1996

Juventus' European Cup win of 1985 had been a hollow victory following the Heysel disaster, but in 1996 they were finally able to celebrate being champions of Europe. It took a penalty shootout to defeat the holders Ajax, but the trophy that they had always craved was finally theirs

Final, Stadio Olimpico, Roma, 22 May 1996

Juventus  1  Ajax 1
12' 1-0  J: Ravanelli
41' 1-1  A: Litmanen
after extra time, Juventus won 4-2 on penalties

Juventus (trainer Lippi)
Peruzzi; Ferrara, Torricelli, Vierchowod, Pessotto; Conte (Jugovic 44),
Paulo Sousa (Di Livio 57), Deschamps, Del Piero; Vialli, Ravanelli
(Padovano 77)
Ajax (trainer Van Gaal)
Van der Sar; Silooy, Blind, Davids, F.de Boer (Scholten 68); R.de Boer
(Wooter 91), Litmanen, Musampa (Kluivert 46); Finidi, Kanu, Bogarde
Referee: Diaz Vega (Spain)

Penalty shoot-out
Ajax: Davids (stopped), Litmanen, Scholten, Silooy (stopped)
Juventus: Ferrara, Pessotto, Padovano, Jugovic




UEFA Champions' League (Sep 13, Sep 27, Oct 18, Nov 1, Nov 22, Dec 6)


Consists of four groups of four clubs playing each other home and away.
Three points are awarded for a win, one point for a draw. Teams level on
points are seperated by aggregate score (including away goals) in games
against each other, and then overall goal difference in all group matches.
The top two teams in each group qualify for the Quarter-Finals.


Group A
Sep 13: FC Nantes-Atlantique     (0) 0  FC Porto                 (0) 0
Sep 13: Dinamo Kyiv v. Panathinaikos - match annulled*
Sep 27: Panathinaikos            (2) 3  FC Nantes-Atlantique     (0) 1
Sep 27: FC Porto                 (1) 2  AaB (Aalborg)            (0) 0
Oct 18: FC Porto                 (0) 0  Panathinaikos            (1) 1
Oct 18: FC Nantes-Atlantique     (1) 3  AaB (Aalborg)            (0) 1
Oct 25: AaB (Aalborg)            (1) 2  Panathinaikos            (1) 1
Nov 1:  Panathinaikos            (0) 0  FC Porto                 (0) 0
Nov 1:  AaB (Aalborg)            (0) 0  FC Nantes-Atlantique     (1) 2
Nov 22: FC Porto                 (1) 2  FC Nantes-Atlantique     (2) 2
Nov 22: Panathinaikos            (2) 2  AaB (Aalborg)            (0) 0
Dec 6:  FC Nantes-Atlantique     (0) 0  Panathinaikos            (0) 0
Dec 6:  AaB (Aalborg)            (1) 2  FC Porto                 (0) 2

P  W  D  L  F  A Pts
PANATHINAIKOS             6  3  2  1  7  3 11  
FC NANTES-ATLANTIQUE      6  2  3  1  8  6  9
FC Porto                  6  1  4  1  6  5  7
AaB (Aalborg)             6  1  1  4  5 12  4
Panathinaikos and FC Nantes qualify

* Dinamo Kiev allegedly tried to bribe the refereeLopez Nieto of Spain, in the first round
home match with Panathinaikos which they won 1-0 (half-time 0-0). AaB (Aalborg) who had
been eliminated by Dinamo in the preliminary round were given Dinamo's place. UEFA excluded
Dinamo Kiev for three years (including 1995/96) from European tournaments. The ban was
lifted on 19th April 1996, the official UEFA explanation was that it was to avoid hindering
the development of Ukrainian football.

Group B
Sep 13: Legia Warszawa           (0) 3  Rosenborg BK             (0) 1
Sep 13: Blackburn Rovers         (0) 0  Spartak Moscow           (1) 1
Sep 26: Spartak Moscow           (1) 2  Legia Warszawa           (0) 1
Sep 26: Rosenborg BK             (1) 2  Blackburn Rovers         (0) 1
Oct 18: Legia Warszawa           (1) 1  Blackburn Rovers         (0) 0
Oct 18: Rosenborg BK             (2) 2  Spartak Moscow           (0) 4
Nov 1:  Blackburn Rovers         (0) 0  Legia Warszawa           (0) 0
Nov 1:  Spartak Moscow           (3) 4  Rosenborg BK             (0) 1
Nov 22: Rosenborg BK             (2) 4  Legia Warszawa           (0) 0
Nov 22: Spartak Moscow           (1) 3  Blackburn Rovers         (0) 0
Dec 6:  Legia Warszawa           (0) 0  Spartak Moscow           (1) 1
Dec 6:  Blackburn Rovers         (4) 4  Rosenborg BK             (1) 1

P  W  D  L  F  A Pts
SPARTAK MOSKVA             6  6  0  0 15  4 18
LEGIA WARSZAWA             6  2  1  3  5  8  7
Rosenborg BK               6  2  0  4 11 16  6
Blackburn Rovers           6  1  1  4  5  8  4
Spartak Moskva and Legia Warszawa qualify

Group C
Sep 13: Steaua Bucuresti         (0) 1  Rangers                  (0) 0
Sep 13: Borussia Dortmund        (1) 1  Juventus                 (2) 3
Sep 27: Juventus                 (2) 3  Steaua Bucuresti         (0) 0
Sep 27: Rangers                  (0) 2  Borussia Dortmund        (1) 2
Oct 18: Borussia Dortmund        (0) 1  Steaua Bucuresti         (0) 0
Oct 18: Juventus                 (3) 4  Rangers                  (0) 1
Nov 1:  Steaua Bucuresti         (0) 0  Borussia Dortmund        (0) 0
Nov 1:  Rangers                  (0) 0  Juventus                 (1) 4
Nov 22: Rangers                  (1) 1  Steaua Bucuresti         (1) 1
Nov 22: Juventus                 (0) 1  Borussia Dortmund        (1) 2
Dec 6:  Steaua Bucuresti         (0) 0  Juventus                 (0) 0
Dec 6:  Borussia Dortmund        (1) 2  Rangers                  (1) 2

P  W  D  L  F  A Pts
JUVENTUS                   6  4  1  1 15  4 13  
BORUSSIA DORTMUND          6  2  3  1  8  8  9
Steaua Bucuresti           6  1  3  2  2  5  6
Rangers                    6  0  3  3  6 14  3
Juventus and Borussia Dortmund qualify

Group D
Sep 13: Ajax                     (1) 1  Real Madrid              (0) 0
Sep 13: Grasshopper-Club Zürich  (0) 0  Ferencvárosi TC          (0) 3
Sep 27: Ferencvárosi TC          (0) 1  Ajax                     (0) 5
Sep 27: Real Madrid              (0) 2  Grasshopper-Club Zürich  (0) 0
Oct 18: Ajax                     (1) 3  Grasshopper-Club Zürich  (0) 0
Oct 18: Real Madrid              (3) 6  Ferencvárosi TC          (0) 1
Nov 1:  Grasshopper-Club Zürich  (0) 0  Ajax                     (0) 0
Nov 1:  Ferencvárosi TC          (1) 1  Real Madrid              (0) 1
Nov 22: Real Madrid              (0) 0  Ajax                     (0) 2
Nov 22: Ferencvárosi TC          (2) 3  Grasshopper-Club Zürich  (1) 3
Dec 6:  Ajax                     (2) 4  Ferencvárosi TC          (0) 0
Dec 6:  Grasshopper-Club Zürich  (0) 0  Real Madrid              (0) 2

P  W  D  L  F  A Pts
AJAX                       6  5  1  0 15  1 16
REAL MADRID                6  3  1  2 11  5 10
Ferencvárosi TC            6  1  2  3  9 19  5
Grasshopper-Club Zürich    6  0  2  4  3 13  2
Ajax and Real Madrid qualify

Quarter-Finals (Mar 6 & 20)
Legia Warszawa           Pol  Panathinaikos            Gre   0-0  0-3  0-3
Borussia Dortmund        Ger  Ajax                     Ned   0-2  0-1  0-3
FC Nantes-Atlantique     Fra  Spartak Moskva           Rus   2-0  2-2  4-2
Real Madrid              Esp  Juventus                 Ita   1-0  0-2  1-2

Semi-Finals (Apr 3 & 17)
Ajax                     Ned  Panathinaikos            Gre   0-1  3-0  3-1
Juventus                 Ita  FC Nantes-Atlantique     Fra   2-0  2-3  4-3