🏆 2 Champions League titles on the bounce: 9️⃣ clubs, their stories 💣 | OneFootball

PSG have won their second Champions League in a row: a feat achieved by only 9 different clubs in football history, and one that, curiously, occurred several times between the 1960s and 1970s.

Let’s look at the list and the context of every club that managed to win at least a Champions League “double.”

Real Madrid: 1956-60 | 5 straight Champions Cups

Real Madrid began their winning tradition in the Champions Cup right from the start: victory in the very first final against Stade Reims, from whom they signed Raymond Kopa that very year.

Then they beat Fiorentina, featuring Julinho, Montuori and Sarti and coached by the legendary Fulvio Bernardini. After that came Milan, who lost only after extra time: it was the team of Nereo Rocco with Liedholm, Schiaffino and Cesare Maldini (with Nordahl absent in the final). It’s worth remembering that during that season came the air disaster that killed almost the entire Manchester United squad, one of the best teams in the world.

In 1959 they beat Stade Reims again, now with a different star: Just Fontaine was at the peak of his career, but could do nothing against Puskas, Di Stefano, Gento and former Reims man Raymond Kopa.

The last European Cup of this cycle was also the first with Miguel Munoz on the Real bench (having taken over during the season): a coach who would remain in charge until 1975. The scoreline is already history: 7-3 against an Eintracht side coming from a German league not yet organized as a single round-robin competition.

Benfica: 1960-62 | 2 straight Champions Cups

Real Madrid’s winning streak came to an end with the rise of Bela Guttmann’s Benfica: 1960/61 was the season of José Águas (11 goals), José Augusto (6 goals) and Joaquim Santana (4 goals), who beat Barcelona in the final, a side featuring Luis Suárez, Kocsis, Kubala and Evaristo.

The following year Eusebio entered the picture (signed the year before but not yet registered) and scored a brace in the final against Real Madrid, for whom even a Puskas hat-trick was not enough.

Inter: 1963-65 | 2 straight Champions Cups

After Milan’s first triumph, it was time for Helenio Herrera’s two-year Nerazzurri era: the “Grande Inter” with Mazzola (top scorer), Facchetti, Luis Suárez (former Ballon d’Or winner), Jair and other champions beat Real Madrid in the last final to feature Puskas and Di Stefano together.

The following year it was a true team victory against Benfica, led by Eusebio (who would win the Ballon d’Or) and José Torres. It was Benfica’s second final defeat in three years after the one against Milan.

Ajax: 1971-73 | 3 straight Champions Cups

The three-year spell of Ajax, first coached by Rinus Michels and then by Stefan Kovacs, changed football itself, as well as writing the club’s name into Champions Cup history. On the bench, Michels brought the concept of “total football” into the mainstream, something reflected in both tactics and the scoresheets: Ajax’s top scorer had just 4 goals in 1970/71.

But the champions were certainly there: Neeskens and Cruyff above all, with the latter scoring a brace against Inter in the final and winning the Ballon d’Or. In 1973 Ajax beat Juventus in a hard-fought match despite going 1-0 up after just 5 minutes.

Bayern: 1974-1976 | 3 straight Champions Cups

Bayern Munich were promoted to the Bundesliga in 1965 - the competition’s second year of existence  - and within 9 years they had won the European Cup: Maier-Beckenbauer-Muller was the backbone, to which you can add legends such as Hoeness, Breitner (for the first year) and Rummenigge (only in the last one).

All of their opponents were final newcomers, just like the Bavarians themselves. Atletico held Bayern to 1-1 after extra time but then fell 4-0 in the replay (a brace from top scorer Muller), followed by wins over Leeds (another Muller goal) and St-Etienne after sweeping Benfica aside in the semi-finals.

Liverpool: 1977-1978 | 2 straight Champions Cups

A double for Bob Paisley’s Liverpool, who in 1976/77, with champions such as Keegan (who would win the Ballon d’Or only later at Hamburg), Tommy Smith, Phil Neal and Hughes, overturned a first-leg defeat twice: in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, before beating Gladbach in the final (with Heynckes as their standout star).

The following year Keegan left Liverpool, but three Scots arrived: Dalglish, Souness and Hansen, giving the squad fresh energy. The Reds had a brutal path: they beat Benfica and - once again - Gladbach before reaching the final against Ernst Happel’s Bruges (who would later win a European Cup with Hamburg). Liverpool won thanks to a goal from new arrival Dalglish.

Nottingham Forest: 1979-1980 | 2 straight Champions Cups

The most incredible story in Champions Cup history is that of Nottingham Forest: promoted to the First Division in 1976/77, they immediately won the English league in 1977/78 and therefore took part in the 1978/79 European Cup.

The miracle by managers Brian Clough and Peter Taylor began by beating reigning champions Liverpool, then cruising through the round of 16 and quarter-finals before defeating Cologne in the semi-finals. In the final against Malmo, the decisive man was a January signing, the first player to cost £1 million: Trevor Francis.

The year after, the run almost came to an end in the quarter-finals against Dynamo Berlin, but Nottingham overturned the first-leg defeat, then beat Ajax in the semi-finals. In the final Trevor Francis was absent (injured), but Robertson’s goal was enough to beat Hamburg.

Milan: 1989-90 | 2 straight Champions Cups

Arrigo Sacchi, after winning the league title (the only one of his career) in his first Serie A season, also won the European Cup the following year. The team is legendary and the names speak for themselves: Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Baresi, Maldini and more besides.

But the Rossoneri struggled against Red Star, with the match abandoned due to fog and Milan winning on penalties in the replay; then Milan edged past Werder Bremen and crushed Real Madrid and Steaua Bucharest.

There was more suffering the following year too: Real were beaten right away, then came extra-time wins over Mechelen and Bayern, the latter thanks to the away-goals rule. The final was against Eriksson’s Benfica: 1-0, scored by Rijkaard.

Real Madrid: 2016-2018 | 3 straight Champions Leagues

Now we move closer to the present day, and these memories only need refreshing: the derby won on penalties against Atletico and Juanfran’s miss; the 4-1 in Cardiff against Juventus; and the 3-1 over Liverpool on Karius’ nightmare night in goal. Recent history, but history all the same, written by Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid.

PSG: 2025-2026 | 2 straight Champions Leagues

The first French team to win two Champions Leagues in a row, the team to record the biggest winning margin in a Champions League final while playing the most beautiful and efficient football in Europe. There’s little to look back on here but - for now - simply to enjoy Luis Enrique’s PSG.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 2014 Getty Images