1996–97 UEFA Champions League

24 teams entered the competition: the national champions of each of the top 23 nations in the UEFA coefficient rankings, and UEFA Champions League holders, Juventus. The national champions of the associations ranked 1–7, plus the title holders, all received a bye to the group stage, while the national champions of the associations ranked 8–23 entered in the qualifying round. The remaining national champions from the associations ranked 24–48 were only allowed to participate in UEFA Cup. Association ranking For the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 1996 UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 1991–92 to 1995–96. Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, an association could have an additional team participating in the Champions League, as noted below: • – Additional berth for UEFA Champions League title holders Distribution Teams ==Round and draw dates==

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Geneva, Switzerland). ==Qualifying round==

Atlético Madrid, Auxerre, Fenerbahçe, Rapid Wien and Widzew Łódź made their debut in the group stage. Italy became the first association to have two teams in the Champions League group stage. Group A Group B Group C Group D ==Knockout stage==

Bracket Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final ==Top goalscorers==