The competition was devised in 1955 after the editor of French sports daily L’Equipe suggested a formal tournament to determine the top team in Europe by providing a venue for the league champions to square off. The European Cup, as it was first known, kicked off in the 1955-1956 season under a knockout format of two-leg ties determined by aggregate score.
During its early days, the competition was dominated by Real Madrid’s white-shirted machine, led by the Argentine impresario Alfred DiStefano. Real won the tournament in each of its first five years. Four other clubs have also won the trophy at least four times, each lifted by periods of utter dominance in the 1960s and 1970s: A.C. Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Ajax Amsterdam.
The field was expanded, with the introduction of a group stage, for the 1992-1993 season and has stayed the same since, save for some minor tweaks that included a brief experiment with a second group phase.
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