet, and Villa won 1-0.

After six years in a row of an English team winning, Hamburg took home the 1983 European Cup title, but one year later an English club took home another title. Unsurprisingly, it was Liverpool. The finals were held in Rome, and Liverpool actually ended up facing Roma, in its home stadium, by quirk of happenstance. However, the Reds were not deterred, and won the title on penalties.

Yes, there was quite a gap between English teams winning, so much so we are now in the Champions League era. There is a degree of tragedy involved in that. After the Heysel disaster, all English clubs were banned from UEFA competitions from 1985 through 1990. In the 1999 final, United faced Bayern Munich. Bayern scored in the sixth minute, but famously United scored two goals in stoppage time to win 2-1. Not only that, but Man U completed the treble with that win.

Changes to the tournament, including the expansion of the field, and the rise of talent around European football has played a part in English clubs not winning titles in this event as often. Liverpool benefited from the changes to qualifying, though, given that it finished fourth in the Premier League the season prior. The Reds faced AC Milan in the Champions League final, one of the most famous football contests of the new millennium. Milan was up 3-0 at the half, but within 15 minutes of the start of the season half, Liverpool had tied the game up. The match went into penalties, where Liverpool emerged with an iconic comeback win.

Well, three of the four teams in the semis were English, so an all-England final was guaranteed in 2008. It ended up being the old guard versus the new blood, with Manchester United facing Chelsea. Cristiano Ronaldo scored for United, Frank Lampard answered for Chelsea, and the game ended up in penalties. Extra penalties at that. There, Ryan Giggs converted, Nicolas Anelka did not, and United got the trophy.

Roman Abramovich finally got his Champions League title, but in perhaps the most improbable season for it to happen. Chelsea was a flop in the Premier League in 2011-12. In March of 2012, Robert Di Matteo had taken over as caretaker manager after Andre Villas-Boas was sacked. Chelsea would end up finishing sixth in the Premier League, its lowest finish since the 2001-02 season. And yet, Di Matteo and company would make it to the Champions League final, where they had to face Bayern Munich in Munich. Not only that, but Chelsea won the title in penalties.

Mercifully, after a string of Real Madrid wins, somebody else took home the title. Sure, it happened to be Liverpool, winning its sixth title, but at least it was a change of pace. Now led by Jurgen Klopp at manager, Liverpool had enjoyed a real resurgence. Liverpool pulled off another incredible Champions League comeback, but this time in the semis, turning a 3-0 deficit to Barcelona after the first leg into a 4-3 aggregate win. The Reds would face Tottenham Hotspur in the final, but after a quick Mo Salah goal on a penalty, it became clear Liverpool would win. Which it did, 2-0.

With England the financial powerhouse of football by the 2010s, it’s not terribly surprising this is the second time in a few years two Premier League teams faced off for the Champions League title. Chelsea was back to square off with Manchester City. City had replaced Chelsea as the nouveau riche bullies on the block, but it had yet to win the Champions League. It did not happen this year, either, as Chelsea eked out a 1-0 victory.

Finally, it happened. Pep Guardiola had won everything else at City, and also had Champions League titles from prior stops, but the Champions League had eluded him in Manchester. City made it back to the finals, this time to face Inter Milan. Rodri blasted home a goal in the 68th minute, Ederson stood on his head, and Manchester City finished off a treble in 2023.