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The UEFA Champions League came to a dramatic end with five-time winners Bayern Munich lifting their sixth European crown at the expense of Neymar's Paris Saint-Germain. The French champions hoped to witness the crowning moment of the Qatari-backed project in Paris by lifting their first-ever UCL, but their German counterparts proved to be too much of a challenge.
Hansi Flick's men have joined an illustrious list of clubs after completing the continental treble with their win in Lisbon. The Germans recorded their second such feat in eight years, levelling Barcelona's tally of two trebles.
Winning the coveted trophy by any means is an unbelievable achievement in itself. However, having done so in the unstoppable fashion that Bayern Munich did this year is worthy of a special mention. The Bavarians were simply relentless and unforgiving in their approach to the competition this year.
Here, we take a look at five of the greatest UCL teams of all-time.
#5 Ajax | 1994/45
In 1995, a group of young Ajax academy players took to the pitch against one of the most excellent sides in the last few decades, AC Milan, in the final of the UCL. They made history by winning the competition and going on to carve out respectable legacies for themselves individually.
Louis van Gaal's academy-dominated Ajax side impressed the world with their expansive brand of football with a group of youngsters. The squad included names such as Patrick Kluivert, Edwin van der Sar, Jari Litmanen, and the only man who went on to win the UCL with the most number of clubs, Clarence Seedorf.
They defeated a star-studded AC Milan side on three occasions in the competition, beating them twice in the group stage in the all-important competition final. Van Gaal's young side prevailed victorious against the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, and a host of Milan superstars led by Fabio Capello. Kluivert came off the bench to become the then-youngest scorer in a UCL final after netting a late 85th-minute winner for Ajax. Many of the personnel from this great side and etched their names into the history books of the sport.
#4 Bayern Munich | 2019/20
Bayern Munich is currently home to one of the most spectacular football squads at the moment. The Bavarians have a host of superstars to call upon for any given game, at any given position. It was for this reason that Niko Kovac's relative underperformance in Europe came as a surprise, and was ultimately sacked after torrid 5-1 drubbing in the Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Hans-Dieter Flick took over at the Allianz Arena and saw a drastic upturn in fortunes, having guided them to a historic treble. It is also worth noting that they won the UCL in buoyant fashion as well, romping their way through to the final and winning the final in Lisbon. Bayern became the first-ever team to have won the competition with a spotless record, having won all the 11 games they've played in this year's UCL.
This run included one of the most devastating scorelines in football history as they smashed eight goals past five-time UCL winners Barcelona in the quarter-finals. The 8-2 victory was perhaps the epitome of Bayern's relentless brand of football, one that took them to one of the most dominant UCL wins in recent times. The Germans also put seven past Tottenham Hotspur earlier on in the competition. Bayern ultimately beat PSG by just a goal in the final as Kingsley Coman made the difference after a splendid cross from Joshua Kimmich.
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#3 AC Milan | 2006/07
Carlo Ancelotti's legendary AC Milan side in the mid-2000s was one of the greatest teams in the competition at the time. The Italians' squad was littered with superstars such as the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Maldini, Filippo Inzaghi, and future Ballon d'Or winner Kaka. They reached the final in 2005 only to suffer heartbreak in the showpiece event at Istanbul which saw Liverpool winning the title after a dramatic comeback.
The Rossoneri reached the final again just two years later, and were up against the same opposition who denied them European glory in 2005. However, Milan, despite their relatively poor league campaign, were at their devastating best in the 2006/07 UCL. The Italian coach's job was on the line as well, after a string of questionable results in the opening few months of the campaign.
Ancelotti's men registered several memorable wins including a breathtaking 5-3 aggregate victory over Manchester United, including a Kaka hat-trick at Old Trafford in the semi-finals. Milan also recorded a superb 2-0 win against Bayern Munich away at the Allianz Arena en-route the final in Athens. Inzaghi scored a typical poacher's brace in the final on either side of half-time so fire AC Milan to their seventh UCL title, and last one to date.
#2 Real Madrid | 2017/18
Real Madrid created history in 2016/17 season when they won their first continental double since 1958, and became the first team in the UCL era to retain their European crown. Just when the world thought that this Real side reached their peak, particularly after their disappointing league campaign — having ultimately ended the season a whopping 16 points behind Barcelona — they conquered Europe for the third time in three years.
While there was a sense of criticism surrounding both their style of play as well as the fact that they faced relatively more comfortable runs to the final in previous years. However, despite their woes in LaLiga Santander, Real Madrid turned up the heat for the knockout rounds of the competition and recorded scintillating victories against elite opposition teams.
Los Blancos faced PSG, Juventus, and Bayern Munich — the domestic champions of France, Italy and Germany — to reach the final against Liverpool. They won the ties with aggregate scores of 5-2, 4-3, and 4-3 respectively.
The final saw them face Jurgen Klopp's men, during which Gareth Bale came on to score one of the greatest goals in UCL history in Kyiv to give the Blancos the lead. Bale scored again to record a 3-1 win against Liverpool as Real lifted their 13th UCL title.
#1 Barcelona | 2008/09
Widely regarded as one of the greatest sides in football history, Pep Guardiola's debut campaign as Barcelona's manager remains one of the most illustrious seasons any club has enjoyed. The Catalan revamped the very fabric of Barcelona's approach to the game since the turn of the century and built one of the most devastating sides in football.
A young Lionel Messi had a huge part to play in this side as one of the most breathtaking teenagers that football had ever witnessed. Messi scored a total of 38 goals in 51 games for the side and ended as the leading scorer for the club en route their first-ever treble. He was also instrumental in the UCL, scoring nine goals in 12 games which is at least three more than the next highest scorer.
The Blaugrana were tasked with overcoming the likes of Bayern Munich, Olympique Lyon, and Chelsea on their way to the final in Rome. Their win against the Blues was surrounded by a lot of controversy due to some very questionable decisions in the second leg of the tie.
However, they scraped past them on away goals to reach the final where they played Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United off the park. Barcelona's top scorers Messi and Samuel Eto'o got on the scoresheet to lift the CL trophy at the Red Devils' expense, capping off a monumental season in the history of the club. They played football at its finest and ripped apart opposition teams for fun.
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