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European football is full of exciting competitions at the highest level! Of course, the Champions League is the most recognizable, but there is another prestigious club tournament that comes in second place in relevance: the UEFA Europa League.
The Europa League is one of the newest international leagues in the world. It was created fifty years ago, and since then, it has allowed clubs that do not normally participate in the Champions League to compete on the international stage.
If you don’t know the history of the UEFA Europa League, let’s delve into the topic.
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What Is the Europa League?
The UEFA Europa League is the second-tier competition in European football under the acclaimed Champions League. It was inaugurated in the 1971-1972 season with the aim of expanding the participation of more clubs in international competitions. This way, European clubs that didn’t participate in international tournaments, such as the Cup Winners’ Cup or the Champions League, found their place in a new club competition.
In its first period, the UEFA Europa League was known as the UEFA Cup, but over the years, it changed its name to its current name, particularly in the 2009-2010 season. This is because the Europa League integrated the Intertoto Cup.
Since the 2014-2015 season, the club that lifts the championship wins the right to participate in the next version of the Champions League.
The clubs participate in the competition based on their results in their cup competitions and national leagues.
A Brief History of the Europa League
The UEFA Europa League is a relatively young competition that has quickly gained popularity due to its highly competitive matches. Below, we’ll explore some essential facts and key details about this second-tier European championship.
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
When the UEFA Europa League appeared in the first years of the decade of 1970, it took a lot of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a previous international club competition which, most of the time, is considered the most important cup in history.
A big achievement of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the opportunity to gather important clubs from those years, such as Arsenal, with small or unknown clubs, such as Barcelona and other Spanish clubs.
One of the most important aspects of this tournament was that different personalities organized it outside FIFA, with its own rules and statutes.
This tournament started in 1955 and finished in 1970. The first cities to join the tournament were Barcelona, Leipzig, Basilea, Copenhagen, Colonia, Birmingham, Lausana, London, Vienna, Milano, and Zagreb. During the competition, they could participate in the fair and show their culture and peculiarities.
Barcelona was the club that participated in and won the Interurban Fairs Cup on most occasions, with three championships: 1958, 1960, and 1966.
The First Years of the UEFA Europa League
As we mentioned previously, the UEFA Europa League emerged as a tournament to expand clubs’ participation in international competitions. In the first version, under the name of UEFA Cup, sixty-four clubs participated in the tournament. It was organized under the rule of direct elimination or play-off.
In this first season, two English clubs reached the final – Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. It was the first time in history that two teams of the same federation played a final, so it was exciting and challenging! Tottenham Hotspur F.C. won over its rival in a double match for an aggregate score of 3-2.
In the first decade of the Europa League, Borussia VfL Mönchengladbach was one of the most powerful clubs, disputing five European finals in eight years! Other teams that brightened during this period were Feyenoord, Liverpool, Juventus, and. P.S.V. Eindhoven.
In the 1980s, several clubs from Belgium, Sweden, Spain, and England reached the first positions in this tournament. The Anderlecht stood out by participating in two finals and winning one of them. Real Madrid F.C. won in 1985 and 1986, being the first club in the competition to win twice in a row! IFK Göteborg also conquered the cup twice in this decade.
Italians and the Maradona Effect
In the season 1988-1989, thanks to the influence of Diego Armando Maradona and other players such as Careca and Alemão, Napoli won the championship after defeating VfB Stuttgart.
Juventus and Internazionale Milano won the next two years, consolidating Italian power over the tournament. In 1992, another Italian club, Torino F.C., reached the final, but it lost against Ajax Amsterdam. In 1993 and 1994, Juventus and Inter Milano lifted the tournament again, burying the opportunities of other countries over the cup.
In the second part of the decade of 1990, Parma, Bayern Munich, and Schalke 04 lifted trophies. However, since the season 1997-1998, the Europa League final has been just one match, not two like before. In the last two seasons, Internazionale F.C. and Parma won the tournament, consolidating the power of Italian clubs in the cup.
The New Millennium
Since the 2000s, the UEFA Europa League has been conquered mostly by Spanish clubs, with teams from several federations occasionally emerging as champions. Valencia C.F., Sevilla F.C., Atlético de Madrid, and Villarreal C.F. are the clubs that have won the most in these twenty-four years. Still, other clubs that also have lifted the cup have been Galatasaray S.K., Liverpool F.C., F.C. Porto, F.K. Zenit, and Manchester United F.C.
One of the standout matches in recent history was the 2018-2019 UEFA Europa League final between Chelsea F.C. and Arsenal F.C. Chelsea claimed the title with a decisive 4-1 victory at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Another notable club is Sevilla F.C., which has dominated the competition, especially in the first two decades of the 21st century. The team from southern Spain has won the cup seven times (2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, and 2023), making them the most successful club in UEFA Europa League history to date.
Atlético de Madrid, on the other hand, won the tournament on three occasions (2010, 2012, and 2018), also consolidating the predominance of Spanish clubs in the competition. These achievements also reflected the results that the Spanish national team achieved in those years, such as the championships of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, where Spain lifted the trophy.
Even today, Spain’s results are notorious. Remember that they won the UEFA EURO 2024 in a thrilling final against England! Undoubtedly, the power of the Spanish club in the UEFA Europa League helped to consolidate the power of the Spanish national team.
