Top five seasons of the Premier League era: From Manchester City's unprecedented domestic Treble to Leicester City's miraculous title triumph... where do they all rank?
After pipping Liverpool to the league title in the most exciting title run ever and overcoming Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shootout to claim the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola's side have won it all on these shores. While the Champions League may have, once again, alluded them, there is no denying this is another Herculean effort from this vaunted outfit, crowned by a 6-0 thrashing of Watford at Wembley.
Manchester United ’ s treble – the best treble there is to win if you’re an English football team – happened 20 years ago this Sunday. You might hear about it this week, with the players set to recreate their Champions League final against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Sunday in aid of United ’ s
1998 – 99 Manchester United F.C. season. Language. Watch. Edit. The 1998 – 99 season was the most successful season in the history of Manchester United Football Club . After finishing the previous season without winning any titles, United won the treble of trophies
© Provided by Future Publishing Ltd. Manchester United 1998-99 Manchester United’s treble – the best treble there is to win if you’re an English football team – happened 20 years ago this Sunday. You might hear about it this week, with the players set to recreate their Champions League final against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Sunday in aid of United’s foundation.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be there fresh from having his head fried as United’s manager. His winning goal was probably the greatest single moment in United’s history, and the line “...and Solskjaer has won it!” arguably commentator Clive Tyldesley’s most famous words. I asked him about them.
What an all-English Champions League final actually says about the Premier League
What an all-English Champions League final actually says about the Premier League
Manchester United ' s jubilant players parade the European Cup after their famous Treble win. With his natural authority, Schmeichel would easily have gone into management but he has instead Van der Gouw helped out coaching United ' s young keepers during his time with the club and was a
The story of Manchester United ’ s Treble started with a third-choice referee. Steve Bruce’ s immortal winner against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993 came in the sixth minute of time added on by John Hilditch, who was only refereeing because of injuries to John Martin before the game and Mike Peck
“It was nearly 20 million (UK viewers) and that doesn’t happen now,” says the commentator who only took over as ITV’s senior man for the 1998/99 season.
© Getty Images This picture can only be used within the context of an editorial feature Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson gives the European Champions League Cup a big kiss in Barcelona, after his team's victory over Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp stadium 26/5/99. (Photo by Owen Humphreys - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images) “A big World Cup game might get 16 million, but never for a club game. BT Sport would have around two million for a Champions League final.”
Bayern quickly went ahead in a poor game where United, missing Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, disappointed.
“There was no sign of United replying until the last five minutes,” recalls Tyldesley. “[Lothar] Matthaus left the field. Bayern hit the woodwork twice in the 82nd and 84th minutes. I was preparing words for glorious failure, one short of a treble that went beyond United’s dreams.”
Why the moon's south pole may be the hottest destination in space
Today, spaceflight firm Blue Origin is expected to announce its lunar ambitions—and clues point toward it joining the global race for this prime extraterrestrial real estate.
1998 – 99 Manchester United F.C. season[edit]. This peer review discussion has been closed. In May 1999, Manchester United Football Club won an unprecedented treble of trophies and arguably completed the most successful season in their history and perhaps English football.
In 1999 Manchester United became the first English team to win a continental treble - and they remain Manchester United in 1998 /1999 were one of the best sides in English football history . Elite ball- winner and leader Roy Keane usually partnered the more technical Paul Scholes in the
But Manchester United were not finished.
© Provided by Future Publishing Ltd. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Bayern Munich 1999 “Then there was a spark; United found form in the four or five minutes leading to the equalising goal,” remembers Tyldesley. “Ron Atkinson, sitting alongside me, sensed it.
“The reaction to the goals was a very important part of my career. If I’d got the second and third goals as wrong, as I’d got the first one (Tyldesley thought Mario Basler’s shot had been deflected past Peter Schmeichel), I wouldn’t be talking to you now.
“I’m aware that it’s part of the story now for a lot of people. As a broadcaster I’m proudest of the pauses I took after the two goals to give myself some thinking time. It’s three or four seconds and I had to put my arm across to restrain Ron, who was going for his microphone after Teddy’s equaliser.
“I’d been taught by my great mentor Reg Gutteridge to use the roar for the goal for some thinking time.
Cafu: "It's true that Milan were celebrating at half-time against Liverpool in Istanbul"
Could he have joined Real Madrid? Will anyone ever get more Brazil caps? And what’s it like to hang with Berlusconi? The legendary ex-right-back reveals all
Manchester United ’ s treble -winning season of 1998 / 99 will always remain afresh in the minds of Considering that the team aren ’t really experiencing their glory days at the moment, it always gives Those were the days of United ’ s supremacy in Europe and how good does it feel even today to see
Best Sellers. Manchester United Training Top - Orange. This season marks 20 years since Manchester United ’ s incredible Treble campaign of 1998 / 99 . This article first appeared in Inside United, the club ’ s official monthly magazine, which is marking the 20th anniversary of the Treble all
© Getty Images Commentators Ally McCoist, left, and Clive Tyldesley, with presenter Gabby Yorath, ITV Sport's new broadcasting team for the Euro 2000 Football Championship that was unveiled in London. * ITV will broadcast upto 16 live games depending on England's progress in the tournament. PA photo: Andrew Stuart (Photo by Andrew Stuart - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images) “It’s lovely when people come up to me and say: ‘Can they score, they always score’ or ‘name on the trophy’ or ‘... and Solskjaer has won it’ – though that broke the golden rule of television commentary as the game hadn’t finished. You’ve never won it until the final whistle.”
None of the 50,000 United fans inside the Camp Nou knew any of this as they celebrated for hours. I was in the second tier behind the south goal with my father and my brother. It felt right to spend the greatest moment that a club can have with the man who’d given me a love of football. He passed away in November, and when I think of the treble, I think of standing with him – and him moaning about the performance.
“United didn’t turn up son, they let themselves down.”
Ajax 2 Tottenham 3 (3-3 agg, Spurs win on away goals): Lucas treble sends Spurs through
Lucas Moura's stunning hat-trick unseated Ajax's unlikely Champions League run and Tottenham will face Liverpool in the final.
“Yeah, but we’ve just won the Treble.”
“I don’t care, son, this is a great team and they didn’t turn up.”
Whatever.
© Provided by Future Publishing Ltd. Sir Alex Ferguson Way 1999 The greatest teams don’t just dominate domestically, as this excellent Manchester City have done this season – they win the top European trophies too. Manchester United won the Treble in 1999 and were then crowned world champions later that year. It still irritates me that they didn’t win the Super Cup.
In 2008, United won the Premier League and the Champions League. It still annoys Patrice Evra like crazy that they didn’t win the FA Cup after losing 1-0 at home to eventual winners Portsmouth in the sixth round. But United went on to be crowned world champions in 2008, even if they didn’t pick up the Super Cup that year either after losing to Zenit in Monaco. The players regret that now.
When the pressure was on in the league and in Europe, United didn’t buckle in 1999. Look at the teams they beat in the FA Cup en route to the final: Premier League Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Fulham, Chelsea – over two matches, the second away – and Arsenal over two incredible semi-final matches. Look at who Manchester City beat this season: Rotherham United and Burnley at home, Newport and Swansea away, Brighton in the semis and Watford in the final. You can only beat who you have to beat, but still…
Conte better than Mourinho, says Pirlo
Former Juventus star Andrea Pirlo talked up Antonio Conte for Inter, at Jose Mourinho's expense.
United fans are massively proud of the Treble. Deep down, they respect City’s outgoing captain Vincent Kompany for being a belting leader of men and a fine person, but they also delight in the “Here’s to you Vincent Kompany, you’ll never win the Treble and you know… Woahhhh!” song.
Well, he’ll never win the biggest one.
© Provided by Future Publishing Ltd. Manchester United Newcastle 1999 FA Cup Final Kompany has been at the club for longer than Sheikh Mansour’s squillions, despite which City haven’t got beyond the semi-finals of the Champions League.
