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The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious tournament in club football, and is often considered to be the holy grail. It is usually won only by the elite clubs, and only a few players usually have the privilege of winning a Champions League medal. Therefore it becomes very difficult for footballers to cope with a loss in a Champions League final.
Now, there are some players who have had this bitter experience 3 times in their respective careers, all are great players in their won right, and have had brilliant careers.
In this article, we take a look at 3 such players
#1 Paolo Maldini
The legendary left-back of AC Milan has won 5 European Cups/Champions Leagues in his glorious career, but also had to suffer defeat in 3 finals. Maldini remains the only footballer to appear in 8 Champions League finals, and is one of the greatest footballers of all time, with more than 900 matches for Milan in over 2 decades.
Maldini was part of an extremely dominant Milan side which became European Champions thrice in the space of 5 years, from 1989 to 1994. First Arigo Sacchi and then Fabio Capello, honed Milan into the best club in the world, with players like Maldini, Franco Baresi, Marcel Desailly, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard.
That Milan team remains one of the greatest club sides ever assembled, and Maldini was one of its key members. However, they lost against Olympique Marseille in the inaugural edition of the Champions League, when its nomenclature and format was changed from the erstwhile European Cup. Marseille won the match 1-0 via a Basile Boli strike in Munich .
Milan again made the final of the Champions League in 1994-95, and came up against the mighty Ajax Amsterdam side managed by Luis Van Gaal. Ajax beat Milan 1-0 at the final in Vienna, as Patrick Kluivert scored the winning goal for them.
More heartbreak was awaiting Maldini as Milan again qualified for the final in 2004-05, and lost the match on penalties after being ahead 3-0 at halftime. Maldini played as a centre-back in that match, and could only look in disbelief as Liverpool made one of the best comebacks in the history of the game.
#2 Alessandro Del Piero
Del Piero was loyal to Juventus throughout his career, and spent 18 glorious seasons with them. The versatile forward played in 705 matches for Juve, and scored 290 goals. He also won the Champions League in the 1995-96 season with Juve.
However, he had to suffer defeats in 3 final matches as Juve lost 2 back to back Champions League finals in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
Marcelo Lippi’s side lost 1-3 against a brilliant Borussia Dortmund side inspired by Lars Ricken and Andy Moller. They again made the final in 1997-98, and lost 0-1 to Real Madrid at the final in Rotterdam. Predrag Mijatovic scored the winner for Real in that match.
Del Piero again played in the final of the Champions League during the 2002-03 season, but Juve lost to Milan on penalties. Juve had earlier defeated a mighty Real Madrid side in the semifinal that year, and Del Piero scored a goal in that match.
#3 Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon, the legendary goalkeeper of Juventus, remains one of the greatest footballers never to win a Champions League medal. He was signed by Juve from Parma in 2001, and played there for 16 seasons, as he made 656 appearances for Juve.
However, he could not win the Champions League for them even after playing in the final on 3 occasions.
Juve met Milan in the final of the 2002-03 season after a memorable semifinal win against Real Madrid. Buffon was brilliant in the away match against a brilliant Real side, and kept Juve in the tie via a wonderful display.
However, Milan beat Juve on penalties at the final in Manchester. Buffon again got his chance 12 years later as Juve met Barcelona at the final in Berlin. However, a great Barca team consisting of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Xavi, and Andres Iniesta beat them 3-1 in an entertaining finale.
Juve were again unlucky to come up against a dominant Real Madrid side inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos in the 2016-17 season, losing 1-4 in the final.
The likes of Ronaldo, Isco, and Karim Benzema wreaked havoc on the strong Juve defence, and Buffon’s dream remained unfulfilled.
