The 1995–96 UEFA Champions League was the 41st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the fourth since its rebranding as the UEFA Champions League. The tournament was won by Juventus, who beat defending champions Ajax on penalties in the final for their first European Cup since 1985, and their second overall. It was the only Champions League title that Juventus won in the 1990s, despite reaching the next two finals, and one of only three Italian wins in the final, despite there being a Serie A club in every final for seven consecutive years from 1992 to 1998.

It was the first tournament in which three points were awarded for a win instead of two.

Association team allocation

24 teams entered the competition – the national champions of each of the top 24 nations in the UEFA coefficient rankings, including UEFA Champions League holders, Ajax. The national champions of the associations ranked 1–7, plus the title holders, all received a bye to the group stage, while the national champions of the associations ranked 8–24 entered in the qualifying round. The remaining national champions from the associations ranked 25–47 were only allowed to participate in UEFA Cup.[1]

Association ranking

For the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 1995 UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 1990–91 to 1994–95.[1][2][3]

Association ranking for 1995–96 UEFA Champions League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  Italy 63.884 1
2  France 45.283
3  Germany 40.307
4  Spain 39.098
5  England 38.333
6  Portugal 34.000
7  Russia 31.300
8  Belgium 30.400
9  Netherlands 28.450
10  Turkey 23.749
11  Austria 21.450
12  FR Yugoslavia 21.000 0 [Note YUG]
13  Greece 20.500 1
14  Denmark 20.000
15  Sweden 18.000
16  Scotland 16.550
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
17  Switzerland 15.500 1
18  Poland 14.916
19  Romania 14.150
20  Norway 12.332
21  Israel 12.166
22  Hungary 11.916
23  Croatia 11.500
24  Cyprus 10.665
25  Ukraine 10.332
26  Georgia 9.000 0
27  Iceland 8.666
28  Latvia 8.500
29  Finland 8.416
30  Slovakia 7.999
31  Slovenia 7.666
32  Bulgaria 7.583
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
33  Czech Republic 5.000 0
34  Wales 5.000
35  Northern Ireland 4.998
36  Republic of Ireland 4.665
37  Belarus 4.000
38  Malta 3.998
39  Albania 3.333
40  Liechtenstein 3.000 [Note LIE]
41  Lithuania 2.500
42  Luxembourg 1.999
43  Faroe Islands 1.500
44  Macedonia 1.000
45  Armenia 1.000
46  Moldova 1.000
47  Estonia 0.500
48  Azerbaijan 0.000

Distribution

Round Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from the previous round
Qualifying round
(16 teams)
  • 16 champions from associations 8–25 (except title holders and FR Yugoslavia)[Note YUG]
Group stage
(16 teams)
  • Title holders
  • 7 champions from associations 1–7
  • 8 winners from the qualifying round
Knockout stage
(8 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage

Since the title holders (Ajax) qualified for the Champions League qualifying round through their domestic league and entered the group stage automatically, their spot in the qualifying round was vacated. Due to this, as well as Yugoslavia's exclusion, the following changes to the default access list were made:

  • The champions of association 24 and 25 (Cyprus and Ukraine) were promoted from the UEFA Cup preliminary round to the Champions League qualifying round.

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

  • TH: Champions League title holders
  • 1st: League position of the previous season
Group stage
Netherlands AjaxTH (1st) France Nantes (1st) Spain Real Madrid (1st) Portugal Porto (1st)
Italy Juventus (1st) Germany Borussia Dortmund (1st) England Blackburn Rovers (1st) Russia Spartak Moscow (1st)
Qualifying round
Belgium Anderlecht (1st) Denmark AaB (1st) Poland Legia Warsaw (1st) Hungary Ferencváros (1st)
Turkey Beşiktaş (1st) Sweden IFK Göteborg (1st) Romania Steaua București (1st) Croatia Hajduk Split (1st)
Austria Casino Salzburg (1st) Scotland Rangers (1st) Norway Rosenborg (1st) Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta (1st)
Greece Panathinaikos (1st) Switzerland Grasshopper (1st) Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (1st) Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv (1st)
  1. ^
    Liechtenstein (LIE): The teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) played in the Swiss football league system, and thus were ineligible for a spot regardless of the association ranking. The only competition organised by the LFV was the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualified for the 1995–96 UEFA Cup.
  2. ^
    FR Yugoslavia (YUG): While Yugoslavia's disqualification from European club competitions was lifted, their association coefficient was considered irregular and therefore their champions were not admitted. As a result, the winners of the 1994–95 First League of FR Yugoslavia, Red Star Belgrade, were instead admitted to the 1995–96 UEFA Cup.[4]

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Geneva, Switzerland).

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying round 12 July 1995 9 August 1995 23 August 1995
Group stage Matchday 1 25 August 1995 13 September 1995
Matchday 2 27 September 1995
Matchday 3 18 October 1995
Matchday 4 1 November 1995
Matchday 5 22 November 1995
Matchday 6 6 December 1995
Knockout phase Quarter-finals 6 March 1996 20 March 1996
Semi-finals 3 April 1996 17 April 1996
Final 22 May 1996 at Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Qualifying round

Main article: 1995–96 UEFA Champions League qualifying round

Dynamo Kyiv won their tie against AaB, but, in their first group game against Panathinaikos, they were accused of a failed attempt to bribe the referee, Antonio López Nieto, to get a win. Despite an appeal, they were ejected from the competition and banned for two years, with AaB replacing them in the group stage. Dynamo's ban was eventually reduced to one season.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Grasshopper Switzerland 2–1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–1 1–0
Rangers Scotland 1–0 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta 1–0 0–0
Legia Warsaw Poland 3–1 Sweden IFK Göteborg 1–0 2–1
Casino Salzburg Austria 0–1 Romania Steaua București 0–0 0–1
Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine 4–1 Denmark AaB 1–0 3–1
Rosenborg Norway 4–3 Turkey Beşiktaş 3–0 1–3
Anderlecht Belgium 1–2 Hungary Ferencváros 0–1 1–1
Panathinaikos Greece 1–1 (a) Croatia Hajduk Split 0–0 1–1

Group stage

Main article: 1995–96 UEFA Champions League group stage
class=notpageimage|
Location of teams of the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D.

