1995–96 UEFA Champions League


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 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.

Teams

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.

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows.

Qualifying round

won their tie against Aalborg BK, 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 Aalborg BK replacing them in the group stage. Dynamo's ban was eventually reduced to one season.

Group stage

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.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Top goalscorers

The top scorers from the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League are as follows:
RankNameTeamGoals
1 Jari Litmanen Ajax9
2 Alessandro Del Piero Juventus6
2 Raúl Real Madrid6
2 Krzysztof Warzycha Panathinaikos6
5 Patrick Kluivert Ajax5
5 Yuriy Nikiforov Spartak Moscow5
5 Nicolas Ouédec Nantes5
5 Fabrizio Ravanelli Juventus5
9 Mike Newell Blackburn Rovers4
9 Iván Zamorano Real Madrid4
11 Erik Bo Andersen Aalborg BK3
11 Karl Petter Løken Rosenborg3
11 Reynald Pedros Nantes3
11 Sergei Yuran Spartak Moscow3
11 Japhet N'Doram Nantes3