The 1958–59 European Cup was the fourth season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Reims 2–0 in the final at Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, on 3 June 1959. This was Real Madrid's fourth European Cup title in a row. The two finalists also competed in the final of the first European Cup in 1956. It was the first time that a team from Finland participated, while Turkey's representative returned to the competition in the presence of Beşiktaş. They were drawn against Olympiacos, but Greece's first entrants withdrew for political reasons before playing their first tie. Also, Manchester United were invited to the competition following Munich air disaster in the previous season, but were not allowed to participate by the Football League, meaning that first walkovers took place in the UEFA organised competition. Had they played, England would be first nation in European Cup history to have more than one team in the competition, apart from title holder's association. On road to winning the competition Real Madrid faced Atlético Madrid in the semi-finals – the first time a derby match was played in the competition.

Teams

A total of 28 teams were placed in the competition bracket, but finally only 26 participated. Spain continued to be represented by its runners-up, as its champions Real Madrid had already qualified as holders. This was the first time that Rapid Wien and AGF Aarhus failed to qualify for the tournament, which made Real Madrid the only club to appear in all four editions of European Cup. Wiener Sport-Club, Standard Liège, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Helsingin Palloseura, Schalke 04, Drumcondra, Juventus, Jeunesse Esch, VV DOS, Ards, Polonia Bytom, Petrolul Ploiești, Heart of Midlothian, Atlético Madrid, IFK Göteborg, Beşiktaş and NK Dinamo Zagreb made their debut in the competition. All entrants were their respective associations champions, except for KB, Manchester United, Polonia Bytom and Atlético Madrid.

Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round took place in Cannes, France, on Wednesday, 2 July 1958. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 27 teams were grouped geographically into three pots. The first drawn team in each pot also received bye, while the remaining clubs would play the preliminary round in August, September and October. The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.

First leg

Second leg

Standard Liège won 6–3 on aggregate. KB 5–5 Schalke 04 on aggregate; play-off needed. Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt 4–4 Petrolul Ploiești on aggregate; play-off needed. Jeunesse Esch 2–2 IFK Göteborg on aggregate; play-off needed. Atlético Madrid won 13–1 on aggregate. Wiener Sport-Club won 8–3 on aggregate. Dukla Prague won 4–3 on aggregate. MTK won 6–0 on aggregate. Reims won 10–3 on aggregate. Sporting CP won 6–4 on aggregate.

Play-off

Schalke 04 won play-off 3–1. Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt won play-off 4–0. IFK Göteborg won play-off 5–1.

Bracket

First round

First leg

Second leg

Standard Liège won 6–2 on aggregate. Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt won 6–2 on aggregate. Schalke 04 won 4–3 on aggregate. Wiener Sport-Club won 3–2 on aggregate. Atlético Madrid 2–2 CDNA Sofia on aggregate; play-off needed. Young Boys won 6–2 on aggregate. Real Madrid won 3–1 on aggregate. Reims won 7–0 on aggregate.

Play-off

Atlético Madrid won play-off 3–1.

Quarter-finals

First leg

Second leg

Atlético Madrid won 4–1 on aggregate. Young Boys 2–2 Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt on aggregate; play-off needed. Reims won 3–2 on aggregate. Real Madrid won 7–1 on aggregate.

Play-off

Young Boys won play-off 2–1.

Semi-finals

First leg

Second leg

Real Madrid 2–2 Atlético Madrid on aggregate; play-off needed. Reims won 3–1 on aggregate.

Play-off

Real Madrid won play-off 2–1.

Final

The 1959 European Cup final was played on 3 June 1959 at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart, West Germany. Real Madrid's victory was their fourth consecutive title, maintaining their status as the only team to have won the competition. Reims were runners-up for a second time, having already lost to Real in the inaugural final in 1956.

Top goalscorers

The top scorers from the 1958–59 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows: