The new format of the UEFA Champions League inaugurated in 1993 brought with it new challenges for teams accustomed to winning in Europe. It was no longer drawing two group stages, now it was going through direct elimination duels to access the title.
There, the semifinal instances have seen a large number of teams parade but not from many countries, since generally, the usual ones in these instances are usually a handful of clubs that have consolidated their history in these phases.
spain
The Iberian nation is the one who has its teams at the top when it comes to the semifinals. There are 35 games played in the anteroom of the final with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid as leaders. Other clubs such as Valencia or Villarreal have also stepped on these instances but not on a recurring basis.
England
The English have distributed their 28 semi-final games among more teams, specifically among the “Big Six” of the Premier League; Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, although it is City and Liverpool who have regularly reached this stage in recent years.
Germany
Germany barely manages 18 games in the semifinals, with Bayern Munich being the most common in this instance, although Borussia Dortmund or on one occasion Bayer Leverkusen who do not leave the Bavarians alone.
Italia
Despite the fact that in Italy there are clubs with historical weight such as Juventus, Milan, Inter or Napoli itself, they have barely achieved 16 semifinal matches. The Italians see in the Milan of the early 90’s their greatest boom in terms of titles.
Others
Other nations such as France (10), the Netherlands (5) or Portugal (2), have not managed to have long-term projects that allow them to reach the semifinals more times in the Champions League. Today, only the PSG of France has managed to sneak into these instances on a recurring basis.
–
