European Cup-winning clubs honoured in Berlin
Saturday, June 6, 2015
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The 22 clubs that have won the European Champion Clubs' Cup and UEFA Champions League have been honoured by UEFA at a presentation in Berlin.
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The 22 clubs that have won the European Champion Clubs' Cup and UEFA Champions League have been honoured by UEFA as Europe's most prestigious club competition celebrates 60 years of existence.
At an event in Berlin on the eve of Saturday's UEFA Champions League final, UEFA President Michel Platini presented representatives of the 22 clubs with a framed plaque containing the original handwritten draft notes for the competition. They were drawn up in 1955 by Jacques Ferran, journalist at French newspaper L'Equipe – the driving force behind the establishment of the Champion Clubs' Cup.
The 22 clubs that have won the European Champion Clubs' Cup and UEFA Champions League are: AC Milan, AFC Ajax, Aston Villa FC, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, SL Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic FC, Chelsea FC, FK Crvena zvezda, Feyenoord, Hamburger SV, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester United FC, Nottingham Forest FC, Olympique de Marseille, FC Porto, PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid CF and FC Steaua București.
"This final will be a bit special, because it will be the 60th of its kind," said the UEFA President. "A venerable anniversary for the best club competition in the world."
Following initial momentum by L'Equipe and leading European clubs, UEFA took on the organisation of what became the European Champion Clubs' Cup on 21 June 1955 – coincidentally, the day Michel Platini was born – and the opening match saw Sporting Clube de Portugal held to a 3-3 draw by FK Partizan in Lisbon on 4 September 1955.
"I really wanted to mark the occasion and pay tribute to the founder of this beautiful competition, Frenchman Gabriel Hanot, who was the editor of the sports magazine L’Equipe,” the UEFA President continued.
"Gabriel Hanot, together with his colleague [at L'Equipe], Jacques Ferran, laid down the foundations of this epic adventure and tonight I have the pleasure of offering a giant frame of the first rules of the competition, as written back in 1955, to representatives of all 22 clubs who have seen their names engraved on the famous trophy."
