5 lesser-known UEFA Champions League records

Lesser known records in the UEFA Champions League history (Image via Sportskeeda).
Lesser known records in the UEFA Champions League history (Image via Sportskeeda).

The UEFA Champions League is the holy grail of club football where the best in European football come across each other.

The tournament pits Europe's elite clubs as 32 teams face each other to win the coveted trophy. Such is the stature and financial muscle of the tournament that many European clubs can sustain their budgets by merely qualifying for the group stages.

While qualification can be the main objective for many, the elite clubs of Europe aim to win the UEFA Champions League. These clubs acquire the services of the best footballers from all across the planet. When a club wins the tournament, it's about bragging rights as well as financial gains.


5 UEFA Champions League record that many fans are not aware of

In such a competitive tournament like the UEFA Champions League, it's pretty natural that records will be made and broken. Some of these records are of the negative type that clubs or players will not like to have against their names.

Others are, of course, symbols of outstanding achievements that can fill any club or player with pride.

Here we look at some records from the UEFA Champions League that fans may not be completely aware of:


#5 Fastest Hat-trick - Bafetimbi Gomis (8 mins)

Former Olympique Lyonnais forward Befetimi Gomis.
Former Olympique Lyonnais forward Befetimi Gomis.

Scoring in the UEFA Champions League is special. Scoring a hat-trick in the tournament is downright brilliant, but it has to be a one-of-its-kind achievement when it takes just eight minutes to score three goals.

When Bafetimbi Gomis lined up for Lyon against Dinamo Zagreb, his focus would have been to score as many goals as possible. Gomis didn't disappoint himself or his club on December 7, 2011, when he netted four goals against Zagreb. Lyon ran riot and won 7-1 as Gomis scored the fastest hat-trick in the Champions League.

In the process, he became the only other player apart from Mike Newell to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick in less than 10 minutes. Almost a decade since Gomis' incredible display, his record still stands strong.


#4 Oldest player to appear in a match - Marco Ballotta (43 years 252 days)

Former Lazio keeper Marco Ballotta (Image via Flickr).
Former Lazio keeper Marco Ballotta (Image via Flickr).

Age is just a number, or so people say when it comes to everyday life. However, things are pretty different when it comes to football.

Once a player goes past a certain age, the physical depreciation is evident. Injuries become more frequent, and elements like pace and physicality begin withering. Hence, to imagine a footballer playing at the highest level at the ripe age of 43 is remarkable.

In the UEFA Champions League, Marco Ballotta accomplished the feat 14 years ago.

When the veteran Italian took to the pitch for Lazio against Real Madrid on December 11, 2007, he was 43 years and 252 days old. It has been over a decade and a half, but the record still stands strong.

It's also tough to see this record broken as no player has been seen enjoying such a long career in recent years.

#3 Highest points not to qualify to the knock outs - Napoli (2013-14) (12 points)

The group from which Napoli failed to go through (Image via Arsenal)
The group from which Napoli failed to go through (Image via Arsenal)

12 points are considered a safety net when securing the UEFA Champions League knockout phase.

Several clubs have proceeded to the knockout stages of the Champions League with less than 12 points as well. Napoli had hoped to emulate the same when they managed to grab 12 points from their group campaign in the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League.

Napoli were placed in a colloquial group of death when they were grouped with Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille. Marseille were the underperformers of that tournament as they failed to register even a single point.

Marseille's underperformance resulted in all the other clubs getting 12 points each. Napoli, unfortunately, had the worst goal difference of the three, which resulted in the Italian club finishing third. They were ousted from the UEFA Champions League and proceeded to the knockout rounds of the Europa League that season.


#2 Fastest own goal - Inigo Martinez (1:09)

Inigo Martinez scoring the hoorendous own goal against Manchester United. (Image via NY Daily)
Inigo Martinez scoring the hoorendous own goal against Manchester United. (Image via NY Daily)

Goals are always valuable in football matches, especially in a UEFA Champions League match. However, there is a subtle difference between the goal being into the opposition's net and one's own, for very few things can be worse than an own goal.

It gets even worse when a footballer holds the record for the fastest own goal in the history of the UEFA Champions League.

When Manchester United met Real Sociedad on October 23 in 2013, many fans would not have expected Real Sociedad to be much of a challenge. The Red Devils were widely expected to win the UEFA Champions League tie, which they duly delivered.

But it was courtesy of an own goal by an unfortunate Spanish defender. Inigo Martinez took just a minute and nine seconds to send the ball into the back of his net. To make matters even worse, it was the deciding factor of the match and, to date, remains the fastest own goal in the history of the UEFA Champions League.


#1 Most draws in a single UEFA Champions League campaign - AEK Athens (6)

AEK Athens managed to hold Real Madrid to two draws (image via Youtube/Zidane Video)
AEK Athens managed to hold Real Madrid to two draws (image via Youtube/Zidane Video)

Given the ultra-competitive nature of the UEFA Champions League, not every team can win all the matches. While the heavyweights aim to win as many games as possible, the weaker ones often become punching bags.

Still, AEK Athens maintained a delicate balance between winning and losing in their 2003-04 UEFA Champions League campaign.

AEK Athens was grouped with multiple UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid and Italian heavyweights Roma. It was expected that the Greek club would finish in the last position but they exceeded all expectations and ended the group stage without a single defeat.

However, the Greek club could not win a single game either as they completed the group stage with an incredible six draws out from as many games. No other club has been able to emulate this feat since AEK Athens.

This record seems like one that just happened in the UEFA Champions League, never to be repeated again.

Quick Links

Edited by Anantaajith Raghuraman