English clubs in European football

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English football clubs have entered European association football competitions (UEFA Champions League/European Cup, UEFA Cup/Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup) since 1955, when Birmingham City and London XI took part in the inaugural Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The European Cup had started in 1950 and had English teams entered (such as Wolves) it was most likely they would have won instead of Real Madrid. However, England was pioneers in establishing international competitions, with the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, which was won by West Auckland F.C. when they beat Juventus in 1909. English teams have participated every year in Europe, except for the years between 1985 and 1990, when, in the aftermath of the Heysel Stadium Disaster, all English clubs were banned from Europe by UEFA. Liverpool F.C., who had been playing at the Heysel Stadium against Juventus F.C. of Italy, were banned for eight years, until 1993. Several teams have managed to play in Europe while being outside the top flight, including more recently Millwall F.C. and Ipswich Town.

[edit] Who qualifies for Europe

Competition	Who Qualifies	Notes
UEFA Champions League	Club finishing 1st in the Premier League
	Club finishing 2nd in the Premier League
UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round	Club finishing 3rd in the Premier League
	Club finishing 4th in the Premier League	Ordinarily, the fourth-place Premier League club automatically earns a spot in the Champions League qualifying rounds. However, a fourth-place performance will not grant the fourth-place finisher a place in the Champions League competition should another, below-fourth-place-finishing Premier League club have also been the previous season's Champions League winner. This is because winners of the Champions League competition earn automatic qualification for the following season's Champions League event, regardless of their performance in their club league. Therefore, in such a case, the fourth-place Premier League club would qualify only for the UEFA Cup.
UEFA Cup	Club finishing 5th in the Premier League	If the fifth-placed club has already qualified for Europe through the FA Cup or League Cup, then the next-highest Premier League finishers get this place
	FA Cup winners	If the FA Cup winners have already qualified for the UEFA Champions League, by the UEFA Cup regulations (Regulation 1.04), the runners-up qualify for the spot; if they have also qualified for the Champions League, the next highest league finisher not already qualified for Europe takes the place.
	League Cup winners	If the League Cup winners have already qualified for Europe by a high Premier League finish, then the next highest-finishing Premier League club gets this place
	Any English club that wins the UEFA Cup and has not already qualified for the Champions League or UEFA Cup	By the UEFA Cup regulations (Regulation 1.06), this club's entry into the UEFA Cup will not be at the expense of any other entries to which its national federation is entitled
UEFA Cup First Qualifying Round	FA Premier League club with the best UEFA Fair Play ranking that has not already qualified for Europe, but only if England has the best fair play ranking or has a fair play score of above 8 and is one of the two countries drawn out of the hat
UEFA Intertoto Cup Final Round	Club finishing highest in the Premier League to have entered and not qualified for any other European competition	If the club finishes lower than four places below the last club to have qualified for the UEFA on the basis on league position, this place will be reallocated to another country; conversely, if another country does not take up their Intertoto Cup allocation, England may receive two places in the competition

[edit] European Champions

Champions League	UEFA Cup	Intertoto Cup
2007-08 - Manchester United F.C.	2000-01 - Liverpool F.C.	UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006 - Newcastle United F.C.
2004-05 - Liverpool F.C.	1983-84 - Tottenham Hotspur F.C.	UEFA Intertoto Cup 2002 - Fulham F.C.
1998-99 - Manchester United F.C.	1980-81 - Ipswich Town F.C.	UEFA Intertoto Cup 2001 - Aston Villa F.C.
1983-84 - Liverpool F.C.	1975-76 - Liverpool F.C.	UEFA Intertoto Cup 1999 - West Ham United F.C.
1981-82 - Aston Villa F.C.	1972-73 - Liverpool F.C.
1980-81 - Liverpool F.C.	1971-72 - Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
1979-80 - Nottingham Forest F.C.	1970-71 - Leeds United A.F.C.
1978-79 - Nottingham Forest F.C.	1969-70 - Arsenal F.C.
1977-78 - Liverpool F.C.	1968-69 - Newcastle United F.C.
1976-77 - Liverpool F.C.	1967-68 - Leeds United A.F.C.
1967-68 - Manchester United F.C.	1966-67 - Leeds United A.F.C.

[edit] Full European Record

Year	Teams	Performance
UEFA Champions League/European Cup
1955-56	None
1956-57	Manchester United F.C.	Semi-finals, lost 3-5 to Real Madrid (1-3 at Bernabéu, 2-2 at Old Trafford)
1957-58	Manchester United F.C.	Semi-finals, lost 2-5 to AC Milan (2-1 at Old Trafford, 0-4 at San Siro)
1958-59	Manchester United F.C.	Preliminary Rnd, lost 0-2 to BSC Young Boys at Wankdorf
	Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.	1st Rnd, lost 3-4 to FC Schalke 04 (2-2 at Molineux, 1-2 at Glückauf-Kampfbahn)
1959-60	Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.	Quarter-finals, lost 2-9 to FC Barcelona (0-4 at Camp Nou, 2-5 at Molineux)
1960-61	Burnley F.C.	Quarter-finals, lost 4-5 to Hamburger SV (3-1 at Turf Moor, 1-4 at Volksparkstadion)
1961-62	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.	Semi-finals, lost 3-4 to SL Benfica (1-3 at Estádio da Luz, 2-1 at White Hart Lane)
1962-63	Ipswich Town F.C.	1st Rnd, lost 2-4 to AC Milan (0-3 at San Siro, 2-1 at Portman Rd)
1963-64	Everton F.C.	Preliminary Rnd, lost 0-1 to Internazionale (0-0 at Goodison Park, 0-1 at San Siro
1964-65	Liverpool F.C.	Semi-finals, lost 3-4 to Internazionale (3-1 at Anfield, 0-3 at San Siro
1965-66	Manchester United F.C.	Semi-finals, lost 1-2 to FK Partizan (0-1 at Partizan, 1-0 at Old Trafford)
1966-67	Liverpool F.C.	2nd Rnd, lost 3-7 to Ajax Amsterdam (1-5 at De Meer, 2-2 at Anfield