A brief history of the Champions League – and why it's so hard to win two in a row

After the World Cup final, it’s the biggest match in soccer. As Barcelona take on Juventus in Berlin, Scott Murray takes a look back on the competition’s 60 years

With the Guardian’s unstoppable rise to global dominance (NOTE: actual dominance may not be global. Or dominant) we at Guardian US thought we’d run a series of articles for newer football fans wishing to improve their knowledge of the game’s history and storylines, hopefully in a way that doesn’t patronise you to within an inch of your life. A warning: If you’re the kind of person that finds The Blizzard too populist this may not be the series for you.

It’s quite possible that a footballing genius from Argentina will dominate the Champions League final this weekend. ‘Twas ever thus. The current generation will tell you that Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is the greatest player in the history of Europe’s No 1 club competition, and perhaps the greatest player of all time. They may have a point. Then again, quite a few older folk will tell you how Alfredo Di Stefano would have had something to say about that.

Related: The miracle of Istanbul

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