Final coming home to France

Historic occasion
"It will be 50 years since the European Champion Clubs' Cup started," said UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson after he approved the UEFA Executive Committee's decision to send the final back to Paris. "The first final was played in Paris - so this is a good reason for us to go back and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the most popular club competition in Europe."

Right enough
Which is appropriate, given that the competition was devised in the Paris offices of sports daily newspaper L'Equipe and its first final was held in the French capital on 13 June 1956. However, the side with the ardent local following, Stade de Reims Champagne, did not come out on top.

Reims thwarted
It was at the Parc des Princes, now home to Paris Saint-Germain FC, that Reims met their match in Europe in the form of Real Madrid CF. Goals from Michel Leblond and Jean Templin had put the French team 2-0 up within eleven minutes, but by half-time Afredo di Stéfano and Héctor Rial had levelled matters.

Rial's Madrid
Michel Hidalgo, who would lead France to glory in the Parc des Princes in the 1984 UEFA European Championship final, restored Reims's advantage seven minutes into the second half, but subsequent strikes from Marcos Alonso and Rial gave the Spanish side a 4-3 win to begin a run of five straight European Cup successes.

Bayern's turn
The final returned to the Parc des Princes in 1974/75, with FC Bayern München picking up the trophy after a 2-0 victory against Leeds United AFC. The two clubs cancelled each other out for much of the game before goals from Franz Roth and Gerd Müller won the day for Dettmar Cramer's men.

Liverpool glory
Just five years later, the stadium was given a third and final chance to stage the showpiece, but it was not such a memorable tie for Madrid. The Spanish team came up against a formidable Liverpool FC side who scored the only goal of the night through Alan Kennedy after 81 minutes.

Phenomenal goal
The same arena hosted the 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, witnessing the improbable long-range strike from Nayim that gave Real Zaragoza a 2-1 triumph against Arsenal FC, as well as the UEFA Cup final of 1997/98, which FC Internazionale Milano won 3-0 against S.S. Lazio.

France's delight
However, that was the last major footballing occasion at the Parc des Princes, as the Parisian focus shifted a few kilometres north of Paris to the 80,000-capacity Stade de France. This provided the venue for the national team's 3-0 FIFA World Cup final victory against Brazil on 12 July that year.

Valencia crushed
On 24 May 2000, the new ground was the setting for Paris's fourth European Cup final - and first since the tournament was revamped as the UEFA Champions League. Madrid made a third trip to Paris, overcoming fellow Spaniards Valencia CF 3-0 with goals from Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman and Raúl González.

Next champions
Now the stage is set for a fifth Paris final on 17 May 2006. Will Madrid be crowned kings of Europe in the city for a third time - or will a French side finally get the chance to avenge Reims's defeat back in 1956. Stay tuned to uefa.com for the next eight months and five days to find out.