The season
The 1990/91 competition used the format we call “straight knockout”. Two-legged knockout rounds all the way to a one-match final. 31 clubs from 30 countries took part, and Red Star Belgrade won it, beating Marseille in the final.
By our squad ratings, AC Milan had the strongest squad in the field, with a best eleven averaging 85. Red Star Belgrade had only the sixth strongest squad of 31, so their title was a genuine upset on paper. In the final they beat a Marseille side we rate higher (82 to 79).
Italy sent the most clubs, 2. 29 of the 30 nations in the field had a single representative.
The highest-rated player in the competition, by our estimates, was Diego Maradona of SSC Napoli, a ST rated 91.
There was no group stage at all. Every round was played over two legs, home and away, and one bad night was enough to go out. The final was a single match. Ties level on aggregate were decided by away goals, then extra time and penalties.
The strongest squads
Our rating for each club is the average of its best eleven players that season, on the scale the game uses.
- 1AC MilanItaly85
- 2Olympique de MarseilleFrance82
- 3Real MadridSpain81
- 4SSC NapoliItaly80
- 5FC Bayern MunichWest Germany79
- 6Red Star BelgradeYugoslavia79
- 7Club BruggeBelgium78
- 8FC PortoPortugal78
The best players in the field
- 1Diego MaradonaSSC Napoli · ST91
- 2Carlo AncelottiAC Milan · CDM89
- 3Frank RijkaardAC Milan · CDM88
- 4Ruud GullitAC Milan · CM88
- 5 CarecaSSC Napoli · ST85
- 6Gheorghe HagiReal Madrid · LM85
- 7Carlos MozerOlympique de Marseille · CB84
- 8Dragan StojkovićOlympique de Marseille · CDM84
- 9Jean-Pierre PapinOlympique de Marseille · RW84
- 10 MíchelReal Madrid · CM83
The field
31 clubs took part, by country:
- Italy: AC Milan, SSC Napoli
- Albania: FK Dinamo Tirana
- Austria: FC Swarovski Tirol
- Belgium: Club Brugge
- Bulgaria: PFC CSKA Sofia
- Cyprus: APOEL
- Czechoslovakia: AC Sparta Prague
- Denmark: Odense Boldklub
- Finland: FC Kuusysi
- France: Olympique de Marseille
- Germany: Dynamo Dresden
- Greece: Panathinaikos
- Hungary: Újpest
- Iceland: Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar
- Luxembourg: Union Luxembourg
- Malta: Valletta
- Northern Ireland: Portadown
- Norway: Lillestrøm SK
- Poland: Lech Poznań
- Portugal: FC Porto
- Republic of Ireland: St Patrick's Athletic
- Romania: FC Dinamo București
- Scotland: Rangers
- Soviet Union: FC Spartak Moscow
- Spain: Real Madrid
- Sweden: Malmö FF
- Switzerland: Grasshopper Club Zürich
- Turkey: Beşiktaş
- West Germany: FC Bayern Munich
- Yugoslavia: Red Star Belgrade
Replay 1990/91 in Magic Nights
In Magic Nights you can take charge of any of these 31 clubs, with the squad they had that season, and play the competition in this exact format. Win it with the favourites, or try the hardest job in the game: lifting the trophy with a club from the bottom half of the field.