Champions League Beginner's Guide

Read our Champions League beginner’s guide to get up to speed on what many regard as the world’s best club soccer tournament.

To be considered as an all-time great team in European domestic soccer, a win in the European Cup or, as it’s known in the modern game, the UEFA Champions League is an imperative accompaniment.

While the World Cup is considered to be the pinnacle of all soccer, the UEFA Champions League is home to the best club sides European soccer has to offer. Given the quality involved, the fine margins between teams, and the prestige the competition possesses, as a supporter, winning this competition is the pinnacle.

UEFA stands for Union of European Football Associations.

Champions League beginner’s guide

The continental tournament has undergone a few facelifts down the years. The first running of the European Cup took place in the 1955-56 term, when 16 teams battled it out for glory in a straight knockout format; the maiden competition, and the subsequent four, was won by a Real Madrid team inspired by talisman Alfredo Di Stefano.

During much of the tournament’s existence, only the champion from each country, plus the defending champion, was able to compete. Now up to four teams can qualify from each domestic division.

After 36 years, UEFA revamped its headline competition in 1991. This saw the introduction of the group stage, meaning 32 teams compete in the competition proper. Oftentimes, teams must go through qualification stages just to reach the group stage. Yet, after the group stage, most of the tournament’s drama transpires in the knockout stages.

A bigger league phase replaced the group stage in UEFA’s three club tournaments starting with the 2024-25 season. As of 2024, they are using a brand-new strategy called the Swiss method.

SEE MORE: Where to watch UEFA Champions League and Europa League on US TV and Internet

UCL Format

Previously, 32 teams were divided into 8 groups of 4. Each team played 6 games in a round-robin format. The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. Third-place teams moved to the Europa League, and fourth-place teams were out.

However, starting in the 2024-25 season, UEFA changed how its top club competitions work. The old group stage format has been replaced by a new “league phase” that uses a Swiss-style system.

Now, 36 teams take part instead of 32. Instead of being split into groups, all teams are placed in a single league table. Each team plays 8 different opponents—2 from each of four seeding pots—once at home and once away. This phase runs from September to January.

Knockout stages

After that, the top 8 teams automatically move to the round of 16. Teams ranked 9–24 play a two-legged playoff to decide who joins them. Teams ranked 25–36 and the losers of the playoff are eliminated and do not continue in any European competition.

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming

The rest of the tournament follows a familiar knockout format: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. These are mostly two-legged ties, except the final, which is a single match played at a pre-selected venue in May or June.

Upsets galore

Despite its ruthlessness, the new format has paved the way for some shock winners in recent years, particularly those enjoyed by Porto in 2004 and Chelsea, who defended manfully on the way to glory, in 2012, the standout triumphs.

Many consider Liverpool’s recovery from 3-0 down against AC Milan in 2005 to win the cup on penalties the greatest final in the sport’s history. It’s also been a crowning moment for some of the best sides Europe has ever seen, including iconic XIs from Ajax, Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Barcelona.

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