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Have a look at Real Madrid or Barcelona's 2018-19 Champions League shirts. There is a striking similarity between them.
No, it's not about the color. Neither it's about the kit manufacturer nor the shirt sponsor. It has to do something with the left sleeve badge. The badge carries the logo of the Champions League Trophy along with a number inscribed in it. So what is it? It's the 'Uefa Badge of Honour'; commonly known as 'Multiple Winners Badge'.
The badge was introduced by UEFA before the start the of 2000-01 Champions League season. It was meant to recognize and honor the most successful clubs in Europe. The number within the badge indicates the total number of European titles won by the club.
How to earn the badge?
UEFA awards the badge to those clubs who meet either of the two criteria:
1.) The club must have won the European Cups/Champions Leagues at least five times.
2.) The club must have won the European Cups/Champions Leagues on three consecutive occasions.
As of today, only seven clubs have achieved this feat. They are Sevilla FC, FC Barcelona, Liverpool FC, AFC Ajax, FC Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and Real Madrid CF.
Let us look at the seven clubs who have won the UEFA Badge of Honour.
#7 Sevilla FC
Sevilla FC is the latest club to earn the 'Uefa Badge of Honour'. They received their badge in 2016 after winning their fifth Europa League Title. They overcame Liverpool 3-1 in the final, courtesy of a 3-1 win.
Having already won the title in 2013-14 and 2014-15, it was the club's third consecutive triumph in Europe's second-tier club competition.
The road to the badge
2005-06 UEFA Europa League
2006-07 UEFA Europa League
2013-14 UEFA Europa League
2014-15 UEFA Europa League
2015-16 UEFA Europa League
#6 FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona is the latest 'big club' to join this elite group. The club was honored by UEFA in 2015, after their triumph in the Champions League.
In the final in Berlin, Barcelona defeated Juventus by a score of 3-1. It was the club's fifth continental title. By winning the Champions League, they completed a historic second treble; a feat yet unmatched by any club in Europe.
Pep Guardiola's all-conquering side had completed their first treble in the 2008-09 season. They swept aside everyone in their way to a record sextuple that season. They won all the six competitions in which they entered. The 2008-12 Barcelona side is known as one of the greatest club sides to play the game.
The road to the badge
1991-92 European Cup
2005-06 UEFA Champions League
2008-09 UEFA Champions League
2010-11 UEFA Champions League
2014-15 UEFA Champions League
#5 Liverpool FC
By winning their fifth Champions League title in 2004-05, Liverpool earned the right to wear the 'Uefa Badge of Honour'. Liverpool are a historic club and have won four of their five titles before the turn of the century.
The 2005 Champions League final is considered to be one of the best matches in the tournament's history. In that game, AC Milan led 3-0 at half time. Liverpool's defence was in shambles. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Liverpool's positive approach changed the outlook of the game. They overcame a three-goal deficit and snatched the trophy from AC Milan's hands; thereby prevailing through penalties after the match ended 3-3 in extra time.
The road to the badge
1976-77 European Cup
1977-78 European Cup
1980-81 European Cup
1981-84 European Cup
2004-05 UEFA Champions League
#4 AFC Ajax
AFC Ajax is one of the most popular European clubs. They were world beaters in the early 1970s and won three consecutive European Cups from 1971-73. It was they who implemented the idea of 'total football' on the global scene.
Their style of play quickly became the talk of the town. Ajax's success in Europe was replicated on the biggest stage of football; the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The Dutch team was comprised mostly of Ajax players including their influential captain Johan Cruyff, Ruud Krol, Johnny Rep and so on. They dominated the entire tournament but fell to West Germany in the final. Later, they added a fourth title in 1995 after beating defending champions AC Milan 1-0 in the final.
The road to the badge
1970-71 European Cup
1971-72 European Cup
1972-73 European Cup
1994-95 UEFA Champions League
#3 FC Bayern Munich
Following the footsteps of AFC Ajax, FC Bayern Munich won three straight European Cups from 1974-76. After that, they would go on to wait until 2001 when they won their fourth title. Bayern suffered heartbreak in the 2012 Champions League final as Chelsea beat them 2-1 at their home turf, the Allianz Arena. Their fifth and latest title came in 2013 when they beat fellow Germans Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. The final was a tight affair and ended in a 2-1 win for Bayern.
Later, they would go on to win the DFB Pokal and complete their continental treble; the first in German football.
Like Ajax, they were awarded the Uefa Badge of Honour in the 2000-01 season.
The road to the badge
1973-74 European Cup
1974-75 European Cup
1975-76 European Cup
2000-01 UEFA Champions League
2012-13 UEFA Champions League
#2 AC Milan
AC Milan is one of the four clubs to have received the 'Uefa Badge of Honour' in the 2000-01 season. The great Milan of Arrigo Sacchi is known to have played some of the best football the world has ever seen. They completely dominated the game in the late eighties and early nineties. Having already won four European Cups, Milan claimed their fifth title in 1994 by thumping Barcelona 4-0 in the final and thus qualified for the prestigious badge.
Later a sixth title would be added in 2003 and the seventh one in 2007.
Their 2005 Champions League final loss to Liverpool remains one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.
The road to the badge
1962-63 European Cup
1968-69 European Cup
1988-89 European Cup
1989-90 European Cup
1993-94 UEFA Champions League
2002-03 UEFA Champions League
2006-07 UEFA Champions League
#1 Real Madrid CF
Real Madrid FC is one of the founding members of the European Cup. The club won the first five editions of the tournament between 1955 and 1960. In doing so, they successfully met both the criteria for claiming the 'Uefa Badge of Honour'.
They won their sixth title in 1998. After that, they had to wait for 32 years until they landed their seventh trophy by beating Juventus 1-0 in the final. They won their eighth and ninth titles in 2000 and 2002 respectively.
In the 2014 Champions League Final, Real defeated Atletico Madrid 4-1 and won La Decima, their tenth European crown.
In doing so, they would become the first and the only team to achieve this feat. In 2016, they would again beat Atletico Madrid to lift their eleventh title. In 2017, they won their twelfth title in scintillating fashion as they thrashed Juventus FC 4-1 in the final; thereby becoming the first club to retain the trophy in its current format.
However, they were not done yet. In 2018, they would again overcome a top side in the form of Liverpool to win their third consecutive and a thirteenth European trophy overall.
The road to the badge
1955-56 European Cup
1956-57 European Cup
1957-58 European Cup
1958-59 European Cup
1959-60 European Cup
1965-66 European Cup
1997-98 UEFA Champions League
1999-00 UEFA Champions League
2001-02 UEFA Champions League
2013-14 UEFA Champions League
2015-16 UEFA Champions League
2016-17 UEFA Champions League
2017-18 UEFA Champions League
