A Throwback to the Inaugural Champions League Season: Why the Campaign Ended in Tremendous Controversy?

The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious club competition in European football. The battle to be crowned Europe's best rumbles on every season and it is one of the most eagerly anticipated football tournaments for players, managers, and fans, and, as this website proves, for sports bettors as well. The tournament is highly coveted by elite teams across Europe, and the competition has witnessed some unforgettable moments since its inception in 1992. With more than 30 years of history already in the bag for the UEFA Champions League, here we wind back the clock to the very start.

What happened during the inaugural season of the UEFA Champions League? Who lifted the trophy? Who were some of the stars and why did the campaign end in tremendous controversy?

European Cup Moves On

The 1992-93 UEFA Champions League was the 38th edition of the European Cup. It was just the first time that the competition had operated under the fancy new branding of the UEFA Champions League.

The reigning European champions at the time were Barcelona, who had beaten Serie A's Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup Final, which was, incidentally, Barcelona's first title. The format of the tournament was a lot different from what it is today.

1992/93 UEFA Champions League Format

The inaugural season of the Champions League followed the same format as the European Cup from the previous season. Before the main stage, there was a preliminary round, which put four teams through to the First Round to join 28 qualified teams, making up the 32 participating clubs.

However, there was no group stage like there is in the current format. All ties were straight knock-outs played over two legs. A playoff was required if any tie ended in a draw after the two legs and the away goals rule didn't decide a winner. There was one such play-off, with Leeds beating Stuttgart to progress.

Leeds, as the English champions following a victory in the 1991-92 Football League First Division were the only English team in the inaugural UEFA Champions League. Rangers were in the mix as the Scottish Champions.

This was all back when only the champions of domestic European leagues qualified for the competition, so it was a tougher, more select competition that was harder to win because it was harder to qualify for it.

The first ever UEFA Champions League goal was scored by Club Brugge's Daniel Amokachi, who netted a header in a 1-1 draw against CSKA Moscow.

The Second Round

Both Leeds and Rangers made it through the First Round, and they were then drawn together for the Second Round in the headline tie. The same format prevailed, ties being played over two legs.

It was a thrilling 'Battle of Britain' as the Champions League tie was dubbed, with Rangers winning 4-2 on aggregate, with a 2-1 victory posted in both legs.

The Group Stage

It was only after the first two rounds of the competition were done and dusted, that the format changed to a Group Stage. Eight teams were left standing at this point, split into two groups of four.

• Group A: Marseille, Rangers, Club Brugge, CSKA Moscow
• Group B: Milan, IFK Göteborg, Porto, PSV Eindhoven

Rangers challenged hard for supremacy in Group A. They posted a W2 D4 record from their six matches, but the damage was done in a 1-1 draw away at Club Brugge. Rangers finished in second place in the standings, just a point behind Marseille.

In Group B, Milan blitzed their way to a perfect six wins from six played. They scored eleven goals and conceded only one as the rest of the competition in the section was just blown away.

The Inaugural Champions League Final

So the stage was set for Marseille vs AC Milan as the first UEFA Champions League Final. There was to be an upset in the match however which was played at the Olympiastadion in Munich on 26 May 1993.

The Italians were the defending champions and had a star-studded squad featuring Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Marco van Basten, and Ruud Gullit with their head coach at the time being Fabio Capello.

However, a first-half goal from Marseille's Basile Boli settled the match as AC Milan just couldn't find a way through the defence of the French side. The Marseille team included some big names as well like Marcel Desailly, Fabien Barthez, Rudi Voller, and captain Didier Deschamps.

The Stunning Controversy

There was a big fallout after that inaugural Champions League Final. With a swathe of doping allegations against several Marseille players including Marcel Desailly, Chris Waddle and Tony Cascarino, an issue which to this day has been unsettled and therefore an air of controversy does reign over Marseille's success.

Marseille and their club president at the time Bernard Tapie were also accused of bribing Valenciennes to lose a league match against them so that Marseille could rest their key players ahead of that UEFA Champions League Final.

Marseille was found guilty, punished with relegation from the French top flight, and kicked out of Europe for a season. But their European title stood and to this day, they remain the only French side to have won the UEFA Champions League.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)