1985–86 UEFA Cup — 15th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA
Real Madrid became the first club to successfully defend the UEFA Cup, winning the 1985–86 edition while English clubs served their first season of a Heysel-related ban.
Key Facts
- Season number
- 15th UEFA Cup season
- Winner
- Real Madrid (Spain)
- Runner-up
- Köln (West Germany)
- Aggregate score
- 5–3 to Real Madrid
- First leg venue
- Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid
- English clubs banned
- First of five seasons banned post-Heysel
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Heysel Stadium disaster of May 1985, UEFA imposed an indefinite ban on all English clubs from European competition. Meanwhile, Real Madrid entered as defending champions having won the 1984–85 UEFA Cup, seeking to become the first club to retain the trophy.
The 1985–86 UEFA Cup was the 15th edition of the competition. Real Madrid defeated West German club Köln over two legs — played at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid and the Olympiastadion in West Berlin — winning 5–3 on aggregate to claim back-to-back titles.
Real Madrid's consecutive UEFA Cup victories set a historic precedent as the first club to successfully defend the trophy, a record later matched only by Sevilla. English clubs remained absent from European football for five seasons, with the ban lifted ahead of the 1990–91 campaign.