The Champions League showcases the highest quality of play in world soccer, while immortalizing clubs that manage to break logic and overcome giants. Real Madrid, with 15 titles to its name, remains the undisputed king of this competition, followed by Barcelona and AC Milan.
In the modern era, the most memorable triumphs have come from teams with a mix of long-serving stars and newer evolutions. Pep Guardiola’s teams were cohesive possession machines that were fully connected from back to front, while Luis Enrique took a risk by trusting his superstar front three to get them over the line in tight games. It was a strategy that paid off with the treble of 2019 that included the most dominant defense in the history of the tournament.
Manchester United’s shock win in the 2006 final under Roberto Di Matteo will always be remembered for Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke roaring on from the stands to inspire a side that trailed 2-0 at home and 3-0 on aggregate against Juventus. But the real heroes were in the defence, where Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand held their nerve to frustrate a rampant Juventus and withstand the pressure of a Wembley final shootout.
The format of the competition has changed in recent years, as UEFA added a fourth qualifying round to whittle down the number of top-ranked clubs before the group stage. In addition, a fifth slot was created to be awarded to the winner of a domestic cup.