The coveted Champions League trophy.
Credit: Reuters Photo
The most-awaited event in club football—the UEFA Champions League final—is mere days away, with record-winners Real Madrid taking on Borussia Dortmund for a shot at their fifteenth UCL trophy. Meanwhile, Dortmund’s ascension to the final, perhaps a bit unexpected, gives the Germans a shot at their second UCL trophy in history.
In view of the upcoming final, we take a look at the winners of the UCL over the years, on a country-wise basis.
Spain—19 times
Real Madrid did a hattrick of wins in the Champions League final between 2016 and 2018
Credit: X/@ChampionsLeague
Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are the only two teams to have won the Champions League from Spain but their dominance in the competition puts them head and shoulders above the rest.
FC Barcelona have won the title 5 times in their history, most recently in 2015 whereas serial winners Real Madrid have finished their season with the Champions League trophy a remarkable 14 times. A treble between 2016 and 2018 and winning 5 in a row from 1956 to 1960 helped The Los Blancos achieve the most success in the competition. In this year’s finals as well, Real Madrid will look to add one more to their already stuffed trophy cabinet.
United Kingdom—16 times
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp lifts the trophy as they celebrate winning the Champions League
Credit: Reuters File Photo
The United Kingdom, collectively, has 16 UCL titles spread across multiple teams, mostly from England.
Liverpool reign supreme with 6 Champions League titles to their name, followed by Manchester United (3), Nottingham Forest and Chelsea with two each, Aston Villa and most recently Manchester City in 2023.
Scotland is the only other country apart from England in the UK to have produced a Champions League winning side, namely the famed Celtic side of 1967.
Italy—12 times
AC Milan last won the Champions League in 2007, beating Liverpool
Credit: I, Antigoni, CC BY-SA 3.0
Italian giants AC Milan have a rich history in the tournament and are familiar with the taste of success, winning the title seven times in their history. Arch-rivals Inter are a distant second with three titles. Juventus are the only other side in Italy to win the UCL: despite making it to the final nine times, the Bianconeri could only manage wins on two occasions.
Germany—8 times
Bayern Munich's ex-striker Robert Lewandowski celebrates with the trophy after winning the Champions League in 2020
Credit: Reuters Photo
Germany’s most successful team Bayern Munich is also the nation’s most successful team in the Champions League with six titles to their name, with their most recent win coming in 2020.
Their Der Klassiker rivals Borussia Dortmund have won a singular title in their history back in 1997 but have a chance to add to their tally if they can overcome Real Madrid in the 2024 Champions League final.
Second division team Hamburger SV had their hands on the trophy in 1983.
Netherlands—6 times
Ajax arriving home with the Champions League trophy in 1972
Credit: Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Dutch have produced some fantastic teams over the last few years, with the most recent being the fantastic Ajax side of 2019 that made it to the UCL semifinal, only to bow down to Real Madrid.
Although Ajax couldn’t win that season, they have won the competition four times in their history. Rivals Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven have one title each to their name.
Portugal—4 times
Benfica were back to back winners of the European Cup in 1961 and 1962
Credit: X/@ChampionsLeague
FC Porto and Benfica, two of the three biggest teams in Portugal, are the only Portuguese teams to have won the competition. The most recent winner of them is FC Porto and their famously- led Jose Mourinho side of 2004, where they won in the most unexpected finals match-up between them and AS Monaco.
France—1 time
The 1993 Olympique Marseille team celebrating the 25th anniversary of their first and only Champions League win in 2018
Credit: X/@OM_Officiel
European powerhouses France have only produced one team to have won Europe’s most sought-after trophy and that team was Olympique Marseille back in 1993. The two other French clubs to have reached the finals, PSG and Monaco lost their respective matches, giving France only one Champions League title to be proud of.
Romania—1 time
Football Club Steaua, with the European Champion's Cup in 1986
Credit: unknown, image comes from the National Archives, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
The biggest club in Romania, Fotbal Club FCSB, formerly known as FC Steaua București, have made Romania proud on the biggest stage once in 1986, denying Spain’s FC Barcelona to become the only other team apart from Real Madrid to win the European Cup at that time.
Yugoslavia (now Serbia)—1 time
Red Star Belgrade lift the European Cup in 1991
Credit: X/@TFHBs
The former nation of Yugoslavia produced the Red Star Belgrade side which beat Olympique Marseille in 1991 to become the only team to win the European Cup and Intercontinental Cup. Red Star Belgrade now plays in the Serbian League where they have become the most successful Serbian football club.
The countdown has already begun for the 69th UEFA Champions League final in which Champions League giants Real Madrid, who last faced a UCL final defeat in 1981 and have remained unbeaten since, face Borussia Dortmund, who will want to be on the winning side this time around after losing the title to rivals Bayern Munich in 2013.
Marco Reus, the embodiment of loyalty and a Dortmund legend, who plays his final game for the club against Real Madrid, will want to leave a lasting legacy. Real Madrid, meanwhile, will want to add to their already stacked trophy cabinet and leave the pack behind, eyeing a record 15th title.
(Aditya Saravanan is a student pursuing BA in Communication and Media, English and Psychology at Christ University and interned with Deccan Herald in summer 2024.)