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The 1956 European Cup final was the inaugural final in the pan-European football competition, now known as the UEFA Champions League, to determine the winners of the 1955–56 European Cup. It was contested by Real Madrid of Spain and Stade de Reims of France, and played at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 13 June 1956 in front of 38,000 people. Real Madrid reached the final by beating Italian side AC Milan 5–4 on aggregate, whereas Reims beat Scottish club Hibernian 3–0 on aggregate. The match finished 4–3 to Real Madrid, who went on to record an unrivalled five consecutive European Cup titles. The match started brightly for Reims, with Michel Leblond and Jean Templin scoring to make it 2–0 inside 10 minutes, but by half-time, Madrid had levelled the scores through goals from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Héctor Rial. Reims took the lead again on 62 minutes through Michel Hidalgo, but when Marquitos and Rial scored in the 67th and 79th minutes respectively, Reims could no longer respond, winning Madrid the first ever European Cup/Champions League title, the first of five consecutive titles that they won.
Real Madrid entered the European Cup competition as the title winners of the 1954–55 La Liga. In the opening round, they were drawn against Swiss champions Servette. After they secured a 2–0 victory away from home in the first leg, they secured a 5–0 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium with Alfredo Di Stéfano scoring two goals in the victory. In the quarter-finals they were drawn against Yugoslavian side FK Partizan who had finished fifth in the previous season. In the opening leg at home, Heliodoro Castaño Pedrosa scored two goals as fellow goals from Francisco Gento and Alfredo Di Stéfano gave Real Madrid a four goal lead heading into the away leg in Belgrade. Partizan won second leg 3–0, but that was not enough to advance to the semi-finals. There, Real Madrid won the first home leg against AC Milan and with two-goal lead could afford a second leg 2–1 defeat at the San Siro.
Stade de Reims
Reims entered the European Cup competition as the title winners of the 1954–55 French Division 1. In the opening round, they were drawn against Danish champions AGF Aarhus. In the first away leg they secured a 2–0 victory thanks to a brace from Léon Glovacki, before a 2–2 draw at the Stade Auguste-Delaune. In the quarter-finals they were drawn against Hungarian side Vörös Lobogó who had finished 2nd in the previous season. In the opening leg at home, Michel Leblond scored two goals as fellow goals from Léon Glovacki and René Bliard gave Reims a two-goal lead heading into the away leg at Budapest. There, a tight match ensured a 4–4 draw, which saw Reims advance to the semi-finals, where they defeated Scottish Hibernian in both legs, reaching final undefeated.
Di Stéfano was a native Argentine that in October 1956 (four months following this match) became a naturalised citizen of Spain. He started playing on the Spain national football team in 1957.
Servette
AGF Aarhus
Partizan
Vörös Lobogó
Milan
Hibernian
Reims
14'
Real Madrid
