UEFA Europa League Winners

Five decades of competition has produced 31 Inter Cities Fairs Cup and UEFA Europa League winners. However, there are only a handful of UEFA Europa League winners who have lifted the trophy on more than one occasion.

Juventus FC: 1977, 1990, 1993

Turin based Juventus are the most successful football club in Italy, with at least part of their prestige based on their three UEFA Europa League winners titles.

Juventus were one of the most successful clubs in a wave of Italian UEFA Europa League final appearances in the 1990’s which saw Italian clubs appear in nine finals, winning the UEFA Europa League on seven occasions.

Juventus’ success at the highest level of European club soccer during this era is somewhat unsurprising if you consider that the team featured several all-time greats including Roberto Baggio, Alessandro del Piero and Zinadine Zidane.

FC Barcelona: 1958, 1960, 1966

Barcelona were the team to beat in the earliest years of the competition – a period that saw Spanish clubs dominate. Barcelona won the UEFA Europa League three times under the original Inter Cities Fairs Cup format, a record that has since been equalled but never beaten.

Their cup winning team featured a number of great players, including the precocious talent of midfielder Luis Suárez. Barcelona’s most memorable moment as UEFA Europa League winners came in 1971 when they literally won the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, defeating holders Leeds United 2-1 at the Camp Nou and thereby earning the right to retain the trophy permanently.

Liverpool FC: 1973, 1976, 2001

Liverpool represent England football in the list of greatest UEFA Europa League winners with a record equalling three UEFA Europa League titles since 1973. Liverpool is also one of only three English clubs to have won the UEFA Europa League since the new format was adopted in 1971.

A brief look at the years in which Liverpool were UEFA Europa League winners will quickly tell you that two of these victories were earned in the years when Liverpool virtually ruled English and European football. In fact both of Liverpool’s UEFA Europa League triumphs in the 1970’s were achieved on top of domestic league titles in the same season. Kevin Keegan, one of the greatest English footballers of all time, scored goals in both UEFA Europa League victories.

In 2001 Liverpool marked their return to football glory with a 5-4 victory over Deportivo Alavés in one of the finest games in UEFA Europa League history. This victory also ended a 16 year long trophy drought for English clubs in UEFA Europa League competition.