Which Italian teams have won the Champions League the most?
By Euan Burns
Winning the Champions League is the pinnacle of any player's career from a club perspective and that is certainly the case for Italian teams.
Teams from Serie A have a rich history in the Champions League and while Italian football isn't as revered as it once was, they are certainly part of the furniture in Europe.
Despite so many big and historic teams hailing from Italy, only three have made it to the promised land and won the Champions League. They are Inter, AC Milan and Juventus, with the likes of Lazio, AS Roma and Napoli not managing it before.
Here's a look at the success of Italian teams in the Champions League and which sides have won it the most.
AC Milan's Champions League wins
The most successful Italian team in the Champions League is AC Milan by a long way.
The Rossoneri are also the second most successful side in the history of the Champions League, winning it a staggering seven times, second only to Real Madrid and their seemingly unassailable tally of 14.
It has, however, been a long time since Milan added to their number of wins, as they have not been on top since 2007.
So many wonderful players have performed in the Champions League for Milan over the years, such as Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Clarence Seedorf, Kaka, Pippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Nesta and many more.
Year | Final opponent | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
1963 | Benfica | 2-1 | Wembley, London |
1969 | Ajax | 4-1 | Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid |
1989 | Steaua Bucharest | 4-0 | Camp Nou, Barcelona |
1990 | Benfica | 1-0 | Praterstadion, Vienna |
1994 | Barcelona | 4-0 | Olympic Stadium, Athens |
2003 | Juventus | 0-0 (3-2 win on pens) | Old Trafford, Manchester |
2007 | Liverpool | 2-1 | Olympic Stadium, Athens |
Inter's Champions League wins
Inter are the second most successful team from Italy in the Champions League but are much further behind their city rivals than they would like to be. The Nerazzurri have been champions of Europe three times and are the most recent Serie A side to lift the famous trophy.
They are also the only team Italian team to do the treble. They achieved this in 2010 under the guidance of Jose Mourinho with a final victory against Bayern Munich when Diego Milito scored twice.
It was a team built for short-term success and they managed to win Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia all in one campaign.
Year | Final opponent | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
1964 | Real Madrid | 3-1 | Praterstadion, Vienna |
1965 | Benfica | 1-0 | San Siro, Milan |
2010 | Bayern Munich | 2-0 | Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid |
Juventus' Champions League wins
Despite being the most successful domestic Italian club and generally the most supported in the land, Juventus are behind Milan and Inter when it comes to Champions League success.
Things could be very different in this regard; Juventus have got a terrible track record of losing Champions League finals. The Bianconeri have only been champions of Europe twice, meaning Milan have won it more times than Inter and Juve combined. It is also now 27 years since Juventus last won the Champions League.
Year | Opponent | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Liverpool | 1-0 | Heysel Stadium, Brussels |
1996 | Ajax | 1-1 (4-2 on pens) | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |
Defeats in Champions League finals for Italian teams
Between AC Milan, Inter and Juventus, Italian teams have been Champions League winners on 12 different occasions. Had there been a 100% success record, that figure could have been doubled.
Finals have been lost by Italian teams in the Champions League 16 times, but one of them saw two Italian teams face each other so one had to lose. Fiorentina, AS Roma and Sampdoria have all lost one Champions League final each.
Every defeat for an Italian team in Champions League finals
Team | Number of defeats | Years |
|---|---|---|
Juventus | 7 | 1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2015, 2017 |
AC Milan | 4 | 1958, 1993, 1995, 2005 |
Inter | 2 | 1967, 1972 |
Sampdoria | 1 | 1992 |
Fiorentina | 1 | 1984 |
AS Roma | 1 | 1957 |
READ MORE BUILD-UP TO MAN CITY VS INTER IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
manual