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The UEFA Europa League, previously called the UEFA Cup, is an annual association football club competition organized by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions.
According to the official website of UEFA, the UEFA cup (Europa League) initially started as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on 18 April 1955. The first Fairs Cup involved teams from Barcelona, Basel, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Lausanne, Leipzig, London, Milan and Zagreb.
UEFA took over the competition from 1971 and the change of name was in admission of the fact that the competition was no longer associated with trade fairs. Tottenham Hotspur were the winners in the inaugural edition of the competition, with Wolverhampton Wanderers losing the final in a two-legged tie.
Previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League since the 2009-10 season following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the both the UEFA Cup and the Europa League are considered to be the same competition, with the change of name just being a rebranding move.
The competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament with all ties being two-legged, including the final. Starting with the 1997-98 season, the final became a one-off match, but all other ties continued to take place over two legs.
Here is the complete list of all the winners and runners-up of Europa League, from its inception to the recently concluded 2014-15 campaign:
| Season | Winner | Season | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-1972 | Tottenham Hotspur (England) | 1994-1995 | Parma (Italy) |
| 1972-1973 | Liverpool (England) | 1995-1996 | Bayern Munich (Germany) |
| 1973-1974 | Feyenoord (Netherlands) | 1996-1997 | Schalke 04 (Germany) |
| 1974-1975 | Borussia Mönchengladbach (West Germany) | 1997-1998 | Internazionale (Italy) |
| 1975-1976 | Liverpool (England) | 1998-1999 | Parma (Italy) |
| 1976-1977 | Juventus (Italy) | 1999-2000 | Galatasaray (Turkey) |
| 1977-1978 | PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) | 2000-01 | Liverpool (England) |
| 1978-1979 | Borussia Mönchengladbach (West Germany) | 2001-2002 | Feyenoord (Netherlands) |
| 1979-1980 | Eintracht Frankfurt (West Germany) | 2002-2003 | Porto (Portugal) |
| 1980-1981 | Ipswich Town (England) | 2003-2004 | Valencia (Spain) |
| 1981-1982 | IFK Goteborg (Sweden) | 2004-2005 | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 1982-1983 | Anderlecht (Belgium) | 2005-2006 | Sevilla (Spain) |
| 1983-1984 | Tottenham Hotspur (England) | 2006-2007 | Sevilla (Spain) |
| 1984-1985 | Real Madrid (Spain) | 2007-2008 | Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia) |
| 1985-1986 | Real Madrid (Spain) | 2008-2009 | Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) |
| 1986-1987 | IFK Goteborg (Sweden) | 2009-2010 | Atletico Madrid (Spain) |
| 1987-1988 | Bayer Leverkusen (West Germany) | 2010-2011 | Porto (England) |
| 1988-1989 | Napoli (Italy) | 2011-2012 | Atletico Madrid (Spain) |
| 1989-1990 | Juventus (Italy) | 2012-2013 | Chelsea (England) |
| 1990-1991 | Internazionale (Italy) | 2013-2014 | Sevilla (Spain) |
| 1991-1992 | Ajax (Netherlands) | 2014-2015 | Sevilla (Spain) |
| 1992-1993 | Juventus (Italy) | ||
| 1993-1994 | Internazionale (Italy) |
The competition was traditionally open to the runners-up of domestic leagues, but the competition was merged with UEFA's previous second-tier European competition, the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup, in 1999. Since then, the winners of domestic cup competitions have also entered the UEFA Cup.
Also, clubs eliminated in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and the third placed teams at the end of the group phase could go on to compete in the UEFA Cup. Also admitted to the competition are three Fair Play representatives and winners of some selected domestic League Cup competitions.
Teams who have won the most UEFA Europa League titles
Sevilla leads the list of teams who have won most number of Europa League titles. They have won 4 titles in total, all of them coming between 2006 and 2015. They are also the only team after Real Madrid to win back to back titles.
Juventus, Internazionale and Liverpool have all won three titles each, whereas, Borussia Monchengladbach, Tottenham Hotspur, Feyenoord, Real Madrid, IFK Goteborg, Parma, Porto and Atletico Madrid have two titles each in their kitty.
The UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League, as we call it now, has lost its attraction over the years due to the competitiveness and financial attraction of the UEFA Champions League. But, it still produces some great games of football while giving comparatively smaller teams a chance to test themselves at the European stage.
| Club | Country | Europa League wins |
| Sevilla | Spain | 4 |
| Juventus | Italy | 3 |
| Internazionale | Italy | 3 |
| Liverpool | England | 3 |
| Borussia Monchengladbach | Germany | 2 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | England | 2 |
| Feyenoord | Netherlands | 2 |
| Real Madrid | Spain | 2 |
| IFK Goteborg | Sweden | 2 |
| Parma | Italy | 2 |
| Porto | Portugal | 2 |
| Atletico Madrid | Spain | 2 |
Top 5 all-time Europa League (UEFA Cup) goal scorers
Legendary Swedish goalscorer Henrik Larsson leads the goal-scoring charts with 40 goals in 56 matches. He is known for his career with Scottish team Celtic, he played for clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United as well in his glittering career.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar occupies the second place, he has scored 33 goals in 40 matches and has every chance to become the greatest ever goal scorer of the tournament. He currently plays for Schalke, who are competing in the group stages of the Europa League this season.
Here’s a look at UEFA Europa League all-time goal scorers:
| No. | Player | Country | Goals | Appearances | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henrik Larsson | Sweden | 40 | 56 | Feyenoord (1), Celtic (27), Helsingborg (12) |
| 2 | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | Netherlands | 33 | 40 | Heerenveen (5), Ajax (11), Schalke04 (17) |
| 3 | Radamel Falcao | Colombia | 30 | 31 | Porto (17), Atletico Madrid (13) |
| 4 | Dieter Muller | West Germany | 29 | 36 | Koln (25), Stuttgart (1), Saarbrucken (3) |
| 5 | Shota Arveladze | Georgia | 27 | 44 | Dinamo Tbilisi (2), Trabzonspor (4), Ajax (10), Rangers (2), AZ (9) |
*statistics before 2015-16 season
