The 1959–60 European Cup was the fifth season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 in the final at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on 18 May 1960, thanks to first ever hat-tricks scored in the final of the competition by Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano. It remains the record score and record attendance for the European Cup final. It was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive title, which is a feat that no other club has matched. It was also the first time that a German team, Eintracht Frankfurt, reached the final. They were debutants in the competition and it wasn't until 1983–84 European Cup and AS Roma that another debutants ended up on the losing side in the final. The tournament saw the first participation by a Greek club, Greek Champions Olympiacos, who had withdrawn from the previous season after being already placed in the bracket. It meant that no new country entered the competition for the first time since tournament inception.

Teams

A total of 27 teams were placed in the competition bracket, but finally only 26 participated since Kuopion Palloseura had withdrawn before playing first game. Spain continued to be represented by two clubs, with Real Madrid qualifying as title holders and Barcelona as Spanish champions. CDNA Sofia appeared in the fourth edition of European Cup, with only Real Madrid having more appearances in the competition. Červená Hviezda Bratislava, Boldklubben 1909, Kuopion Palloseura, Vorwärts Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt, Csepel, Sparta Rotterdam, Linfield, ŁKS Łódź, Porto, Barcelona and Fenerbahçe made debut in the competition. All entrants were their respective associations champions, except for Real Madrid and ŁKS Łódź, the latter being 1958 champion and trailing by two points in spring of 1959.

Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round took place in Cernobbio, Como, Italy, on 6 July 1959. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 26 teams were grouped geographically into two pots. The first two teams drawn in each pot also received byes, 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

Wiener Sport-Club won 2–1 on aggregate. Fenerbahçe won 4–3 on aggregate. Nice won 4–3 on aggregate. IFK Göteborg won 7–3 on aggregate. Jeunesse Esch won 6–2 on aggregate. Milan won 5–3 on aggregate. Rangers won 7–2 on aggregate. Barcelona won 8–4 on aggregate. Červená Hviezda Bratislava won 4–1 on aggregate. Wolverhampton Wanderers won 3–2 on aggregate.

Bracket

First round

First leg

Second leg

Wiener Sport-Club won 5–2 on aggregate. Real Madrid won 12–2 on aggregate. Sparta Rotterdam 4–4 IFK Göteborg on aggregate; play-off needed. Rangers won 5–4 on aggregate. Wolverhampton Wanderers won 4–1 on aggregate. Eintracht Frankfurt won 5–2 on aggregate. Barcelona won 7–1 on aggregate. Fenerbahçe 3–3 Nice on aggregate; play-off needed.

Play-off

Sparta Rotterdam won the play-off 3–1. Nice won the play-off 5–1.

Quarter-finals

First leg

Second leg

Real Madrid won 6–3 on aggregate. Barcelona won 9–2 on aggregate. Eintracht Frankfurt won 3–2 on aggregate. Sparta Rotterdam 3–3 Rangers on aggregate; play-off needed.

Play-off

Rangers won the play-off 3–2.

Semi-finals

First leg

Second leg

Real Madrid won 6–2 on aggregate. Eintracht Frankfurt won 12–4 on aggregate.

Final

Top goalscorers

The top scorers from the 1959–60 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows: