The season
The 1992/93 competition used the format we call “knockouts, then two groups”. Two knockout rounds, then two groups of four whose winners met in the final. 32 clubs from 32 countries took part, and Marseille won it, beating AC Milan in the final.
By our squad ratings, AC Milan had the strongest squad in the field, with a best eleven averaging 85. Marseille were the third strongest squad: among the favourites, if not the clear one. In the final they beat a AC Milan side we rate higher (85 to 82).
Every club came from a different country: 32 football nations in all, as the old champions-only European Cup intended.
The highest-rated player in the competition, by our estimates, was Frank Rijkaard of AC Milan, a CDM rated 88.
Thirty-two clubs played two knockout rounds over two legs. The eight survivors were split into two groups of four, playing each other home and away, and the two group winners met in the final. 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
- 2FC BarcelonaSpain84
- 3Olympique de MarseilleFrance82
- 4PSV EindhovenNetherlands80
- 5RangersScotland79
- 6FC PortoPortugal78
- 7VfB StuttgartGermany78
- 8Club BruggeBelgium77
The best players in the field
- 1Frank RijkaardAC Milan · CDM88
- 2Marco van BastenAC Milan · ST88
- 3Michael LaudrupFC Barcelona · CDM88
- 4Ronald KoemanFC Barcelona · CB88
- 5Ruud GullitAC Milan · CM88
- 6 RomárioPSV Eindhoven · ST86
- 7Hristo StoichkovFC Barcelona · ST86
- 8Didier DeschampsOlympique de Marseille · CM85
- 9Gerald VanenburgPSV Eindhoven · CDM85
- 10Abedi PeleOlympique de Marseille · CM84
The field
32 clubs took part, by country:
- Austria: FK Austria Wien
- Belgium: Club Brugge
- Bulgaria: PFC CSKA Sofia
- Cyprus: APOEL
- Czechoslovakia: ŠK Slovan Bratislava
- Denmark: Lyngby Boldklub
- England: Leeds United
- Finland: FC Kuusysi
- France: Olympique de Marseille
- Germany: VfB Stuttgart
- Greece: AEK Athens
- Hungary: Ferencvárosi TC
- Iceland: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur
- Israel: Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Italy: AC Milan
- Latvia: Skonto
- Lithuania: FK Žalgiris
- Luxembourg: Union Luxembourg
- Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven
- Northern Ireland: Glentoran
- Norway: Viking
- Poland: Lech Poznań
- Portugal: FC Porto
- Romania: FC Dinamo București
- Russia: PFC CSKA Moscow
- Scotland: Rangers
- Slovenia: NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005)
- Spain: FC Barcelona
- Sweden: IFK Göteborg
- Switzerland: FC Sion
- Turkey: Beşiktaş
- Ukraine: SC Tavriya Simferopol
Replay 1992/93 in Magic Nights
In Magic Nights you can take charge of any of these 32 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.