EXCLUSIVE: Bayern Munich poised to make history in Champions League
German giants Bayern Munich close to winning the UEFA Champions League back-to-back for the first time.
by Can Erözden and Satuk Buğra Kutlugün
ANKARA
German giants Bayern Munich are getting closer to winning the UEFA Champions League trophy back-to-back for the first time in UEFA Champions League history.
The UEFA Champions League tournament has been held since the 1955-56 season. Prior to the 1992-93 season, it was formerly named the European Champion Clubs' Cup.
Regarded as the odds-on favorites for this season, Bayern Munich has had a glorious past in the tournament.
The German giants won the cup five times, three of which were back-to-back between 1974 and 1976.
In addition, "Die Bayern" were runners-up five times. Reigning champions Bayern Munich claimed their victory over another Bundesliga team, Borussia Dortmund, in last year's showdown played in England's Wembley Stadium.
Real Madrid, who will compete against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League semi-final stage this season, are the competition's first winners.
Los Galacticos dominated the tournament between 1956 and 1960.
Real Madrid, who have topped the competition's winners list with nine victories, aim to be victorious once again since their last win in the 2001-02 season, where they beat Germany's Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the final match in Scotland.
Apart from the Bayern Munich-Real Madrid clash, another semi-final matchup will be between Spain's Atletico Madrid and Chelsea from England.
Having won the cup in 2012 against Bayern Munich in Germany, Chelsea are hoping to repeat their success this year as well. After the triumph in Germany, London team Chelsea became the winners of the UEFA Europa League in 2013.
Meanwhile, Chelsea's opponent Atletico Madrid will try to repeat their best performance in the tournament history by reaching the final stage for the first time after 40 years.
Atletico has been in successful form in the European competitions recently, where they won the UEFA Europa League twice in 2010 and 2012.
The back-to-back winners of the UEFA Champions League trophy are as follows:
| Seasons | Winners | Result | Runners-up |
| 1955-56* | Real Madrid (ESP) | 4-3 | Stade de Reims (FRA) |
| 1956-57* | Real Madrid (ESP) | 2-0 | Fiorentina (ITA) |
| 1957-58* | Real Madrid (ESP) | 3-2 | AC Milan (ITA) |
| 1958-59* | Real Madrid (ESP) | 2-0 | Stade de Reims (FRA) |
| 1959-60* | Real Madrid (ESP) | 7-3 | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) |
| 1960-61* | Benfica (POR) | 3-2 | Barcelona (ESP) |
| 1961-62* | Benfica (POR) | 5-3 | Real Madrid (ESP) |
| 1963-64* | Internazionale (ITA) | 3-1 | Real Madrid (ESP) |
| 1964-65* | Internazionale (ITA) | 1-0 | Benfica (POR) |
| 1970-71* | Ajax (NED) | 2-0 | Panathinaikos (GRE) |
| 1971-72* | Ajax (NED) | 2-0 | Internazionale (ITA) |
| 1972-73* | Ajax (NED) | 1-0 | Juventus (ITA) |
| 1973-74* | Bayern Munich (GER) | 4-0 | Atletico Madrid (ESP) |
| 1974-75* | Bayern Munich (GER) | 2-0 | Leeds United (ENG) |
| 1975-76* | Bayern Munich (GER) | 1-0 | Saint-Etienne (FRA) |
| 1976-77* | Liverpool (ENG) | 3-1 | B. Monchengladbach (GER) |
| 1977-78* | Liverpool (ENG) | 1-0 | Club Brugge (BEL) |
| 1978-79* | Nottingham Forest (ENG) | 1-0 | Malmö FF (SWE) |
| 1979-80* | Nottingham Forest (ENG) | 1-0 | Hamburger SV (GER) |
| 1988-89* | AC Milan (ITA) | 4-0 | Steaua Bucharest (ROM) |
| 1989-90* | AC Milan (ITA) | 1-0 | Benfica (POR) |
*The tournament was officially named the European Champion Clubs' Cup before the 1992-93 season.
All the data above has been acquired from 'uefa.com'.
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