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In two weeks time, the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 knockout phase will get underway, as the best teams in Europe will battle it out to advance to the quarter-final stage of the tournament. With some intriguing matchups lined up, some of Europe's heavyweights will go head to head to be crowned European champions.
A few teams have produced brilliant runs in the tournament for successive seasons and have set records in the process. Real Madrid holds the record with 21 successive season appearances in the Champions League knockout stage of the tournament, followed by Barcelona with 14 seasons.
The history of the tournament has showcased some spectacular runs from teams in consecutive seasons and here we take a look at the top 5 teams in Europe with the most successive Champions League appearances in the quarterfinal stage of the competition.
On that note, here are the top 5 teams with the most successive quarterfinal appearances:
#5 Bayern Munich
5-time Champions League winners and German giants, Bayern Munich have consecutively reached the quarter-final stage of the competition 6 seasons in a row from 2011/12 to 2016/17. The club has the chance to extend that run to 7 seasons if they get past Turkish opposition Besiktas in the round of 16 this season.
Between the 2011/12 season and the 2016/17 season, the club have been under Jupp Heynckes for 2 seasons, Pep Guardiola for 3 seasons and Carlo Ancelotti for a season. Heynckes won the trophy with the club in 12/13 and completed a treble with the German League and Cup.
With Jupp Heynckes back in charge till the end of the season, the club's hopes of the lifting silverware Europe is very likely, given the football they have played under the veteran German manager. A vicious team going forward, Heynckes has brought back the potent threat that Bayern seemed to lacked at the start of the season.
#4 Real Madrid
Two-time defending champions Real Madrid and their manager Zinedine Zidane will face Paris Saint-Germain and former Sevilla manager Unai Emery in the round of 16 stage.
If Madrid prevail, they will extend their current successive run of reaching 7 quarter-finals in a row that they set between the 2010/11 season and the 2016/17 season.
Since the 2010/11 season until now, the club has been under Jose Mourinho for 3 seasons, Carlo Ancelotti for 2, Rafa Benitez for 1 and Zinedine Zidane for 2.
Top managers with good results between this time period, but only Ancelotti and Zidane managed to win the tournament twice as manager with the club.
PSG travel to the Bernabeu for the first leg in the middle of February followed by the second leg in the second week of March. Zidane has described the tie as a deciding factor in his future as club boss, as the tie is building up to be the most anticipated pair of matches of the season.
#3 Manchester United
During Sir Alex Ferguson's reign as Manchester United manager in the 7 seasons between 1996/97 and 2002/03, the club was one of the strongest teams in Europe. Boasting incredible pace, power, guile and technique, United won the Champions League once in the period and reached a couple of semi-finals.
For seven consecutive seasons, the club reached the quarter-final stage and set a record at the time. Sir Alex masterminded the team and set it up beautifully.
However, today with Jose Mourinho in charge, the club are back competing against Europe's elite and will take on Sevilla in the round of 16.
The last time United competed in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament was under David Moyes, as the club lost to eventual winners Bayern Munich, in the 2013/14 season. United are dark horses in the year's tournament and could surprise a few clubs in the coming few months.
#2 Real Madrid
Between the 1997/98 season and the 2003/04 season, Real Madrid won the trophy on three occasions under Jupp Heynckes and twice under Vicente del Bosque.
For 7 successive seasons, between 1997/98 and 2003/04, the club reached the quarter-final stage of the tournament and at the time, matched Manchester United's similar feat that ended a year earlier and tied the record.
The club, now under Zidane, is set to take on PSG in the round of 16, in an all-important tie - one that if they lose, will end all hopes of breaking their own record.
Between the 1997/98 and 2003/04 run, other managers such as Guus Hiddink, Carlos Queiroz and John Toshack were also in charge of Madrid and were involved in this fantastic feat.
Notably, the two-time defending champions are the most decorated club in the history of the competition with 10 titles to their name.
#1 FC Barcelona
Barcelona tops the list with the most successive Champions League appearances in the quarter-final stage of the competition with 10 seasons from the 2007/08 campaign until the 16/17 season.
The Catalans have a daunting tie against English giants Chelsea in the round of 16 stage and if they manage to progress to the next round, it will take their appearances tally to 11 successive seasons in the quarter-finals - a stunning record.
The first leg will take place at Stamford Bridge in the third week of February, with the return leg at Nou Camp a fortnight later.
During the run of 10 successive seasons in which they've reached the quarters of the tournament, the club was under Frank Rijkaard for a season, followed by Pep Guardiola for 3, the late Tito Vilanova for 1, Gerardo Martino for 1 and Luis Enrique for 3 seasons.
Ernesto Valverde has produced some sensational results for the club since his appointments and is preparing for a massive result against the defending Premier League champions Chelsea.
The manager will be wary of the strong core balance of the Chelsea team and will need to break through in order cause the team problems. The two legs will be an intriguing affair as two huge clubs will go head-to-head to advance to the next stage of the competition.