11 teams of 16 made their debut in the UEFA Champions League group stage: AaB, Blackburn Rovers, Borussia Dortmund, Ferencváros, Grasshopper, Juventus, Legia Warsaw, Nantes, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid and Rosenborg. Panathinaikos had already played in the group stage of the 1991–92 European Cup. AaB, Ferencvaros, Grasshopper, Legia and Rosenborg were the first teams to play in group stage from Denmark, Hungary, Switzerland, Poland and Norway respectively.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PAN NAN POR AAB
1 Greece Panathinaikos 6 3 2 1 7 3 +4 11 Advance to knockout stage — 3–1 0–0 2–0
2 France Nantes 6 2 3 1 8 6 +2 9 0–0 — 0–0 3–1
3 Portugal Porto 6 1 4 1 6 5 +1 7 0–1 2–2 — 2–0
4 Denmark AaB[a] 6 1 1 4 5 12 −7 4 2–1 0–2 2–2 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ After matchday 1 in the group, AaB replaced Dynamo Kyiv, who were banned following a failed attempt to bribe a referee.

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SPM LEG ROS BLA
1 Russia Spartak Moscow 6 6 0 0 15 4 +11 18 Advance to knockout stage — 2–1 4–1 3–0
2 Poland Legia Warsaw 6 2 1 3 5 8 −3 7 0–1 — 3–1 1–0
3 Norway Rosenborg 6 2 0 4 11 16 −5 6 2–4 4–0 — 2–1
4 England Blackburn Rovers 6 1 1 4 5 8 −3 4 0–1 0–0 4–1 —
Source: UEFA

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JUV DOR STE RAN
1 Italy Juventus 6 4 1 1 15 4 +11 13 Advance to knockout stage — 1–2 3–0 4–1
2 Germany Borussia Dortmund 6 2 3 1 8 8 0 9 1–3 — 1–0 2–2
3 Romania Steaua București 6 1 3 2 2 5 −3 6 0–0 0–0 — 1–0
4 Scotland Rangers 6 0 3 3 6 14 −8 3 0–4 2–2 1–1 —
Source: UEFA

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AJX RMA FER GRA
1 Netherlands Ajax 6 5 1 0 15 1 +14 16 Advance to knockout stage — 1–0 4–0 3–0
2 Spain Real Madrid 6 3 1 2 11 5 +6 10 0–2 — 6–1 2–0
3 Hungary Ferencváros 6 1 2 3 9 19 −10 5 1–5 1–1 — 3–3
4 Switzerland Grasshopper 6 0 2 4 3 13 −10 2 0–0 0–2 0–3 —
Source: UEFA

Knockout stage

Main article: 1995–96 UEFA Champions League knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Real Madrid Spain 1–2 Italy Juventus 1–0 0–2
Nantes France 4–2 Russia Spartak Moscow 2–0 2–2
Borussia Dortmund Germany 0–3 Netherlands Ajax 0–2 0–1
Legia Warsaw Poland 0–3 Greece Panathinaikos 0–0 0–3

Semi-finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Juventus Italy 4–3 France Nantes 2–0 2–3
Ajax Netherlands 3–1 Greece Panathinaikos 0–1 3–0

Final

Main article: 1996 UEFA Champions League final

The final was played on 22 May 1996 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.

Ajax Netherlands1–1 (a.e.t.)Italy Juventus
Litmanen 41' Report Ravanelli 12'
Penalties
Davids soccer ball with red X
Litmanen soccer ball with check mark
Scholten soccer ball with check mark
Silooy soccer ball with red X		 2–4 soccer ball with check mark Ferrara
soccer ball with check mark Pessotto
soccer ball with check mark Padovano
soccer ball with check mark Jugović
Attendance: 70,000[5]

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Team Goals
1 Finland Jari Litmanen Netherlands Ajax 9
2 Italy Alessandro Del Piero Italy Juventus 6
Spain Raúl Spain Real Madrid 6
Poland Krzysztof Warzycha Greece Panathinaikos 6
5 Netherlands Patrick Kluivert Netherlands Ajax 5
Russia Yuriy Nikiforov Russia Spartak Moscow 5
France Nicolas Ouédec France Nantes 5
Italy Fabrizio Ravanelli Italy Juventus 5
9 England Mike Newell England Blackburn Rovers 4
Chile Iván Zamorano Spain Real Madrid 4
11 Denmark Erik Bo Andersen Denmark AaB 3
Norway Karl Petter Løken Norway Rosenborg 3
France Reynald Pedros France Nantes 3
Russia Sergei Yuran Russia Spartak Moscow 3
Chad Japhet N'Doram France Nantes 3

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "UEFA Country Ranking 1995". Bert Kassies. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  2. ^ "1990/91–1994/95". Pawel Mogielnicki. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  3. ^ Protzen, Martin (24 May 1995). "FAQ: Qualification and Seeding for the European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  4. ^ Protzen, Martin (29 May 1996). "FAQ: Qualification and Seeding for the European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  5. ^ "2. Finals" (PDF). UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2016/17. Nyon, Switzerland: Union of European Football Associations. 2017. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995%E2%80%9396_UEFA_Champions_League
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