The Most-Winning Teams of the UEFA Europa League
Previously, I mentioned some clubs that have won the Europa League through the years since the tournament’s inauguration. Now, let’s delve into these clubs that have left a mark in the history of this tournament!
Sevilla F.C.
Sevilla F.C. is one of the oldest clubs in Spain and Europe. It was founded in 1890 and has played at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium, located in the city of the same name, since 1958.
Although they won LALIGA EA Sports just once, Sevilla is the most successful club in the Europa League history, proving the competitiveness of the Spanish league. Sevilla F.C. has lifted this trophy seven times (2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, and 2023), making the team the undisputed king of the tournament. In the 2006-2007 season, the IFFHS chose Sevilla as the best club in the world.
When it comes to the UEFA Champions League, Sevilla has only managed to reach the quarterfinals, leaving the club still searching for greater success in Europe’s most prestigious tournament.
F.C. Internazionale
The Nerazzurri is the second-most-winning club in the UEFA Europa League. The Milan club has won three competitions (1991, 1994, and 1998) and on two occasions (1997 and 2020) has reached second place in the competition. This way, Internazionale Milano has become an important Italian representative in the international fields.
The club was founded in 1908 and played its first official match in 1909. It is the only club in Italy that has played every season of Serie A since the inauguration of this national league.
Despite winning the UEFA Europa League only three times, Internazionale Milano was voted Europe’s sixth-best club of the 21st century. We hope that Inter Milan once again surpasses their runner-up position!
Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C., Italy’s most successful club (it has more than thirty domestic leagues), has also won several Europa League championships. Like its direct rival, Internazionale Milano, Vecchia Signora occupied third place with three championships (1977, 1990, and 1993) and runner-ups in 1995.
Juventus was founded on November 1, 1897, in Turin, northern Italy. Since then, Juventus has been one of the strongest Italian clubs in national and international competitions.
Their second Europa League championship was very special. It was the first time in the cup’s history that two Italian teams, Juventus and Fiorentina, faced each other in an exciting and spark-filled match. On this occasion, the Turin club beat its rival by an aggregate score of 3-1.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C. is, along with Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and, finally, Manchester City, one of the most popular clubs in England, and not only because it is the birthplace of the Beatles. No sir! Liverpool has won nineteen Premier League titles and many other trophies domestically and internationally. But that’s not all! As for the Europa League, it has won three championships (1973, 1976, and 2001) and has been runners-up once, in 2016.
The last time Liverpool won the competition, the club faced Deportivo Alavés, defeating the Spanish team by an aggregate score of 5-4. The competition itself brought together 154 participants from 51 European federations. The final took place in Dortmund, at the Westfalenstadion, the home stadium of Borussia Dortmund.
Liverpool has existed since 1892 but joined the Football League in 1983. Since then, it has won six Champions League titles, one FIFA Club World Cup, and four Super Cups.
Atlético de Madrid
Atlético de Madrid, based in the Spanish Capital, is one of the oldest teams in Spain and the fifth club to have played the most seasons in the first division. In terms of historical ranking in the Spanish football league, Atlético de Madrid occupies third place, just below Barcelona and Real Madrid. Still, Atlético surpasses those above when it comes to the UEFA Europa League since Real Madrid has only won the tournament on two occasions and Barcelona has none.
Atlético de Madrid has won the UEFA Europa League three times (2010, 2012, and 2018). In the 2018 final, they faced Olympique de Marseille on May 16 at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, France. With the match taking place on French soil, many expected the home team to have the upper hand. However, Atlético de Madrid delivered a commanding performance, winning 3-0 and securing the title.
Borussia VfL Mönchengladbach
This West Germany team is not as famous as Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund, but it has had surprising success in the UEFA Europa League. Borussia Mönchengladbach, also known as Gladbach, was founded in 1900 and has been playing in the Bundesliga since 965.
Gladbach’s most successful era was during the 1970s when they won five Bundesliga championships, which is impressive in a tournament with such competition. It was also in this decade that Gladbach won its two UEFA Europa Leagues, specifically in 1975 and 1979.
The 1979 Europa League final was a two-legged match between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Red Star Belgrade. The German club won with an aggregate score of 2-1. Sixty-four clubs participated in this tournament, with the legendary Teutonic squad winning.
Tottenham Hotspur
As I mentioned earlier, Tottenham Hotspur was the first winner of the UEFA Europa League in the 1971-1972 season. This first version also summoned sixty-four clubs from thirty-two different federations. In a double-final match, Spurs beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2.
Tottenham Hotspur also won the UEFA Europa League in 1984 in another double-final match. The English team faced the current champion of that year, Anderlecht. Spurs won over the Belgium team in penalties by a score of 4-3.
Sadly, this was the last time the team founded in 1882 won this international tournament. I hope to see the Spurs raid the Cup in the near future, either with or without Harry Kane!
Other clubs that have won the UEFA Europa League are Real Madrid F.C. (1985, 1986), IFK Göteborg (1982, 1987), Parma F.C. (1995, 1999), Feyenoord Rotterdam (1974, 2002), F.C. Porto (2033,2011), Chelsea F.C. (2013, 2019), and Eintracht Frankfurt (1980, 2022).
What other European clubs will win this second-tier international tournament in the future?
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