A Historical Journey Through English Football Triumphs in Europe

There are few better feelings in football than winning a trophy on the European stage. From Manchester United‘s Busby Babes in 1968 to David Moyes‘ heroic Hammers just over a year ago, English teams have offered truly iconic triumphs in the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.

Since the inaugural European Cup final in 1955/56, England’s best teams, players, and managers have aimed to leave a significant mark in European competitions. Manchester United captured England’s first Champions League, then known as the European Cup, with a 4-1 victory over Benfica in 1968. Meanwhile, Liverpool leads as the English team with the most wins, having claimed their first of six European titles in 1977 with a 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach, followed by a 1-0 win against Club Brugge a year later. This marked the onset of a golden era for English sides in the competition.

Brian Clough‘s Nottingham Forest captured consecutive European Cup victories, defeating Malmo in 1979 and Hamburg in 1980. Liverpool returned to triumph in 1981, besting Real Madrid 1-0 to secure their third European Cup. Aston Villa then shocked Bayern Munich with a 1-0 win in 1982, making it six successive wins for English teams. The 1983 final was the first without any English representation since 1976, but Liverpool won their fourth title a year later, defeating Roma on penalties.

After a lengthy drought, Sir Alex Ferguson‘s 1999 Manchester United team achieved one of the most memorable comebacks by defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 in Barcelona. Further historic comebacks came in 2005 when Liverpool, with Steven Gerrard‘s leadership, clawed back from a 3-0 deficit to beat AC Milan on penalties in Istanbul. The resurgence of English teams culminated in 2008 in Moscow, where Chelsea captain John Terry‘s slip during a penalty shoot-out handed Manchester United their third Champions League win.

However, Terry would not have to wait long to celebrate. He famously donned a complete Chelsea kit despite not playing a minute in their dramatic shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich in 2012. Seven years later, Liverpool claimed their sixth title in another all-English showdown, defeating Tottenham 2-0 in Madrid. Chelsea secured their second title in 2021, upsetting Manchester City with a 1-0 win in Porto. Pep Guardiola’s team finally claimed the Champions League in 2023 by beating Inter Milan 1-0.

Tottenham inaugurated the Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup, for English teams by overcoming Wolves over two legs in 1972. Liverpool emulated this success a year later by defeating Borussia Monchengladbach, their former Champions League adversary. Tottenham again won a memorable title in 1984, narrowly defeating Anderlecht on penalties. After a long hiatus, Liverpool claimed the trophy in 2001, and Chelsea captured their first in 2012 by defeating Benfica.

More recently, Manchester United won the Europa League in 2017 after overcoming Ajax 2-0. Chelsea pulled off a commanding 4-1 win over Arsenal in an all-English final in 2019. West Ham claimed the second edition of the Conference League by beating Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague in 2023, marking a long-awaited victory for the club.