France and the Champions League, a long tale of mixed fortunes | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain begin this Champions League campaign as back-to-back holders, the first club to do so since 2018, when Real Madrid arrived as triple champions. France waited years for a club triumph, even as its players excelled.

L'Équipe notes that figures such as Raymond Kopa shaped the early story, beaten with Reims in 1956, 3-4 to Real Madrid, then a three-time winner with the Spaniards in 1957, 1958 and 1959. Karim Benzema debuted in 2005 with Lyon before assembling a stellar haul at Real.

Only two French players lifted the European Cup between 1955 and 1992, Kopa and Michel Platini in 1985 with Juventus. Since the rebrand, 55 different Frenchmen have gone on to win the trophy.

Final scorers include Michel Leblond, Jean Templin and Michel Hidalgo for Reims in 1956, Michel Platini in 1985, Basile Boli in 1993, Marcel Desailly in 1994, Zinédine Zidane and Karim Benzema in 2002 and 2018, Kingsley Coman in 2020, Désiré Doué, twice, and Senny Mayulu in 2025, and Ousmane Dembélé in 2026.

French clubs reached finals in 1956, 1959, 1976, 1991, 1993, 2004, 2020, 2025 and 2026. The wins came for Marseille in 1993 and for Paris-SG in 2025 and 2026.

As coaches, Zinédine Zidane won three straight titles from 2016 to 2018, after Helenio Herrera’s two with Inter in 1964 and 1965. Four French managers lost finals, Albert Batteux, Robert Herbin, Didier Deschamps and Arsène Wenger.

Source: L'Équipe

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