Spain strengthen position as Europe's best
Saturday, May 24, 2014
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Real Madrid CF have lifted Spain's 14th European Cup in Lisbon, taking the country two victories clear of Italy and England in the competition's all-time standings.
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Real Madrid CF's victory in the UEFA Champions League final at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica has helped Spain strengthen their position at the top of the all-time table of successes.
The triumph, Madrid's tenth, is the 14th for a Spanish club – with Spain's list of ten runners-up now including Lisbon losers Club Atlético de Madrid. Spain therefore boast two more European Cups than Italy and England, who have 12 wins each from 26 and 19 final appearances respectively. FC Bayern München's 2013 defeat of domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund means the Bundesliga has seven victories in the competition, German clubs having also finished as runners-up on ten occasions.
The Dutch Eredivisie, which boasts six successes from eight finals, is in fifth place. Portugal (four wins, five losses) are the only other nation to have more than one European Cup to their name. France, Scotland, Romania and Serbia can claim a solitary triumph each.
European Cup wins by country
Spain 14 (10 runners-up)
Italy 12 (14 runners-up)
England 12 (7 runners-up)
Germany 7 (10 runners-up)
Netherlands 6 (2 runners-up)
Portugal 4 (5 runners-up)
France 1 (5 runners-up)
Scotland 1 (1 runners-up)
Romania 1 (1 runners-up)
Serbia 1 (1 runners-up)
Greece 0 (1 runners-up)
Belgium 0 (1 runners-up)
Sweden 0 (1 runners-up)