1961–62 European Cup
The 1961–62 European Cup was the seventh season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Benfica for the second time in a row, beating Real Madrid 5–3 in the final at the Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, on 2 May 1962. This outcome meant that Real Madrid became the first team to win and lose European Cup final. Ferenc Puskás scored his second hat-trick in the final of the competition, and as of 2024, is the only player to achieve this feat, as well as being the only final hat-trick scorer to end up on the losing side.
Malta entered its champion for the first time this season.
Teams
A total of 29 teams participated in the competition.For the first time since European Cup inaugural season Spain was represented by only one team – ever present Real Madrid. Benfica qualified as title holders and since they were also Portuguese champions, runners-up Sporting CP were invited. CDNA Sofia appeared in the sixth edition of European Cup, with only Real Madrid having more appearances in the competition.
Austria Wien, Boldklubben 1913, Tottenham Hotspur, Valkeakosken Haka, Monaco, Hibernians, Feyenoord, Górnik Zabrze and 1. FC Nürnberg made their debut in the competition, while Juventus, Panathinaikos and Fredrikstad returned to the tournament from previous edition.
Servette and Partizan returned to the tournament for the first time since 1956, while Spora Luxembourg and Vasas returned to the competition after five and four years, respectively.
All participants were their respective associations champions, except for Boldklubben 1913, IFK Göteborg and Sporting CP. The first two were leading their respective leagues in spring, but finished third in autumn of 1961.
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 4 July 1961. As title holders, Benfica received a bye, and the remaining 28 teams were grouped geographically into two pots. The first team drawn in each pot also received a bye, while the remaining clubs would play the first round in September.| Pot 1 Northern Europe | Pot 2 Southern Europe | |
| Drawn | Northern Ireland England West Germany East Germany Poland Norway Sweden Denmark Netherlands France Republic of Ireland Belgium Luxembourg Scotland | Spain Portugal Switzerland Austria Romania Bulgaria Greece Czechoslovakia Hungary Yugoslavia Italy Malta |
| Byes | Valkeakosken Haka | Fenerbahçe |
The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.
First leg
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Second leg
Rangers won 6–4 on aggregate.----
Dukla Prague won 6–5 on aggregate.
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Feyenoord won 11–2 on aggregate.
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1. FC Nürnberg won 9–1 on aggregate.
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Boldklubben 1913 won 15–2 on aggregate.
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Partizan won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Standard Liège won 4–1 on aggregate.
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Real Madrid won 5–1 on aggregate.
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Servette won 7–1 on aggregate.
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Tottenham Hotspur won 10–5 on aggregate.
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Juventus won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Austria Wien won 2–0 on aggregate.
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''Vorwärts Berlin won 3–0 on aggregate.''
First round
First leg
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Second leg
Real Madrid won 12–0 on aggregate.----
Standard Liège won 7–1 on aggregate.
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Benfica won 6–2 on aggregate.
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Juventus won 7–1 on aggregate.
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Tottenham Hotspur won 4–2 on aggregate.
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Dukla Prague won 5–4 on aggregate.
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Rangers won 6–2 on aggregate.
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''1. FC Nürnberg won 3–1 on aggregate.''
Quarter-finals
First leg
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Second leg
Standard Liège won 4–3 on aggregate.----
Juventus 1–1 Real Madrid on aggregate; [|play-off] needed.
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Benfica won 7–3 on aggregate.
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''Tottenham Hotspur won 4–2 on aggregate.''
Play-off
''Real Madrid won 3–1 in play-off.''Semi-finals
First leg
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Benfica won 4–3 on aggregate.----
''Real Madrid won 6–0 on aggregate.''
Top goalscorers
The top scorers from the 1961–62 European Cup were as follows:| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 |  fbaicon|FRG |