1956–57 European Cup
The 1956–57 European Cup was the second season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won for the second time by Real Madrid, who beat Fiorentina 2–0 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, on 30 May 1957.
![]() Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid hosted the final. | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 August 1956 – 30 May 1957 |
| Teams | 22 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 44 |
| Goals scored | 170 (3.86 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,836,978 (41,750 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | |
After the great success of the first tournament, six new nations entered representatives: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, Luxembourg, Romania and Turkey. The English Football Association ("FA") had not allowed Chelsea to enter in 1955, and continued its stance on the European Cup as it being a "distraction". However, against the wishes of the FA, Manchester United entered the competition as English champions, becoming the first English team to play in Europe.[1] An additional place was awarded to Real Madrid as the competition's reigning champions, occupying the free berth left by Saar after its reunification with West Germany. Spain, meanwhile, became the first association to provide two representatives to the premier European competition.
Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round took place in UEFA headquarters in Paris on 29 June 1956.[2] The 21 challengers of Real Madrid were grouped geographically into three pots. The first four teams drawn in each pot would play the preliminary round in September, while the remaining three clubs received byes.
| Pot 1 Eastern Europe |
Pot 2 North-Western Europe |
Pot 3 South-Central Europe | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drawn | Match 1 | |||
| Match 2 | ||||
| Byes | ||||
The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 1 October.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Play-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borussia Dortmund |
5–5 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 7–0 | |
| Dinamo București |
4–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | ||
| Slovan UNV Bratislava |
4–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 | ||
| Anderlecht |
0–12 | 0–2 | 0–10 | ||
| AGF Aarhus |
2–6 | 1–1 | 1–5 | ||
| Porto |
3–5 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
First leg
| Borussia Dortmund | 4–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bracht Niepieklo Preißler |
Report | Boreux |
| Dinamo București | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Voica Ene |
Report | Oktay |
| Anderlecht | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Viollet Taylor |
| Slovan UNV Bratislava | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pažický Kováč Moravčík |
Report |
| AGF Aarhus | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Erik Bechmann Jensen |
Report | Foix |
| Porto | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Matos |
Report | Gaínza Canito |
Second leg
| Spora Luxembourg | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fiedler Letsch |
Report | Preißler |
Borussia Dortmund 5–5 Spora Luxembourg on aggregate; play-off needed.
| CWKS Warsaw | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kowal Brychczy |
Report |
Slovan UNV Bratislava won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Manchester United | 10–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor Viollet Whelan Berry |
Report |
Manchester United won 12–0 on aggregate.
| Athletic Bilbao | 3–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Artetxe |
Report | Hernâni Matos |
Athletic Bilbao won 5–3 on aggregate.
Nice won 6–2 on aggregate.
| Galatasaray | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Aytaç Oktay |
Report | Suru |
Dinamo București won 4–3 on aggregate.
Play-off
| Borussia Dortmund | 7–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Preißler Simmer Kelbassa Peters |
Report |
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Play-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United |
3–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | ||
| CDNA Sofia |
10–4 | 8–1 | 2–3 | ||
| Rangers |
3–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | |
| Slovan UNV Bratislava |
1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | ||
| Real Madrid |
5–5 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | |
| Rapid JC |
3–6 | 3–4 | 0–2 | ||
| Fiorentina |
2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | ||
| Athletic Bilbao |
6–5 | 3–2 | 3–31 |
1 Second leg played at Heysel Stadium, Brussels
First leg
| Manchester United | 3–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Viollet Pegg |
Report | Kapitulski Preißler |
| CDNA Sofia | 8–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kolev Milanov Panayotov Dimitrov |
Report | Băcuț |
| Real Madrid | 4–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Di Stéfano Marsal |
Report | Dienst Gießer |
| Rapid JC | 3–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Janssen Bischops Tasić |
Report | Kostić Toplak Rudinski |
| Fiorentina | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bizzarri |
Report | Bild |
| Athletic Bilbao | 3–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Artetxe Marcaida Arieta |
Report | Budai II Kocsis |
Second leg
| Red Star Belgrade | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Toplak Kostić |
Report |
Red Star Belgrade won 6–3 on aggregate
Nice 3–3 Rangers on aggregate; play-off needed.
| Rapid Wien | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Happel |
Report | Di Stéfano |
Real Madrid 5–5 Rapid Wien on aggregate; play-off needed.
Manchester United won 3–2 on aggregate
| Norrköping | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Virgili |
Fiorentina won 2–1 on aggregate
| Grasshopper | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vukosavljević Duret |
Report |
Grasshopper won 2–1 on aggregate
| Budapest Honvéd | 3–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Budai II Puskás |
Report | Merodio Arieta |
Athletic Bilbao won 6–5 on aggregate
| Dinamo București | 3–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nicușor Lăzar Neagu |
Report | Stoyanov Yanev |
CDNA Sofia won 10–4 on aggregate
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athletic Bilbao |
5–6 | 5–3 | 0–3 | |
| Fiorentina |
5–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | |
| Real Madrid |
6–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | |
| Red Star Belgrade |
4–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 |
First leg
| Athletic Bilbao | 5–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Uribe Marcaida Merodio Artetxe |
Report | Taylor Viollet Whelan |
| Fiorentina | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Segato Taccola |
Report | Ballaman |
| Real Madrid | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Joseíto Mateos |
Report |
| Red Star Belgrade | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kostić Popović |
Report | Yanev |
Second leg
| Manchester United | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Viollet Taylor Berry |
Report |
Manchester United won 6–5 on aggregate
| CDNA Sofia | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bozhkov Panayotov |
Report | Tasić |
Red Star Belgrade won 4–3 on aggregate
| Grasshopper | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ballaman Vukosavljević |
Report | Julinho Montuori |
Fiorentina won 5–3 on aggregate
| Nice | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Foix Ferry |
Report | Joseíto Di Stéfano |
Real Madrid won 6–2 on aggregate
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Star Belgrade |
0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | |
| Real Madrid |
5–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 |
First leg
| Red Star Belgrade | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Prini |
| Real Madrid | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Rial Di Stéfano Mateos |
Report | Taylor |
Second leg
Fiorentina won 1–0 on aggregate
| Manchester United | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor Charlton |
Report | Kopa Rial |
Real Madrid won 5–3 on aggregate
Final
| Real Madrid | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Di Stéfano Gento |
Report |
Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1956–57 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows:[5][6]
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | ||
| 2 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 7 | ||
| 4 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 5 | ||
| 5 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 8 | 4 | ||
| 4 | |||
| 10 | 3 | ||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 |
Notes
- It is assumed this match was played in Munich as a result of Swiss protests regarding the outcome of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 which also led to them boycotting the 1956 Olympic Games.[3]
References
- Woodward, Hamish (2021-06-20). "Why are Manchester United Called the Red Devils?". Atletifo Sports. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
- Corriere dello Sport, June 30, 1956.
- Melbourne/Stockholm 1956 (All facts) Olympic.org
- Official UEFA match database
- 1956/57 European Champion Clubs' Cup - Tournament phase - Goals scored
- 1956/57 European Champion Clubs' Cup - Qualifying phase - Goals scored
External links
- 1956–57 All matches – season at UEFA website
- All scorers 1956–57 European Cup (excluding qualifying round) according to protocols UEFA + all scorers qualifying round
- European Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- 1956-57 European Cup – results and line-ups (archive)
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