The European Cup kicked off in 1955/56 and featured only one club per country.
In subsequent editions, two teams from one league did often feature, with the defending champions also qualifying.
That meant Real Madrid, winners of the first five editions, were joined in the European Cup by the likes of Sevilla, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona. But there was no one-nation final until the competition was rebranded as the Champions League and expanded to include the top teams from Europe’s biggest leagues.
In the UEFA Cup, it was a bit different, with several sides from one league all featuring. That meant there were several one-nation finals, even before the competition’s revamping as the Europa League in 2009.
From the UEFA Cup to the Champions League, a look at the European finals which have featured two clubs from one country…
Tottenham vs Wolves (UEFA Cup, 1972)
Tottenham Hotspur met Wolverhampton Wanderers over two legs in the first-ever UEFA Cup final in 1972.
Two goals from Martin Chivers saw Spurs run out 2-1 winners in the first match at Molineux and the Lilywhites clinched the trophy after a 1-1 draw in the return fixture at White Hart Lane.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (UEFA Cup, 1980)
The 1980 UEFA Cup final was an all-German affair, with Bundesliga sides Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach meeting over two legs.
Gladbach, featuring a young Lothar Matthäus, won the first match 3-2 at home. But Eintracht edged the second game by a solitary effort from Fred Schaub and took the title on away goals.
Juventus vs Fiorentina (UEFA Cup, 1990)
The 1990 UEFA Cup final was the first European final played between two Italian teams as Juventus and Fiorentina met over two legs.
Juventus won the first leg 3-1 in Turin and took the trophy after a 0-0 draw in the return. Later in the summer, Roberto Baggio was transferred from Fiorentina to Juve, sparking riots in the streets of Florence.
Inter vs Roma (UEFA Cup, 1991)
English clubs returned to European competition in 1990/91 after a ban due to the fan violence in the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, which saw 39 fans lose their lives in Brussels’ Heysel Stadium.
But Serie A remained Europe’s strongest league and the 1991 UEFA Cup final was an all-Italian affair again. In it, Inter beat Roma 2-1 on aggregate after a 2-0 win in Milan and a 1-0 defeat in the capital.
Parma vs Juventus (UEFA Cup, 1995)
Parma came out on top against Juventus in another all-Italian final in the UEFA Cup in 1995.
There was a familiar name on the scoresheet in both legs as Baggio netted home and away, but it was Parma’s Dino and not Juve’s Roberto as the Gialloblu won the series 2-1 on aggregate.
Inter vs Lazio (UEFA Cup, 1998)
From the 1997/98 season, the UEFA Cup final was played in a one-off match as the previous two-legged format was scrapped.
Inter met Lazio at the Parc des Princes and the Nerazzurri ran out 3-0 winners in the all-Italian affair thanks to goals from Ivan Zamorano, Javier Zanetti and Ronaldo in Paris.
Real Madrid vs Valencia (Champions League, 2000)
Real Madrid met Valencia at the Stade de France in the first all-Spanish Champions League final, in May 2000.
Los Blancos, wearing black, outclassed their La Liga rivals as goals from Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman and Raúl sealed a 3-0 win in a one-sided contest and an eighth European Cup for the Spanish giants.
AC Milan vs Juventus (Champions League, 2003)
AC Milan met Juventus in the 2003 Champions League final at Old Trafford and with neither side able to score in a dull contest, the match had to be decided by penalties.
Half of the players failed to net in the shootout, with Dida saving three spot-kicks and Gianluigi Buffon stopping two as Milan won a forgettable final 3-2 on penalties at Old Trafford.
Sevilla vs Espanyol (UEFA Cup, 2007)
Sevilla’s love affair with the UEFA Cup began with victory over Middlesbrough in the 2006 final and the Andalusians retained the trophy the following season.
After a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes against Espanyol at Hampden Park, both sides scored again in extra time as the game finished 2-2, but Sevilla went on to prevail 3-1 on penalties in the all-Spanish battle.
Manchester United vs Chelsea (Champions League, 2008)
Manchester United and Chelsea met in an all-English Champions League final in 2008 and penalties were needed to separate the two teams after a 1-1 draw in Moscow.
Chelsea looked set to win the shootout until John Terry slipped in the wet conditions and hit the post. Nicolás Anelka’s kick was later saved by Edwin van der Sar and United won the shootout 6-5 to claim the trophy for a second time under Sir Alex Ferguson and for a third time overall.
Porto vs Braga (Europa League, 2011)
Porto’s 2010/11 season was one for the history books, with the Dragons winning the Primeira Liga without a single defeat, as well as the Portuguese Cup, the Supercup and the UEFA Cup.
So it no surprise that André Villas Boas’ side came out on top against Braga in the all-Portuguese Europa League final, although it was a tight affair as Radamel Falcao scored the only goal of the game in Dublin.
Atlético Madrid vs Athletic Club (Europa League, 2012)
Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic Club side had won many admirers en route to the 2012 Europa League final, knocking out Manchester United along the way in a memorable 5-3 aggregate win in the last 16.
But the Basques were outclassed by Atlético Madrid in an all-Spanish final in Bucharest, with two goals from Radamel Falcao and another from Diego wrapping up a 3-0 win for Diego Simeone’s side.
Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund (Champions League, 2013)
Bayern Munich lost the 2012 Champions League final at home to Chelsea and with their talented generation of players underachieving, the club announced in January that Pep Guardiola would be their coach for the 2013/14 season.
Current coach Jupp Heynckes was set to retire at the end of the season anyway, but he and his players clearly had a point to prove and went on to win the treble, culminating in a 2-1 victory over Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley.
Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid (Champions League, 2014)
In the first European final played between two teams from the same city, Real Madrid met Atlético Madrid in the 2014 Champions League showpiece in Lisbon.
Atlético were seconds from victory at the Estádio da Luz, but Sergio Ramos rose to head home from a corner deep in added time and Los Blancos went on to win 4-1 after extra time. It was Madrid’s first European Cup since 2002 and their 10th in total: La Décima.
Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid (Champions League, 2016)
Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid met again in the 2016 Champions League final and once more, Los Blancos came out on top.
Atleti were left to rue missed penalties as Antoine Griezmann failed to convert one in the game, which finished 1-1, and Juanfran was off target in the shootout as Real claimed the trophy and kicked off a run of three successive wins in the competition under Zinédine Zidane.
Chelsea vs Arsenal (Europa League, 2019)
Arsenal and Chelsea met in the 2019 Europa League final in Baku and with manager Unai Emery having won the competition three times in a row with Sevilla, Gunners fans must have been confident.
Not this time, though, as Emery’s side conceded four times in the second period and Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners. Eden Hazard, in his final game for the Blues before moving to Real Madrid, was on target twice.
Liverpool vs Tottenham (Champions League, 2019)
Three days after Chelsea’s win over Arsenal in the Europa League final, Liverpool met Tottenham in the Champions League showpiece at Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium.
Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool an early lead from the penalty spot and Divock Origi added a second late in the game as the Reds won the European Cup for a sixth time. One of the worst European finals in recent memory.
Chelsea vs Manchester City (2021)
After a series of disappointments in the Champions League in previous years, the stage seemed set for Pep Guardiola to finally lift the trophy as Manchester City manager as the Sky Blues advanced to the 2021 final.
But Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel had other ideas. The German had led the Blues to wins over City in the Premier League and the FA Cup in the weeks before the final and masterminded a third triumph as the London club came out on top thanks to a Kai Havertz goal in Porto.
