1956–57 European Cup

2nd season of the UEFA club football tournamentTemplate:SHORTDESC:2nd season of the UEFA club football tournament
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International football competitionTemplate:SHORTDESC:International football competition
The **1956–57 European Cup** was the second season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won for the second time by Real Madrid, who beat Fiorentina 2–0 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, on 30 May 1957.

After the great success of the first tournament, six new nations entered representatives: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, Luxembourg, Romania and Turkey. The Football League had not allowed Chelsea to enter in 1955, and continued its stance on the European Cup as it being a "distraction". However, against the wishes of the FA, Manchester United entered the competition as English champions, becoming the first English team to play in Europe. An additional place was awarded to third in 1955–56 La Liga Real Madrid as the competition's reigning champions, occupying the free berth left by Saar after its reunification with West Germany. As a result, Spain became the first association to provide two representatives to the premier European competition and it was only for Manchester United, who had won against Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals, that first ever meeting between two sides from the same country in the competition didn't happen.

This edition was the first to utilize play-off matches, after two legs were not enough to decide which team advances to the next round on three occasions: Borussia Dortmund won 7–0 against Spora Luxembourg in the preliminary round, while Nice and Real Madrid won 3–1 and 2–1, respectively, against Rangers and Rapid Wien in the first round.

## Teams

A total of 22 teams participated in the competition.

AGF Aarhus, Anderlecht, Rapid Wien and Real Madrid returned to the competition, after participating in the inaugural edition.

Galatasaray was the only team, other than the title holder, who didn't enter as a national association champion, as Süper Lig was not founded until 1959.

1. ↑ There was no top-level Turkish champion in the period from 1952 to 1955.

## Preliminary round

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1956–57 European Cup is located in EuropeAnderlechtRed StarHonvédCWKS WarsawAGFRapidReal MadridSlovanNicePortoAthleticGalatasarayDortmundMan. UnitedDinamoSporaRangersFiorentinaIFK NorrköpingGrasshopperCDNA SofiaRapid JC
The draw for the preliminary round took place in UEFA headquarters in Paris on 29 June 1956. The 21 challengers of Real Madrid were grouped geographically into three pots. The first four teams drawn in each pot would play the preliminary round in September, while the remaining three clubs received byes.

The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 1 October.

### Second leg

*Borussia Dortmund 5–5 Spora Luxembourg on aggregate; play-off needed.*

*Slovan UNV Bratislava won 4–2 on aggregate.*

*Manchester United won 12–0 on aggregate.*

*Athletic Bilbao won 5–3 on aggregate.*

*Nice won 6–2 on aggregate.*

*Dinamo București won 4–3 on aggregate.*

## First round

### Second leg

*Red Star Belgrade won 6–3 on aggregate.*

*Nice 3–3 Rangers on aggregate; play-off needed.*

*Real Madrid 5–5 Rapid Wien on aggregate; play-off needed.*

*Manchester United won 3–2 on aggregate.*

*Fiorentina won 2–1 on aggregate.*

*Grasshopper won 2–1 on aggregate.*

*Athletic Bilbao won 6–5 on aggregate.*

*CDNA Sofia won 10–4 on aggregate.*

## Quarter-finals

### Second leg

*Manchester United won 6–5 on aggregate.*

*Red Star Belgrade won 4–3 on aggregate.*

*Fiorentina won 5–3 on aggregate.*

*Real Madrid won 6–2 on aggregate.*

## Semi-finals

### Second leg

*Fiorentina won 1–0 on aggregate.*

*Real Madrid won 5–3 on aggregate.*

## Top scorers

The top scorers from the 1956–57 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows:

## Notes

1. ↑ It is assumed this match was played in Munich as a result of Swiss protests regarding the outcome of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 which also led to them boycotting the 1956 Olympic Games.
2. ↑ Played at Heysel Stadium, Brussels due to Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

## References

1. ↑ Woodward, Hamish (2021-06-20). Why are Manchester United Called the Red Devils? (en-US).
2. ↑ *Corriere dello Sport*, June 30, 1956.
3. ↑ Melbourne/Stockholm 1956 (All facts) Olympic.org
4. ↑ "Real Madrid vs. Fiorentina" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
5. ↑ 1956/57 European Champion Clubs' Cup - Tournament phase - Goals scored
6. ↑ 1956/57 European Champion Clubs' Cup - Qualifying phase - Goals scored

## External links

* 1956–57 All matches – season at UEFA website
* All scorers 1956–57 European Cup (excluding qualifying round) according to protocols UEFA + all scorers qualifying round
* European Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
* 1956-57 European Cup – results and line-ups (archive)

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* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria '56 '57
* Cyprus
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* England
* Faroe Islands '56 '57
* Finland '56 '57
* France
* East Germany '56 '57
* West Germany (Finals)
* Greece
* Hungary '56 '57
* Iceland '56 '57
* Israel
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* Luxembourg
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* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Poland '56 '57
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
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* Scotland
* Soviet Union '56 '57
* Spain
* Sweden
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 Domestic cups
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Denmark
* England
* Faroe Islands '56 '57
* Finland '56 '57
* France
* East Germany '56 '57
* West Germany
* Greece
* Liechtenstein
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '56 '57
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Scotland
* Soviet Union '57
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Wales

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