By Emre Dogan
ISTANBUL (AA) - Europe's top-division club basketball tournament Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's 2020-21 season will kick off on Thursday.
Spanish giants Real Madrid have been the most successful club in EuroLeague history. Los Galacticos clinched this title 10 times with the first win in 1964.
Madrid also won the competition in 1965, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1995 and 2015.
In addition to these cups, Madrid beat Turkish club Fenerbahce to get this title in 2018.
Russia's CSKA Moscow are among the very best clubs in the competition's history with eight trophies.
CSKA claimed their first EuroLeague title in 1961 and lifted the trophy again in 1963, 1969, 1971, 2006, 2008, 2016 and 2019.
- Maccabi and Panathinaikos win six titles each
Israel's Maccabi and Greece's Panathinaikos have been one of the most successful teams in the Cup history, claiming this trophy six times each.
Maccabi won their first EuroLeague title in 1977, followed by wins in 1981, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2014, while Panathinaikos lifted their trophies in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011.
Also, Italy's Varese took home five trophies.
- Fenerbahce only Turkish team to win EuroLeague
The Istanbul side claimed their first European championship in the 2016-17 campaign.
The Yellow-Canaries defeated Greek club Olympiacos 80–64 in the championship game of the Final Four, that was held in Istanbul and became the first and only Turkish team in history to win the EuroLeague trophy
The club has been the runners-up in 2016 and 2018. CSKA Moscow beat Fenerbahce 101-96 in the final of 2016 as Real Madrid defeated the Istanbul side with an 85-80 score in 2018's final game.
Fenerbahce made appearances in five consecutive Final Fours (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).
- 2 separate championships held in 2000-01 campaign
Two leagues were played during the 2000-01 season, due to the dispute between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Union of European Leagues of Basketball (ULEB) .
Top clubs were also split between the two tournaments, a total of 20 teams took place in the FIBA SuproLeague, while some 24 clubs competed in the EuroLeague.
Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Panathinaikos 81-67 in the SuproLeague Final Four final, while Kinder Bologna won EuroLeague after defeating Tau Ceramica 3-2 at end of the final five games series.
The final four format was started in 1988. The finals were held as home-and-away game in the first years and then played as a single match in a neutral field until 1987.
* Writing by Emre Asikci