Runners-up Fiorentina Top scorer Dennis Viollet Teams 22 Matches played 44 | Champion Real Madrid C.F. Dates 1 Aug 1956 – 30 May 1957 Goals scored 170 | |
 | ||
Champions Real Madrid (2nd title) Similar 1959–60 European Cup, 1961–62 European Cup, 1965–66 European Cup, 1963–64 European Cup, 1955–56 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.
Contents
After the great success of the first tournament, six new nations entered representatives: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, Luxembourg, Romania and Turkey. The English 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 wises of the FA, Manchester United entered the competition anyway as English champions, becoming the first English team to play in Europe. 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.
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round took place in UEFA headquarters in Paris on Friday, 29 June 1956. 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.
The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 1 October.
1 Borussia Dortmund beat Spora Luxembourg 7–0 in a play-off to qualify for the first round.
Second leg
Borussia Dortmund 5–5 Spora Luxembourg on aggregate; play-off needed.
Slovan UNV Bratislava won 4–2 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 12–0 on aggregate.
Athletic Bilbao won 5–3 on aggregate.
Nice won 6–2 on aggregate.
Dinamo Bucureşti won 4–3 on aggregate.
First round
1 Nice beat Rangers 3–1 in a play-off to qualify for the quarter-finals.
2 Real Madrid beat Rapid Wien 2–0 in a play-off to qualify for the quarter-finals.
3 Second leg played at Heysel Stadium, Brussels
Second leg
Red Star Belgrade won 6–3 on aggregate
Nice 3–3 Rangers on aggregate; play-off needed.
Real Madrid 5–5 Rapid Wien on aggregate; play-off needed.
Manchester United won 3–2 on aggregate
Fiorentina won 2–1 on aggregate
Grasshopper won 2–1 on aggregate
Athletic Bilbao won 6–5 on aggregate
CDNA Sofia won 10–4 on aggregate
Second leg
Manchester United won 6–5 on aggregate
Red Star Belgrade won 4–3 on aggregate
Fiorentina won 5–3 on aggregate
Real Madrid won 6–2 on aggregate
Second leg
Fiorentina won 1–0 on aggregate
Real Madrid won 5–3 on aggregate
Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1956–57 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows: