4 of the best teams that failed to win the Champions League at their peak

4 of the best teams that failed to win the Champions League at their peak

However, predicting the winners of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) is a different proposition altogether.

1. Arsenal 2003/ 2004

Arsene Wenger's Invincibles were arguably the strongest English Premier League (EPL) side ever after going unbeaten all through the season.

The were also adjudged to have played one of the most beautiful football ever seen in the history of the league.

The Gunners were the favourites to win the Champions League during the 2003/ 2004 campaign but blew their chances at the end of the season.

After struggling in the group stage, they eventually qualified but lost to Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

2. Chelsea 2004/ 2005

Chelsea became a force to reckon with since the arrival of Portuguese tactician Jose Mourinho from Porto.

He guided his team to a host of records during the term, including the highest points haul (95) and fewest goals conceded (15) back then.

Many people therefore tipped them as favourites for the UCL but they continuously came up against top quality opposition.

They bravely navigated their way past Barcelona and Bayern Munich but met their match against Liverpool in the semi-final.

Luis Garcia's 'ghost goal' saw the Reds beating the Blues. It still haunts Mourinho to this day.

3. Juventus 1996 - 1999

Many believe the Old Lady have an European curse of some sort following their disappointing losses in 3 finals.

During the period between 1996 and 1999, Juve boasted the best team in Italy at a time when Italian football was at its peak.

The Milan clubs were the glamour boys of Europe boasting some of the finest talents in the world.

Juventus combined a brilliant coach in Marcello Lippi with world-class players such as, Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids, Didier Deschamps and Christian Vieri.

During the 1997 final, they were hot favourites to brush aside a plucky Dortmund side but the Germans prevailed and caused one of the biggest UCL upsets ever.

Juve were undone again in the final the following year as they lost to Real Madrid.

Incredibly, the star-studded team blew another chance for European glory the year after in 1999 when they were beaten by the treble-winning Manchester United team.

4. Barcelona 1993 - 1996

Johan Cruyff is known as one of the legends of the game.
A player with unbelievable pedigree, he achieved even greater acclaim as a coach for his forward-thinking philosophies.

He is largely credited with transforming Barcelona into a global super power and for instilling the rich, attractive brand of football.

His team were fondly known as the 'Dream Team' as they dominated La Liga on 4 consecutive occasions between 1991 to 1994.

Boasting the likes of Romario, Ronald Koeman and Hristo Stoichkov, the Catalans were primed for European success as well.

Incredibly, Cruyff's great team just couldn't cut the mustard in the UCL.

Although they won the European Cup during the 1991/ 1992 campaign, they weren't able to replicate that success in the newly branded tournament format.

Comments

Keep up to date with our latest articles and uploads...