1955–56 European Cup
The 1955–56 European Cup was the first season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The tournament was won by Real Madrid, who defeated Stade de Reims 4–3 in the final at Parc des Princes, Paris, on 13 June 1956.
![]() The Parc des Princes in Paris hosted the final. | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 September 1955 – 13 June 1956 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 29 |
| Goals scored | 127 (4.38 per match) |
| Attendance | 900,021 (31,035 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Miloš Milutinović (Partizan) 8 goals |
The participating clubs in the first season of the European Cup were selected by French football magazine L'Equipe on the basis that they were representative and prestigious clubs in Europe.[1] When the tournament started, Real Madrid, Anderlecht, AC Milan, Rot-Weiss Essen, Stade de Reims, Djurgården and AGF Aarhus were the reigning champions of their respective national leagues. English champions Chelsea initially agreed to compete and were drawn against Swedish side Djurgården; however, under pressure from the Football League, who saw the tournament as a distraction to domestic football, they later withdrew from the competition,[2][3] and were replaced by Gwardia Warszawa of Poland. Scottish champions Aberdeen withdrew under similar circumstances, Hibernian were chosen instead. They were considered one of the best teams in Scotland, having won the Scottish title in 1950–51 and 1951–52, but the main reason they were invited was because they were the only team in the country to install floodlights on their grounds. Dynamo Moscow, the champions of the Soviet Union, did not participate due to climatic restrictions. In addition, Holland Sport, Honvéd and AB rejected the opportunity to represent the Netherlands, Hungary and Denmark respectively, being replaced by PSV Eindhoven, Vörös Lobogó and AGF Aarhus. This was also the only UEFA tournament to include a representative of Saarland, unified into West Germany in 1957.
The first round pairings were fixed by the organisers and not drawn as would be the case for all future European Cup matches.
Teams
A total of 16 teams participated in the competition.
Bracket
| First round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 5 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 5 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 4 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 4 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting CP |
5–8 | 3–3 | 2–5 | |
| Vörös Lobogó |
10–4 | 6–3 | 4–1 | |
| Servette |
0–7 | 0–2 | 0–5 | |
| Rot-Weiss Essen |
1–5 | 0–4 | 1–1 | |
| Djurgården |
4–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | |
| AGF Aarhus |
2–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | |
| Rapid Wien |
6–2 | 6–1 | 0–1 | |
| Milan |
7–5 | 3–4 | 4–1 | |
First leg
| Sporting CP | 3–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Martins Quim |
Report | M. Milutinović Bobek |
| Vörös Lobogó | 6–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Szimcsák I Palotás Hidegkuti Sándor |
Report | Vanderwilt Van Den Bosch |
| Servette | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Muñoz Rial |
| AGF Aarhus | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Glovacki |
| Rapid Wien | 6–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| A. Körner Mehsarosch Hanappi Probst |
Report | Fransen |
| Milan | 3–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Frignani Schiaffino Dal Monte |
Report | Krieger Philippi Schirra Martin |
Second leg
| Real Madrid | 5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Di Stéfano Iglesias Rial Molowny |
Report |
Real Madrid won 7–0 on aggregate.
| Partizan | 5–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| M. Milutinović Jocić |
Report | Brandão |
Partizan won 8–5 on aggregate.
| Hibernian | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Buchanan |
Report | Abromeit |
Hibernian won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Gwardia Warszawa | 1–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Baszkiewicz |
Report | Eriksson Sandberg |
Djurgården won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Anderlecht | 1–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Van Den Bosch |
Report | Hidegkuti Lantos Palotás Kovács I |
Vörös Lobogó won 10–4 on aggregate.
| Reims | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Glovacki Bliard |
Report | Erik Bechmann Jensen Bjerregaard |
Reims won 4–2 on aggregate.
| PSV Eindhoven | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fransen |
Report |
Rapid Wien won 6–2 on aggregate.
Milan won 7–5 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Djurgården |
1–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | |
| Reims |
8–6 | 4–2 | 4–4 | |
| Real Madrid |
4–3 | 4–0 | 0–3 | |
| Rapid Wien |
3–8 | 1–1 | 2–7 | |
First leg
| Real Madrid | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Castaño Gento Di Stéfano |
Report |
Note – differences in information: RSSSF website indicates that the goal scored on 26 minute was scored by Robert Körner, while UEFA website indicates that it was scored by Alfred Körner
Second leg
| Hibernian | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Turnbull |
Report |
Hibernian won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Vörös Lobogó | 4–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lantos Palotás |
Report | Glovacki Bliard Templin |
Reims won 8–6 on aggregate.
| Partizan | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Milutinović Mihajlović |
Report |
Real Madrid won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Milan | 7–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mariani Nordahl Ricagni Frignani Schiaffino |
Report | Golobic Dienst |
Milan won 8–3 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reims |
3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Real Madrid |
5–4 | 4–2 | 1–2 | |
First leg
| Real Madrid | 4–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Rial Iglesias Olsen Di Stéfano |
Report | Nordahl Schiaffino |
Final
| Real Madrid | 4–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Di Stéfano Rial Marquitos |
Report | Leblond Templin Hidalgo |
Top goalscorers
Notes
- L'Équipe
- Glanvill, Rick (2005). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography. London: Headline. p. 254. ISBN 0755314654.
- Ferris, Ken (2004). Manchester United in Europe: Tragedy, Destiny, History. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 1840188979.
- Match switched to Glasgow due to a frozen pitch in Sweden ("Hibernian reach the first European Cup semi-finals 1956". A Sporting Nation: Rock 'n' Roll Era 1950–1959. BBC. November 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2010.)
External links
- 1955–56 season at UEFA website
- 1955–56 All matches – season at UEFA website
- All scorers 1955–56 European Cup according to protocols UEFA
- European Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- "50 years of the European Cup" (PDF). UEFA. October 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- 1955-56 European Cup – results and line-ups (archive)

