1957–58 European Cup
The 1957–58 European Cup was the third season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat AC Milan 3–2 in the final, in extra time following a 2–2 draw after 90 minutes. This was Real Madrid's third European Cup title in a row. However, the 1957–58 season was marred by the air disaster in Munich, when eight Manchester United players died on their way home from Belgrade, after a 3–3 draw in the quarter-final second leg with Red Star Belgrade. The English champions were ultimately defeated in the semi-finals by the eventual runners-up, Milan of Italy, after being highly touted to win the competition and dominate European football for many years like Real Madrid before them, with the "Busby Babes" having an average age of only 22.
The Heysel Stadium in Brussels hosted the final. | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 September 1957 – 28 May 1958 |
| Teams | 24 (from 23 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Real Madrid (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | AC Milan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 48 |
| Goals scored | 189 (3.94 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,883,587 (39,241 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) 10 goals |
It was the first time that teams from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and East Germany participated, while Turkey could not send any club, since the Turkish FA failed to register Beşiktaş for the draw in time. Sevilla was invited despite having been runners-up in Spain the year before, as Spanish champions Real Madrid had already qualified as holders; the two Spanish sides met in the quarter-finals, the first time two sides from the same country played against each other in the competition.