Real Madrid finally won the Champions League in 2014, defeating Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the final. Between 1999 and 2002, the two teams crossed paths three times. This time would go on to define the strong rivalry that exists between the two teams today.
In those three games, each team scored once but neither could claim victory. In the first match, held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, Real Madrid defeated Atletico 2-1. In the second match, also held at the Stade de France, this time in a repeat of the previous game's result, Jose Mourinho's side came out on top again by a score of 2-1. The final match took place at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid and ended in a 1-1 draw. That left the tournament level at 3 goals apiece and required extra time to be played. In the end, it was Ronaldo who scored the only goal of the game to give his side victory.
Madrid went on to claim their third title in four years after losing only one game during the entire campaign. They beat Chelsea 4-3 on penalties after the match had finished 0-0 after 120 minutes of play.
It is worth mentioning that all of these titles were achieved while playing under the same manager: Manuel Pellegrini.
In the 2016 final, the same two clubs faced off again. In the year 2000, two Spanish teams from separate cities competed in the final. Here is a list of every UEFA Champions League champion from the competition's start in 1955.
Spain has never won the tournament. The last Spanish team to win the Champions League was Barcelona who beat AC Milan 4-1 on aggregate in the final in 1995. Barça went on to win the cup title a record fifth time.
For Portugal, it was 2004. Porto defeated Chelsea 3-1 on aggregate in the final. For France, it was 1998 and Marseille beat Juventus 4-3 on penalties after the match ended 1-1 after extra time. And for England, it was London clubs Liverpool and Manchester United meeting in the final. Liverpool won 2-1.
Portugal, Spain, and France have all been finalists multiple times without winning the trophy. Only Italy has done that (and he's winning this year!).
The last European club team to win the treble (play offs + league title) was Bayern Munich in 2013-14. Before that, Italian clubs had done it twice: Juventus in 1996-97 and Milan in 2003-04.
Since the introduction of the Champions League in 1955, only Juventus has achieved this feat.
Real Madrid continues to make history, becoming the first club to win 13 European trophies after winning the 2018 UEFA Champions League Finals and the Fifa Club World Cup. Real Madrid is one of the few football clubs in the world whose members own and manage the club. The club was founded on 5 December 1902 by a group of Spanish athletes and students from the Royal College of Science in Madrid who wanted to play football. The original name of the club was Athletic Club de Madrid but they changed it to Real Madrid when they realized that another club named Athletic had already been founded in 1877.
Madrid is the capital city of Spain and has become a major centre for sports and entertainment. It is also the most popular football (soccer) city in Spain with a league of its own as well as national teams that can claim some of the greatest players of all time like Francisco "Paco" Ramalho, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Raul, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, and Karim Benzema.
Real Madrid has won more titles than any other club in Europe, including the current UEFA Champions League title. The club has also won the La Liga title ten times, the Copa del Rey nine times, the Supercopa de España seven times, the UEFA Cup/Europa League four times, and the Intercontinental Cup once.
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