Following the demise of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999, it was the turn of the UEFA Cup to be revamped by Europe's ruling body of football.
From this season, the UEFA Cup became known as the Europa League, similar in format to the Champions League but still missing the allure of the main competition for clubs on the continent.
The UEFA Cup has been played under a variety of names over the years and when all three club competitions were in existence, it was ranked third behind the European Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup.
The competition was introduced in 1956-58 and spread over two seasons under the title of International Industries Fairs Inter-Cities Cup, commonly known as the Fairs Cup.
It was originally intended to be contested by cities that sponsored international industrial fairs.
The second edition (1958-60) was played almost exclusively by major clubs rather than city-wide selections. In 1960-61 it became an annual event and six years later the tournament became known as the European Fairs Cup.
Although UEFA were mainly responsible for the competition, it was run by a special committee wholly outside the structure of the European body who assumed official responsibility in 1971-72, altering its name to UEFA Cup.
English teams figured prominently in this competition with 10 honours, one less than the Spaniards who lead in the overall winners list.
The 1956-58 debut competition was contested by cities, not clubs, and England was represented by a London XI and a Birmingham selection from Aston Villa and other teams from the Midlands.
Results of the earliest rounds by British sides were:
Group I: London vs Basle away 5-0; home vs Frankfurt 3-2; home vs Basle 1-0, away vs Frankfurt 0-1.
Group III: Birmingham City vs Inter away 0-0; away vs Zagreb 0-1; home vs Zagreb 3-0; home vs Inter 2-1.
Semi-finals: London vs Lausanne away 1-2, home 2-0; Birmingham vs Barcelona home 4-3, away 0-1, decider in Barcelona, lost 1-2.
Final (at Stamford Bridge): London XI drew 2-2 with Barcelona and lost the return away 0-6.
Birmingham's turn
In the second competition, it was the turn of Birmingham City to go all the way and reach the final − alas this team also finished as runners-up.
As recorded, participants reverted to clubs rather than large cities and in the 1958-60 tournament Birmingham were joined by Chelsea, who represented London. Both sides reached the quarter-finals.
Chelsea vs Belgrade: home 1-0, away 1-4; Birmingham-Zagreb: home 1-0, away 3-3.
For the second year running, the Blues reached the last four, defeating Union St Gilloise at home and away by the identical score of 4-2.
Barcelona retained the silverware as Birmingham drew 0-0 at home at St Andrews but lost 1-4 at the Nou Camp.
The 1960-61 tournament saw Birmingham reach the final for a second year running but they lost the Fairs Cup. Scotland had their first representative in the competition, Hibernian, and they took off with a walk-over when Lausanne retired.
In the quarter-finals, Birmingham trounced Copenhagen 9-4 on aggregate while Hibernian sensationally knocked out holders Barcelona 7-6 over two legs.
Semi-finals: Hibernian-Roma − home 2-2, away 3-3. In the decider in Rome, the Scots bowed out 0-6. Birmingham moved into the final at the expense of Inter, 4-2 on aggregate.
In the ultimate showdown, the Blues drew 2-2 at home to Roma but went down 0-2 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Quartet of entries
The 1961-62 final, produced the first showdown of two clubs from the same country in an all-Spanish combat.
Birmingham and Hibernian were joined by Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest plus Scottish side Hearts. UEFA held on to the Blues and Hi-bees for their prestigious performances and Wednesday were added after finishing runners-up to champions Tottenham in the English First Division the season before.
Yet, Forest had ended in mid-table. At that time, many English clubs shunned the competition.
In their European debut, Sheffield Wednesday beat Olympique Lyon 7-6 on aggregate. Yet, Forest's performance ended in disaster, going down 1-7 to Valencia.
Hibernian saw off Belenenses and Birmingham were awarded a bye to the knock-out stage.
Against the Portuguese side, Hibernian triumphed 6-4 over two legs as Hearts advanced as well, defeating Union St Gilloise 5-1.
Second round: From the four UK representatives, only Sheffield Wednesday survived. Red Star-Hibernian 4-0, 1-0; Hearts-Inter 0-1, 0-4; Espanyol-Birmingham 5-2, 0-1.
Sensationally, the Owls eliminated cup holders Roma − 4-0 at Hillsborough and 0-1 away.
But were then ousted by Barcelona in the third round 4-3 on aggregate.