1956 European Cup final

1956 European Cup final
Event1955–56 European Cup
Date13 June 1956
VenueParc des Princes, Paris
RefereeArthur Edward Ellis (England)
Attendance38,239
1957

The 1956 European Cup final was the inaugural final in the pan-European football competition, now known as the UEFA Champions League, to determine the winners of the 1955–56 European Cup. It was contested by Real Madrid of Spain and Stade de Reims of France, and played at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 13 June 1956 in front of 38,000 people. Real Madrid reached the final by beating Italian side AC Milan 5–4 on aggregate, whereas Reims beat Scottish club Hibernian 3–0 on aggregate. The match finished 4–3 to Real Madrid, who went on to record an unrivalled five consecutive European Cup titles. The match started brightly for Reims, with Michel Leblond and Jean Templin scoring to make it 2–0 inside 10 minutes, but by half-time, Madrid had levelled the scores through goals from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Héctor Rial. Reims took the lead again on 62 minutes through Michel Hidalgo, but when Marquitos and Rial scored in the 67th and 79th minutes respectively, Reims could no longer respond, winning Madrid the first ever European Cup/Champions League title, the first of five consecutive titles that they won.