Champion Real Madrid C.F. Venue Parc des Princes Event 1955–56 European Cup | Date 13 June 1956 Attendance 38,239 | |
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Referee Arthur Edward Ellis (The Football Association) Similar 1958 European Cup Final, 1959 European Cup Final, 1964 European Cup Final, 1960 European Cup Final, 1965 European Cup Final | ||
The 1956 European Cup Final was the first ever final in the pan-European football competition, the European Cup, now known as the UEFA Champions League. It was contested by Real Madrid of Spain and Stade de Reims-Champagne from France. It was played at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 13 June 1956 in front of 38,000 people. Real Madrid reached the final by beating the now seven times champions Milan 5–4 on aggregate, whereas Reims beat Scottish club Hibernian 3–0 on aggregate. The match finished 4–3 to Real Madrid, who went on to record an unrivalled five consecutive European Cup titles. The match started brightly for Reims, with Michel Leblond and Jean Templin scoring to make it 2–0 inside ten minutes, but by half time Madrid had levelled the scores, through goals from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Héctor Rial. Reims took the lead again on 62 minutes through Michel Hidalgo, but Marquitos and Rial scored in the 67th and 79th minutes respectively to win the cup for Madrid.