The 1959âÂÂ60 European Cup was the fifth season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7âÂÂ3 in the final at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on 18 May 1960, thanks to first ever hat-tricks scored in the final of the competition by Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano. It remains the record score and record attendance for the European Cup final. It was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive title, which is a feat that no other club has matched.
It was also the first time that a German team, Eintracht Frankfurt, reached the final. They were debutants in the competition and it wasn't until 1983âÂÂ84 European Cup and AS Roma that another debutants ended up on the losing side in the final.
The tournament saw the first participation by a Greek club, Greek Champions Olympiacos, who had withdrawn from the previous season after being already placed in the bracket. It meant that no new country entered the competition for the first time since tournament inception.
A total of 27 teams were placed in the competition bracket, but finally only 26 participated since Kuopion Palloseura had withdrawn before playing first game.
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 fourth edition of European Cup, with only Real Madrid having more appearances in the competition.
ÃÂervená Hviezda Bratislava, Boldklubben 1909, Kuopion Palloseura, Vorwärts Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt, Csepel, Sparta Rotterdam, Linfield, à ÂKS à Âódà º, Barcelona and Fenerbahçe made debut in the competition.
All entrants were their respective associations champions, except for Real Madrid and à ÂKS à Âódà º, the latter being 1958 champion and trailing by two points in spring of 1959.
The draw for the preliminary round took place in Cernobbio, Como, Italy, on 6 July 1959. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 26 teams were grouped geographically into two pots. The first two teams drawn in each pot also received byes, 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.
Wiener Sport-Club won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Fenerbahçe won 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Nice won 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
IFK Göteborg won 7âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Jeunesse Esch won 6âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Milan won 5âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Rangers won 7âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Barcelona won 8âÂÂ4 on aggregate.
ÃÂervená Hviezda Bratislava won 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Wolverhampton Wanderers won 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Wiener Sport-Club won 5âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Real Madrid won 12âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Sparta Rotterdam 4âÂÂ4 IFK Göteborg on aggregate; play-off needed.
Rangers won 5âÂÂ4 on aggregate.
Wolverhampton Wanderers won 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Eintracht Frankfurt won 5âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Barcelona won 7âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Fenerbahçe 3âÂÂ3 Nice on aggregate; play-off needed.
Sparta Rotterdam won the play-off 3âÂÂ1.
Nice won the play-off 5âÂÂ1.
Real Madrid won 6âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
Barcelona won 9âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Eintracht Frankfurt won 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Sparta Rotterdam 3âÂÂ3 Rangers on aggregate; play-off needed.
Rangers won the play-off 3âÂÂ2.
Real Madrid won 6âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
Eintracht Frankfurt won 12âÂÂ4 on aggregate.
The top scorers from the 1959âÂÂ60 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows: