Real Madrid was always going to have a special relationship with the European Cup when it won the very first one. It had a pretty easy run until the semi-finals where it had to see off a determined AC Milan side. The first final was in Paris and there Madrid was up against local side, Stade Reims. The French were up 2-0 after 10 minutes but Madrid fought back and was level at the half. Reims went up again but two goals saw them up and give Madrid a 4-3 victory.
The following year Real Madrid began the defence of its title with a tricky tie against Rapid Vienna. After winning the first leg 4-2, it lost the second one away 3-1. Had away goals been used, Madrid would have been out but a play-off was the rule and Madrid won that 2-0. In the semi-final, Real saw off Manchester United and met Italian side Fiorentina in the final. If Real didn't have enough of an advantage, the final would be at the Bernabeu in front of 120,000 fans. Raymond Kopa had played in the losing final the year before was now playing for Madrid. The switch worked well as two second half goals saw Madrid make it two years in a row.
It had little difficult making it three years in a row. It had scored 22 goals in six matches and now met a Milan side who was looking to stop the Spanish juggernaut. . The final was full of stars – Milan has Cesare Maldini, Nils Liedholm and Ernesto Grilo while Madrid had Alfredo Di Stefano and Kopa. After a scoreless first half, Milan went ahead. The side then traded three goals in five minutes to send it to extra time. There Francisco Gento scored the winner to hand Real its third straight title.
Trying to make it four on the trot, Real had a showdown with rivals Athletico Madrid in the semi-finals. The tie was all level 2-2 after two matches and again Real Madrid benefited from away goals not being in affect as a replay was needed to separate the two. Real won that 2-1 to face another showdown in the final with Stade de Reims. The final was in Stuttgart and not even World Cup hero Just Fontaine could help the French. Enrique Mateos scored after two minutes and Di Stefano doubled it just after half time.
Going for five in a row, Real took no prisoners and scored 24 goals in its first six matches. What would have pleased it immeasurably would have been the two 3-1 defeats of Barcelona. The final was in Hampden Park against Eintracht Frankfurt in front of a crowd of 135,000. Richard Kress opened the scoring for Frankfurt but from there it was all Madrid. Both Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas scored hat-tricks with Puskas scoing four goals in 25 minutes in the second half. With the score at 7-1, Frankfurt added two more to give the scoreline some respectability.
Real's run finally came to an end the following year and it was at the hands of Barcelona. A 2-2 draw in Madrid was followed by a 2-1 loss in Barcelona and the greatest reign in European football was over and would never be seen again.
The following year Madrid was back in the final and not even another Puskas hat-trick could help it. Benfica were the new kid on the block and looking for its second straight title. 20 year old Eusebio was a sensation and steered the Portuguese to its second straight title.
Next year the unthinkable happened when Real made a preliminary round exit at the hands of Anderlecht. It bounced back again and made it back to the final. 27 goals in eight matches put it back in the championship decider and again it went away empty-handed. Di Stefano and Puskas were now on the wrong side of 30 and no match for the younger more fleet footed generation. For the first time neither of them scored in the final.
Madrid fought back in 1965-66 and made it back to the final. On the way it defeated old nemesis' Anderlecht and Inter Milan. The final was against Partizan Belgrade and was played in Brussels. Madrid had new players like Pirri and Amancio Amara. He leveled the scores and then Fernando Serena fired home the winner to give Madrid its sixth title. It would be the last one for 32 years.
It would lose the 1981 final to Liverpool but that was a tiny oasis in a barren desert. Three times in the late 80s it made the final four, but it couldn't win through to another final.
This changed in 1998. It met Juventus in the final in Amsterdam. Real had stalwarts such as Fernarndo Hierro and Raul. Despite the firepower that both sides had it was a pretty dull match and Real won on the back of a Predrag Mijatović goal.
Its title defence was ended by Dynamo Kiev in the quarter finals.
The next year, Real got by Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds to play Valencia in the final. It was the first time two clubs from the same country met in the final. Valencia had done well to make it this far but were clearly out matched on this stage. Real won 3-0 to make it number 8.
Two years later it was number nine when it defeated Bayer Leverkusen in the final. The victory was notable for two reason. Firstly it defeated Barcelona in the semi-final, including a 2-0 away win at the Camp Nou; secondly the stunning goal from Zinedine Zidane in the final.
Since then Real had found it tough. In the last five years it has failed to make it past the first knockout stage. It will be back though. You can count on it for that.