# 1961–62 European Cup

The 1961–62 European Cup was the seventh season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Benfica for the second time in a row, beating Real Madrid 5–3 in the final at the Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, on 2 May 1962. This outcome meant that Real Madrid became the first team to win and lose European Cup final. Ferenc Puskás scored his second hat-trick in the final of the competition, and as of 2024, is the only player to achieve this feat, as well as being the only final hat-trick scorer to end up on the losing side.
Malta entered its champion for the first time this season.

## Teams

A total of 29 teams participated in the competition.
For the first time since European Cup inaugural season Spain was represented by only one team – ever present Real Madrid. Benfica qualified as title holders and since they were also Portuguese champions, runners-up Sporting CP were invited. CDNA Sofia appeared in the sixth edition of European Cup, with only Real Madrid having more appearances in the competition.
Austria Wien, Boldklubben 1913, Tottenham Hotspur, Valkeakosken Haka, Monaco, Hibernians, Feyenoord, Górnik Zabrze and 1. FC Nürnberg made their debut in the competition, while Juventus, Panathinaikos and Fredrikstad returned to the tournament from previous edition.
Servette and Partizan returned to the tournament for the first time since 1956, while Spora Luxembourg and Vasas returned to the competition after five and four years, respectively.
All participants were their respective associations champions, except for Boldklubben 1913, IFK Göteborg and Sporting CP. The first two were leading their respective leagues in spring, but finished third in autumn of 1961.
| Austria Wien (1st) | Standard Liège (1st) | CDNA Sofia (1st) | Dukla Prague (1st) |
| Boldklubben 1913 (3rd) | Vorwärts Berlin (1st) | Tottenham Hotspur (1st) | Valkeakosken Haka (1st) |
| Monaco (1st) | Panathinaikos (1st) | Vasas (1st) | Juventus (1st) |
| Spora Luxembourg (1st) | Hibernians (1st) | Feyenoord (1st) | Linfield (1st) |
| Fredrikstad (1st) | Górnik Zabrze (1st) | Benfica (1st) | Sporting CP (2nd) |
| Drumcondra (1st) | Steaua București (1st) | Rangers (1st) | Real Madrid (1st) |
| IFK Göteborg (3rd) | Servette (1st) | Fenerbahçe (1st) | 1. FC Nürnberg (1st) |
| Partizan (1st) |

## Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 4 July 1961. As title holders, Benfica received a bye, and the remaining 28 teams were grouped geographically into two pots. The first team drawn in each pot also received a bye, while the remaining clubs would play the first round in September.
| | Pot 1 Northern Europe | Pot 2 Southern Europe |
| Drawn | Northern Ireland England West Germany East Germany Poland Norway Sweden Denmark Netherlands France Republic of Ireland Belgium Luxembourg Scotland | Spain Portugal Switzerland Austria Romania Bulgaria Greece Czechoslovakia Hungary Yugoslavia Italy Malta |
| Byes | Valkeakosken Haka | Fenerbahçe |
The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Steaua București | 0–2 | Austria Wien | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 9–1 | Drumcondra | 5–0 | 4–1 |
| Servette | 7–1 | Hibernians | 5–0 | 2–1 |
| CDNA Sofia | 5–6 | Dukla Prague | 4–4 | 1–2 |
| IFK Göteborg | 2–11 | Feyenoord | 0–3 | 2–8 |
| Górnik Zabrze | 5–10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4–2 | 1–8 |
| Standard Liège | 4–1 | Fredrikstad | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Vorwärts Berlin | 3–0 | Linfield | 3–0 | – |
| Monaco | 4–6 | Rangers | 2–3 | 2–3 |
| Sporting CP | 1–3 | Partizan | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Panathinaikos | 2–3 | Juventus | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Spora Luxembourg | 2–15 | Boldklubben 1913 | 0–6 | 2–9 |
| Vasas | 1–5 | Real Madrid | 0–2 | 1–3 |

### Second leg

Rangers won 6–4 on aggregate.
Dukla Prague won 6–5 on aggregate.
Feyenoord won 11–2 on aggregate.
1. FC Nürnberg won 9–1 on aggregate.
Boldklubben 1913 won 15–2 on aggregate.
Partizan won 3–1 on aggregate.
Standard Liège won 4–1 on aggregate.
Real Madrid won 5–1 on aggregate.
Servette won 7–1 on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur won 10–5 on aggregate.
Juventus won 3–2 on aggregate.
Austria Wien won 2–0 on aggregate.
Vorwärts Berlin won 3–0 on aggregate.

