The 1956 European Cup final was the inaugural final in the pan-European football competition, now known as the
UEFA Champions League, to determine the winners of the
1955–56 European Cup. It was contested by
Real Madrid of Spain and
Stade de Reims of France, and played at the
Parc des Princes in
Paris on 13 June 1956 in front of 38,000 people. Real Madrid reached the final by beating Italian side
AC Milan 5–4 on aggregate, whereas Reims beat Scottish club
Hibernian 3–0 on aggregate. The match finished 4–3 to Real Madrid, who went on to record an unrivalled five consecutive European Cup titles. The match started brightly for Reims, with
Michel Leblond and
Jean Templin scoring to make it 2–0 inside 10 minutes, but by half-time, Madrid had levelled the scores through goals from
Alfredo Di Stéfano and
Héctor Rial. Reims took the lead again on 62 minutes through
Michel Hidalgo, but when
Marquitos and Rial scored in the 67th and 79th minutes respectively, Reims could no longer respond, winning Madrid the first ever
European Cup/Champions League title, the first of five consecutive titles that they won.
Real Madrid entered the European Cup competition as the title winners of the
1954–55 La Liga. In the opening round, they were drawn against Swiss champions
Servette. After they secured a 2–0 victory away from home in the first leg, they secured a 5–0 victory at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium with
Alfredo Di Stéfano scoring two goals in the victory.[1] In the quarter-finals they were drawn against Yugoslavian side
FK Partizan who had finished fifth in the previous season. In the opening leg at home, Heliodoro Castaño Pedrosa scored two goals as fellow goals from
Francisco Gento and Alfredo Di Stéfano gave Real Madrid a four goal lead heading into the away leg in
Belgrade.[2] Partizan won second leg 3–0, but that was not enough to advance to the semi-finals.[3] There, Real Madrid won the first home leg against
AC Milan and with two-goal lead could afford a second leg 2–1 defeat at the
San Siro.[4]
Stade de Reims
Reims entered the European Cup competition as the title winners of the
1954–55 French Division 1. In the opening round, they were drawn against Danish champions
AGF Aarhus. In the first away leg they secured a 2–0 victory thanks to a brace from
Léon Glovacki,[5] before a 2–2 draw at the
Stade Auguste-Delaune. In the quarter-finals they were drawn against Hungarian side
Vörös Lobogó who had finished 2nd in the previous season. In the opening leg at home,
Michel Leblond scored two goals as fellow goals from Léon Glovacki and
René Bliard gave Reims a two-goal lead heading into the away leg at
Budapest.[6] There, a tight match ensured a 4–4 draw, which saw Reims advance to the semi-finals,[7] where they defeated Scottish
Hibernian in both legs, reaching final undefeated.[8]
^Di Stéfano was a native Argentine that in October 1956 (four months following this match) became a naturalised citizen of Spain. He started playing on the
Spain national football team in 1957.[9][10]