The 1958âÂÂ59 European Cup was the fourth season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Reims 2âÂÂ0 in the final at Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, on 3 June 1959. This was Real Madrid's fourth European Cup title in a row. The two finalists also competed in the final of the first European Cup in 1956.
It was the first time that a team from Finland participated, while Turkey's representative returned to the competition in the presence of Beà Âiktaà Â. They were drawn against Olympiacos, but Greece's first entrants withdrew for political reasons before playing their first tie.
Also, Manchester United were invited to the competition following Munich air disaster in the previous season, but were not allowed to participate by the Football League, meaning that first walkovers took place in the UEFA organised competition. Had they played, England would be first nation in European Cup history to have more than one team in the competition, apart from title holder's association.
On road to winning the competition Real Madrid faced Atlético Madrid in the semi-finals â the first time a derby match was played in the competition.
A total of 28 teams were placed in the competition bracket, but finally only 26 participated.
Spain continued to be represented by its runners-up, as its champions Real Madrid had already qualified as holders. This was the first time that Rapid Wien and AGF Aarhus failed to qualify for the tournament, which made Real Madrid the only club to appear in all four editions of European Cup. Wiener Sport-Club, Standard Liège, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Helsingin Palloseura, Schalke 04, Drumcondra, Juventus, Jeunesse Esch, VV DOS, Ards, Polonia Bytom, Petrolul PloieÃÂti, Heart of Midlothian, Atlético Madrid, IFK Göteborg, Beà Âiktaà  and NK Dinamo Zagreb made their debut in the competition.
All entrants were their respective associations champions, except for KB, Manchester United, Polonia Bytom and Atlético Madrid.
The draw for the preliminary round took place in Cannes, France, on Wednesday, 2 July 1958. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 27 teams were grouped geographically into three pots. The first drawn team in each pot also received bye, while the remaining clubs would play the preliminary round in August, September and October.
The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.
Standard Liège won 6âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
KB 5âÂÂ5 Schalke 04 on aggregate; play-off needed.
Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt 4âÂÂ4 Petrolul PloieÃÂti on aggregate; play-off needed.
Jeunesse Esch 2âÂÂ2 IFK Göteborg on aggregate; play-off needed.
Atlético Madrid won 13âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Wiener Sport-Club won 8âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Dukla Prague won 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
MTK won 6âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Reims won 10âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Sporting CP won 6âÂÂ4 on aggregate.
Schalke 04 won play-off 3âÂÂ1.
Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt won play-off 4âÂÂ0.
IFK Göteborg won play-off 5âÂÂ1.
Standard Liège won 6âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt won 6âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Schalke 04 won 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Wiener Sport-Club won 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Atlético Madrid 2âÂÂ2 CDNA Sofia on aggregate; play-off needed.
Young Boys won 6âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Real Madrid won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Reims won 7âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Atlético Madrid won play-off 3âÂÂ1.
Atlético Madrid won 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Young Boys 2âÂÂ2 Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt on aggregate; play-off needed.
Reims won 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Real Madrid won 7âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Young Boys won play-off 2âÂÂ1.
Real Madrid 2âÂÂ2 Atlético Madrid on aggregate; play-off needed.
Reims won 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Real Madrid won play-off 2âÂÂ1.
The 1959 European Cup final was played on 3 June 1959 at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart, West Germany. Real Madrid's victory was their fourth consecutive title, maintaining their status as the only team to have won the competition. Reims were runners-up for a second time, having already lost to Real in the inaugural final in 1956.
The top scorers from the 1958âÂÂ59 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows: