Bayern or Dortmund will win the trophy this year but Germany still has some catching up to do.
After a decade of the Champions League being dominated primarily by Barcelona and Premier League sides, praise has been given to the Bundesliga as their teams are set for an all German final in 2013.
Yet despite it being guaranteed that the prestigious trophy, previously known as the European Cup before its re-branding in 1992, will reside with either Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund come the end of the season, in total German sides are way behind their continental rivals.
As of 2012, Spain are the country with the most number of Champions League titles with fierce rivals Real Madrid and Barca sharing the cup 13 times – with nine in Madrid’s favour and four to the Catalans.
Although Barcelona have been the powerhouse in European football in recent years, it was in fact Los Blancos that dominated in the early years of the tournament; winning the first five trophies after the cup’s inauguration in 1955.
Next up is a tie between two nations as England and Italy have both triumphed 12 times in the tournament.
The individual leaders are AC Milan with seven and Liverpool with five, whilst Milan’s city rivals Inter have three trophies along with Manchester United.
The remaining victors from Italy are Juventus with two, whilst the English winners are more widely spread with two for Nottingham Forest and one apiece for Aston Villa and Chelsea.
After the big three, Germany are some way off in tied fourth place with six victories alongside the Netherlands.
Bayern are by far the most successful German side with four Champions League wins, with their opponents on 25 May this year having just the one trophy from 1997.
A statistic Jupp Heynckes’ men will be most certainly wanting to avoid is that of the most beaten finalist, which they will become if they lose to Dortmund – having fallen at the final hurdle on five previous occasions including last year against Chelsea and in 2010 against Inter.
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