1960–61 European Cup

The 1960–61 European Cup was the sixth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Benfica, who beat Barcelona 3–2 in the final at Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, on 31 May 1961. It was the first time that five-time winners Real Madrid did not make it to the final, when they were knocked out by eventual first-time finalists Barcelona in the first round. Benfica was the first Portuguese team to reach the final and to win the tournament.

It was the first time that a team from Norway participated. However, again two teams withdrew from the competition after initial draw: Romanian CCA București was fearing a shameful elimination in front of the Czechoslovakians, while Northern Irish Glenavon and East German Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt were refused visas to the other's country. UEFA authorised neutral venues but Glenavon withdrew due to the higher cost and lower revenue.

Teams
A total of 28 teams were placed in the competition bracket, but finally only 26 participated since Romanian CCA București and Northern Irish Glenavon withdrew from the competition.

Spain continued to be represented by two clubs, with Real Madrid qualifying as title holders and Barcelona as Spanish champions. CDNA Sofia appeared in the fifth edition of European Cup, with only Real Madrid having more appearances in the competition.

Lierse, Spartak Hradec Králové, Burnley, IFK Helsingfors, Hamburg, Panathinaikos, Limerick, Újpesti Dózsa, Fredrikstad and IFK Malmö made their debut, while Rapid Wien, AGF, Stade Reims, Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, Juventus, Ajax, Legia Warsaw, Benfica, CCA București, Hearts and Beşiktaş returned to the competition.

All entrants were their respective associations champions, except for title holders Real Madrid, as well as Swedish IFK Malmö and Polish Legia Warsaw, who were leaders of their respective leagues in spring, but later finished second.

Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round took place at UEFA headquarters in Paris, France, on 7 July 1960. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 27 teams were grouped geographically into three pots. The first team drawn in each pot also received a bye, while the remaining clubs would play the preliminary round in September.

The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.


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Second leg
Benfica won 5–1 on aggregate.

Újpesti Dózsa won 5–1 on aggregate.

Young Boys won 9–2 on aggregate.

Fredrikstad won 4–3 on aggregate.

AGF won 3–1 on aggregate.

CDNA Sofia won 4–3 on aggregate.

IFK Malmö won 5–2 on aggregate.

Rapid Wien won 4–1 on aggregate.

Stade Reims won 11–1 on aggregate.

Barcelona won 5–0 on aggregate.

First round

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1 Rapid Wien beat Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt 1–0 in a play-off to qualify for the second round.

Second leg
Benfica won 7–4 on aggregate.

AGF won 4–0 on aggregate.

Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt 3–3 Rapid Wien on aggregate.

Rapid Wien won 1–0 in a play-off.

IFK Malmö won 2–1 on aggregate.

Barcelona won 4–3 on aggregate.

Spartak Hradec Králové won 1–0 on aggregate.

Burnley won 4–3 on aggregate.

Hamburg won 8–3 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

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Second leg
Benfica won 7–2 on aggregate.

Rapid Wien won 4–0 on aggregate.

Barcelona won 5–1 on aggregate.

Hamburg won 5–4 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

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1 Barcelona beat Hamburg 1–0 in a play-off.

Second leg
Game abandoned with two minutes to play due to crowd riots and pitch invasion.

Benfica won 4–1 on aggregate.

Hamburg 2–2 Barcelona on aggregate.

Barcelona won 1–0 in play-off.

Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1960–61 European Cup (including preliminary round) are as follows: