Tournament details | |
---|---|
Dates | 9 – 23 August 1995 (qualifying) 13 September 1995 – 22 May 1996 (competition proper) |
Teams | 16 (group stage) 24 (total) |
Final positions | |
Champions | Juventus (2nd title) |
Runners-up | Ajax |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 61 |
Goals scored | 159 (2.61 per match) |
Attendance | 1,870,462 (30,663 per match) |
Top scorer(s) |
Jari Litmanen (9 goals) |
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 their reaching the next two finals, and one of only two 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.
Dynamo Kyiv won their tie against Aalborg BK, but, in their first group game against Panathinaikos, they were accused of a failed attempt to bribe referee Antonio López Nieto to get a win. Despite an appeal, they were thrown out of the competition by UEFA and were banned for the subsequent two years. Aalborg BK replaced them in the group stage. Dynamo's ban was eventually reduced to just one (current) season.
11 teams of 16 made their debut in the UEFA Champions League group stage: Aalborg BK, 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.