Question: What was the first team to win the UEFA Champions League after it was renamed from the European Cup in 1993?
Show answer
Marseilles.
The UEFA Champions League, one of the most prestigious tournaments in club football, underwent a significant rebranding in 1992, transitioning from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The first team to win the tournament under its new title was Olympique de Marseille in the 1992-1993 season.
Olympique de Marseille, a French football club based in Marseille, achieved this historic victory on May 26, 1993, in the final held at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Their win was not only notable for being the first in the newly named Champions League but also because it marked the first time a French club had won the competition.
The match that clinched their victory was against A.C. Milan, an Italian club that was one of the strongest teams in Europe at the time, having won the European Cup twice in the previous three years. Marseille’s win was secured by a single goal, scored by Basile Boli in the 43rd minute of the game. Boli’s header, off a corner kick from Abedi Pele, was enough to see Marseille through to a historic victory.
This triumph was a remarkable achievement for French football and for Olympique de Marseille. However, the victory was later overshadowed by controversy. The club was found to have been involved in a domestic match-fixing scandal during the 1992-1993 season, which led to severe consequences including being stripped of their French league title. However, they retained their Champions League title, as the scandal was deemed not to have affected their European matches.
Despite the controversy, the 1992-1993 victory of Olympique de Marseille in the UEFA Champions League remains a significant event in the history of the competition. It signaled the beginning of the modern era of European club football, marked by the rebranding of the European Cup to the Champions League. This change brought with it a new format and a broader commercial approach, which helped to increase the tournament’s popularity and elevate its status to become the most prestigious club competition in world football.
In summary, Olympique de Marseille’s victory in the 1992-1993 season of the UEFA Champions League marked a historic moment, not just as the first winner of the rebranded tournament but also as a milestone for French football. Their triumph in Munich remains a memorable chapter in the annals of European club football, despite the subsequent controversy that enveloped the club.
