When the Champions League was in its infancy and VI went behind the scenes

Archival feature revisiting VI's 1994 behind-the-scenes look at the Champions League's early years, when Ajax represented the Eredivisie and the tournament was still in its infancy.

VI Tijdmachine takes readers back to autumn 1994, when the magazine sent Ted van Leeuwen behind the scenes of the Champions League in its third season. At that time, the competition was rapidly growing and Ajax, managed by Louis van Gaal, represented the Dutch Eredivisie. The article explores how the tournament operated in its early days, detailing the financial structure and prize money at each stage.

The piece breaks down the money flowing through the competition: Ajax had already earned ten million guilders from the group stage, with additional payments for progression—six million guilders per win, gate receipts from home matches, and escalating bonuses for reaching the quarter-finals (3.12 million), semi-finals (8.72 million), and final (over 4.5 million guilders extra). In total, over 250 million guilders were distributed that season among clubs, federations, UEFA, and TEAM AG.

TEAM AG, a Swiss sports marketing agency, handled virtually every commercial and operational aspect of the Champions League on UEFA's behalf—from selling television and sponsorship rights to managing stadium setup, ticket sales, graphics, and VIP hospitality. The only things TEAM did not control were team selection and match results.