UEFA Champions League Football 2008/2009
Welcome to the ultimate UEFA Champions League football resource!
If you're keen on Champions League football betting or you're just a plain football fanatic, you've come to the right place. Whether you are looking for 2008/2009 Champions League live odds, betting tips, ticket information or Champions League history, we've got it all covered right here.
UEFA Champions League Winners
With the UEFA Champions League 2009 season well underway, it is about time to dive into the exciting Champions League action.
The 2007/2008 champions, Manchester United, will be looking to defend their title. Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties in Moscow on 21 May 2008, after the game tied at 1-1. The club has won the Champions League a total of 3 times to date.
For more of last season's Champions League results, please visit our 2007/2008 UEFA Champions League results section.
UEFA Champions League History
The UEFA Champions League is the longest running and most popular club competition in Europe.
The event was the brainchild of French Sports Editor Gabriel Hanot, who proposed a European competition for the region's most popular and successful football clubs.
Hanot's ideas were embraced by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the first European Cup matches were contested in 1955. The tournament was an instant success, and was soon restructured as the official championship for winners of Europe's various domestic leagues.
In its early years the European Cup was won exclusively by Latin countries, which had previous experience of regional competition through the Latin Cup. Only in 1967 did a Northern European club make a breakthrough in the tournament, when Scottish side Celtic became the first non-Latin club to lift the trophy.
Visit our UEFA Champions League history page for more information.
2008/2009 UEFA Champions League Format
The rules and format of the Champions League football tournament have been subject to almost constant revision since the contest was first played in 1955. From relatively humble beginnings that saw eight clubs contest the first cup, the event has grown to include 76 clubs, with some countries allowed to submit up to four clubs to the competition.
Despite these changes the basic principles of qualifying have been maintained and clubs can either qualify through winning their domestic leagues or finishing amongst the top four in the more competitive leagues.
The Champions League runs from the qualifying rounds in July each year through to the final staged in May the following year. During this period teams compete in a series of two-legged qualifying knockout ties, a demanding group stage and finally, the concluding knockout stages.
The current rules and format of the competition were adopted in 2003, and recent proposed changes to the format and qualifying rules by UEFA Chairman Michael Platini have sparked considerable controversy.
Visit our Champions League format page for more information.
UEFA Champions League Betting
Whether you're backing one team, spread betting on winning margins or simply backing the underdog, your experience of Champions League football will be enhanced when you put money on the matches.
Before jumping in to your Champions League betting make sure you visit our UEFA Champions League betting section for tips on favourites and the best Champions League betting options.