## Bracket

| First round | First round | First round | First round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | |
| Fenerbahçe | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Benfica | 1 | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| Austria Wien | 1 | 1 | 2 | Benfica | 1 | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| Benfica | 1 | 5 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Benfica | 1 | 5 | 6 | | | | | Benfica | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | |
| Servette | 4 | 0 | 4 | | | | | | | | | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 2 | 3 | | |
| Dukla Prague | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dukla Prague | 3 | 2 | 5 | Dukla Prague | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Feyenoord | 1 | 1 | 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | Benfica | 5 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Real Madrid | 3 | |
| Partizan | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Real Madrid | 3 |
| Juventus | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Juventus | 2 | 5 | 7 | Juventus | 0 | 1 | 1 (1) | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Real Madrid | 1 | 0 | 1 (3) | | | | | | | | |
| Boldklubben 1913 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Real Madrid | 1 | 0 | 1 (3) | | | | | | | | |
| Real Madrid | 3 | 9 | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Real Madrid | 3 | 9 | 12 | | | | | Real Madrid | 4 | 2 | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Standard Liège | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | |
| Standard Liège | 5 | 2 | 7 | | | | | | | | | Standard Liège | 0 | 0 | 0 | | |
| Valkeakosken Haka | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Valkeakosken Haka | 1 | 0 | 1 | Standard Liège | 4 | 0 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Rangers | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Vorwärts Berlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | Rangers | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Rangers | 2 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Fenerbahçe | 1–3 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Austria Wien | 2–6 | Benfica | 1–1 | 1–5 |
| Servette | 4–5 | Dukla Prague | 4–3 | 0–2 |
| Feyenoord | 2–4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Boldklubben 1913 | 0–12 | Real Madrid | 0–3 | 0–9 |
| Partizan | 1–7 | Juventus | 1–2 | 0–5 |
| Standard Liège | 7–1 | Valkeakosken Haka | 5–1 | 2–0 |
| Vorwärts Berlin | 2–6 | Rangers | 1–2 | 1–4 |

### Second leg

Real Madrid won 12–0 on aggregate.
Standard Liège won 7–1 on aggregate.
Benfica won 6–2 on aggregate.
Juventus won 7–1 on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur won 4–2 on aggregate.
Dukla Prague won 5–4 on aggregate.
Rangers won 6–2 on aggregate.
1. FC Nürnberg won 3–1 on aggregate.

## Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Play-off |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 3–7 | Benfica | 3–1 | 0–6 |
| Dukla Prague | 2–4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | 1–4 |
| Juventus | 1–1 | Real Madrid | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Standard Liège | 4–3 | Rangers | 4–1 | 0–2 |

### Second leg

Standard Liège won 4–3 on aggregate.
Juventus 1–1 Real Madrid on aggregate; play-off needed.
Benfica won 7–3 on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur won 4–2 on aggregate.

### Play-off

Real Madrid won 3–1 in play-off.

## Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Benfica | 4–3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Real Madrid | 6–0 | Standard Liège | 4–0 | 2–0 |

### Second leg

Benfica won 4–3 on aggregate.
Real Madrid won 6–0 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

The top scorers from the 1961–62 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows:
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Heinz Strehl | 1. FC Nürnberg | 8 |
| 2 | Ferenc Puskás | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 2 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 2 | Justo Tejada | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 5 | José Águas | Benfica | 6 |
| 5 | Roger Claessen | Standard Liège | 6 |
| 5 | Bent Løfqvist | Boldklubben 1913 | 6 |
| 5 | Bobby Smith | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
| 9 | Eusébio | Benfica | 5 |
| 9 | Rudolf Kučera | Dukla Prague | 5 |