The Creation of the European Cup

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Real Madrid won the inaugural European Cup in 1956. Before then, Wolverhampton Wanderers had been branded the “Champions of the World” - French publication L’Equipe was outraged that this could be the case, so promptly set about creating a new competition.

This is the story of how Europe’s premier club tournament came to be.

This is the eleventh in a series, written by Jonathan Wilson, exploring the entire history of football.

Illustrated by Philippe Fenner.

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Additional footage sourced from freestockfootagearchive.com
Music provided by APM Music

Thumnail credits: MIGUEL RIOPA / Stringer / AFP via GettyImages, FABRICE COFFRINI / Staff / AFP via GettyImages