English clubs in the European Cup and UEFA Champions League a victory over Barcelona in the opening group game. English clubs in the European Cup and UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (previously known as the European Cup) is a seasonal club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 1955 for the most successful football clubs in Europe. The prize, the European Champion Clubs' Cup, is considered the most prestigious club trophy in the sport. As of the end of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League season, English clubs have twelve European Cup wins along with clubs from Italy. Incidentally, Real Madrid from Spain have
2008–09 UEFA Champions League reserved for the title holder was not used since Manchester United qualified for the group stage as the Premier League (Association 2) champions. Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008–09 Champions League: Since the title holders (Manchester United) qualified for the Champions League group stage through their domestic league, the group stage spot reserved for the title holders is vacated, and the following changes to the default access list are made: Title holders On 4 June 2008, a decision was taken to exclude Portuguese champions Porto from this year's competition, after the club was found guilty of bribing referees