UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

Lore & Background

The idea for a pan-European cup competition contested by all of Europe's domestic cup winners came from prominent European sports journalists. The inaugural Cup Winners' Cup was held in the 1960–61 season and was a semi-official pilot tournament. The initial reaction was unenthusiastic; many eligible clubs turned down the chance to enter. The first tournament was contested by just 10 clubs, with Fiorentina winning the two-legged final against Rangers. For the tournament's second season in 1961–62, UEFA took over running all aspects, and all eligible clubs accepted. By 1968, all UEFA member nations had set up domestic cup competitions due to the success of the Cup Winners' Cup. UEFA regarded it as the second most prestigious competition, behind the European Cup and ahead of the Fairs Cup. No club managed to retain the Cup Winners' Cup, although eight times a winning side followed up their victories with a losing appearance in the following season's final.

In Their Own Story

The rain in Rotterdam didn't fall; it hammered, turning Feijenoord Stadion into a slick, treacherous bog on May 31, 1967. As the clock bled past ninety minutes and into extra time, the English defense held like an iron wall against wave after wave of Bavarian attacks. Then, the deadlock broke. Franz Roth, a ball of fiery determination, surged through a forest of legs near the edge of the box. He didn't hesitate. With one powerful strike, he found the back of the net, sending the Bayern players into raptures and etching his name forever in the club's lore as the man who turned a rainy night in Holland into the birth of an empire.

Reader's Guide

Throughout its 39-year history, the Cup Winners' Cup was always a straight knock-out tournament with two-legged home and away ties until the single match final staged at a neutral venue, the only exception being the two-legged final in the competition's first year. The away goals rule was applied when aggregate scores were tied. The format was identical to the original European Champions' Cup with 32 teams contesting four knock-out rounds prior to the final. Following the influx of new UEFA member nations during the 1990s, a regular August preliminary round was added to reduce the number of entrants to 32. Entry was restricted to one club from each UEFA member association, the only exception being to allow the current Cup Winners' Cup holders to enter alongside their nation's new domestic cup winners. If a domestic cup holder also wins the Cup Winners' Cup in the same season, the domestic cup runner-up takes that association's berth. On occasions when a club completed a domestic league and cup 'double', that club would enter the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and their place in the Cup Winners' Cup would be taken by the domestic cup runners-up.

Did You Know?

• The first tournament was held in 1960–61 but was not recognised by UEFA until 1963.
• From 1972 onwards, the winner of the Cup Winners' Cup progressed to play the winner of the European Cup in the European Super Cup.
• In 1998–99, Heerenveen entered the Cup Winners' Cup despite only reaching the semi-final of the KNVB Cup because both finalists qualified for the Champions League.
• English clubs were banned from European competition from 1985–86 until the beginning of the 1990–91 season due to the Heysel Stadium disaster.