The UEFA Champions League is back on Sky Sports and skysports.com.
To mark the return of Europe's premier club competition, we asked you to send Martin Tyler YOUR questions on the Champions League and European Cup.
Before taking his place in the commentary box as part of our unrivalled coverage, Martin took time out to come up with all the stats and facts you wanted to know.
Scholes: scores Euro goals
Next week, normal service will resume, so if you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply e-mail here and Martin will do his best to answer.
E-mail your question to Martin here!
English excellence
Hi Martin, who is the highest English scorer in the Champions League history? I am struggling to think of an English side who have had a prolific English scorer in the competition? Colin McGovern
MARTIN SAYS: Well Colin, it is a while since we had a prolific Englishmen spearheading his club's challenge in Europe, but the man you are looking for is Paul Scholes. The Manchester United midfielder is the top English scorer in the competition with 20 goals in 95 appearances. His goal against FC Copenhagen in the group stages last season took him past former team-mate Andy Cole to the top of the pile. When it comes to the leading British scorer Colin, you only have to look as far as Old Trafford as well because like so many of our 'all-time questions', the answer to that one is Ryan Giggs. The Welshman has, coincidentally, played 95 Champions League games but has scored three more than Scholes, at a rate of 0.24 goals per game.
Our hat-trick heroes
How many Englishmen have scored hat-tricks in the Champions League? I can only think of Wayne Rooney on his debut. Alan Coyle
MARTIN SAYS: Well Alan, there have been plenty of hat-tricks for English clubs, but of course the likes of Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Ruud van Nistelrooy do not count. But it does not mean we are without our homegrown hat-trick heroes and in the 15 seasons since the Champions League took on its new format, there have been six occasions when an Englishman has headed home with the matchball. I shall list them all below, although special mention must go to former Blackburn Rovers striker Mike Newell, whose treble in the space of nine minutes is still the fastest the competition has seen. Here are the other four men who have hit hat-tricks, one of them twice.
| DATE | PLAYER | FOR | AGAINST | RESULT | Dec 6 1995 | Mike Newell | Blackburn | Rosenborg (H) | 4-1 | Nov 5 1997 | Andy Cole | Man United | Feyenoord (A) | 1-3 | Sep 13 2000 | Andy Cole | Man United | Anderlecht (H) | 5-1 | Oct 22 2002 | Michael Owen | Liverpool | Spartak Moscow(A) | 1-3 | Feb 26 2003 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle | B Leverkusen (H) | 3-1 | Sep 28 2004 | Wayne Rooney | Man United | Feberbahce (H) | 6-2 |
Against Yakub-who?
Martin, I was in Cyprus when Yakubu was part of the Maccabi Haifa team that had to play their Champions League qualifiers over there. I remember seeing Yakubu score a hat-trick but I can't remember against which team he did this? I believe it was either Man Utd or Olympiakos. Sgt Paul RidgwayMARTIN SAYS: Although we cannot offer you a tee-shirt like Soccer AM, it is always nice to receive a question from the armed forces, Paul! Your memory is right, you did see Everton's latest signing score a Champions League hat-trick, but it did indeed come against Olympiakos and not United. A 27th-minute penalty and strikes on 60 and 86 minutes saw him head away from Cyprus with the matchball. Funnily enough, the last man to score a Champions League hat-trick against United was in fact Yakubu's former Middlesbrough team-mate Tuncay Sanli, who got all three goals as Fenerbahce beat them 3-0 in the 2004-05 competition.
Home comforts
Hi Martin, love the commentary and love the column. I am Russian born, but have been living in England for 13 years now and follow Chelsea. With this year's final being held in Moscow, I was wondering... how many teams have lifted the Champions League trophy when the final has been held in their own country? I can't see Spartak doing it this year I'm afraid. Alex
MARTIN SAYS: This season's final will indeed be held in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium Alex. Should Spartak Moscow surprise us all and win the competition they will become the ninth club to do so on their own soil and more so, the third club to win the Champions League or European Cup on their own ground. It has happened eight times before, starting way back with the second European Cup in 1957, which was won by Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu. Eight years later Internazionale matched that feat by lifting the trophy at the San Siro and of course in 1968, Manchester United became the first English side to be crowned European champions by beating Benfica at Wembley. In 1972 Rotterdam was the venue as the great Ajax side of Johann Cruyff and co won the second of their three successive European Cups and another six years on at Wembley again, Liverpool beat Club Brugge to become the second English side to win it on home soil. It has happened twice under the new Champions League format as well Alex, with Juventus lifting the trophy at the San Siro in 1996 and Borussia Dortmund following it up 12 months later by beating the Old Lady at Munich's Olympic Stadium.
Silver lining
Martin, I cannot wait for the Champions League to start on Sky. My question is, has a team that has been knocked out of the Champions League group stages ever gone on to win the UEFA Cup? Shamin Rashad
MARTIN SAYS: It has happened before, although teams dropping out of the Champions League and into the UEFA Cup is a relatively new concept. It happened most recently in 2005, when CSKA beat Sporting Lisbon 3-2 to lift the trophy having finished third in a Champions League group behind Chelsea and Porto. I can also tell you Shamin, that the Russian side played an incredible 19 games in total before lifting the UEFA Cup! In 2002 Feyenoord finished third in their group behind Bayern Munich and Sparta Prague but went on to beat Borussia Dortmund in the so-called secondary competition and in 2000, Turkish side Galatasary became the first side to do it. They came third in the Champions League group stages behind Chelsea and Hertha Berlin, dropped into the UEFA Cup and went all the way to the final in Copenhagen, where they beat Arsenal on penalties 4-1, with Davor Suker and Patrick Vieira missing from 12 yards. The Gunners had also dropped out of the Champions League that season.
Six of the best
Martin, I have heard this is the first time there will be six British clubs involved in the group stages. Is this true? Surely it has happened before. Colin McGovernNational treasures
Martin, which country has provided the most Champions League winners? I have a hunch its Italy. Jon Dew
MARTIN SAYS: You're hunch is not altogether wrong Jon, Italy and Spain have both provided the most winners of the Champions League and indeed, the European Cup overall. In 52 years of the competition, the European champions have come from those two nations 11 times. England fare well with 10 wins down the years in third place, Germany and Holland have provided six winners and Portugal, rather surprisingly have seen one of their clubs win it four times (Benfica and Porto twice apiece). Four other countries have had just one winner: Scotland (Celtic 1967), Romania (Steau Bucharest 1986), Serbia (Red Star Belgrade 1991) and France (Marseille 1993).
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