In 1998/99, United came through a qualifying game against LKS Lodz, a group stage with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and whipping boys Brondby, a last eight match against Inter when Serie A was stronger than now, and a semi-final against a Juventus side considered to be the best in the world.
Indeed, Roy Keane maintains that they were the best he ever played against. When the pressure was really on, United went to Turin and beat them 3-2, having first gone 2-0 down. That win came only a week after the glorious 2-1 extra-time semi-final win against a brilliant Arsenal at Villa Park.
Pep Guardiola’s City side are the best English team of this decade, but United’s treble winners are the best English club side in history. And with things so bad at Old Trafford at present after a pitifully poor end to the season, you can’t blame us for temporarily preferring to live in the past.
Gallery: Every Champions League winner, from worst to best (FourFourTwo)
Some champions are better than others...
Firstly, a significant caveat: every team that wins the Champions League has to, by definition, have its special qualities. That being said, some teams are indisputably better than others and in the 26 years since the European Cup became the Champions League, some of the competition's winners have been obvious from the moment a ball was kicked in the First Qualifying Round while in other years you'd have struggled to pick the eventual winners. But who are the best Champions League winners in the quarter century of its existence? From the competition's first winners Olympique de Marseille in the 1992/93 season to the most recent, Zinedine Zidane's 2018 Real Madrid, we rank them all in order from worst to best...
26. Marseille (1993)
Ranked purely on ability, the Marseille of 1993 would feature much higher on this list. With Didier Deschamps anchoring the midfield and the free-scoring Frank Sauzee alongside him, Abedi Pele and Rudi Voller in support of Alen Boksic in attack and a back three of Jocelyn Angloma, Basile Boli and Marcel Desailly, Marseille were truly a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately for the players and supporters, the victory is tainted by corruption. Owner Bernard Tapie tried to fix the Ligue 1 game against Valenciennes six days before the Champions League final, in order to give his team an easier ride. After subsequent investigation L’OM were stripped of their domestic title and relegated to Ligue 2; their European title remains officially intact, but indelibly stained.
25. Chelsea (2012)
After nine years trying to win the Champions League by hiring the planet's biggest managerial names, Roman Abramovich eventually managed it with a stand-in whose CV had ended "Sacked by West Brom". A popular player at the Bridge, Roberto Di Matteo had been brought in as coach by Andres Villas-Boas – but the Italian became interim manager in March when the Portuguese was binned with the Blues stranded in fifth place and staring at a Champions League exit. Di Matteo's Chelsea made a second-leg comeback against Napoli, beat Benfica, squeezed past Barcelona in the semis and somehow took Bayern to penalties in their own stadium. Chelsea won the shootout after a game in which Bayern had had 35 goal attempts to the Blues' nine.
24. Milan (2003)
The 2003 incarnation of Milan were less than the sum of their parts. Their parts included Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Rui Costa, Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko; their sum of goals was four in five Champions League knockout matches. They were involved in the only scoreless Champions League final to date against a Pavel Nedved-less Juventus at Old Trafford in 2003, winning it on penalties as Juve missed three of their five. Coach Carlo Ancelotti was delighted to win the first title in his coaching career, but more impressive triumphs were to follow - for coach and club.
23. Porto (2004)
Jose Mourinho’s Porto rode their luck and ground out results on their way to the Champions League title in 2004. Their tie-winning goal at Old Trafford in the first knockout round came shortly after Paul Scholes had a goal wrongly disallowed, and they beat a vastly superior Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 over 180 minutes of the semi-final. They were also fortunate to face inexperienced Monaco in the final, winning 3-0 thanks to a brilliant exhibition of counter-attacking football. Deco and Maniche were masterful in midfield, but overall Porto were one of the less attractive and entertaining winners.
22. Milan (1994)
The 2004 final against Barcelona in Athens was a sensational football match, with the cocksure Johan Cruyff convinced his Dream Team would come out victorious. The Dutch master was in for a rude awakening, with Fabio Capello’s tactical master plan implemented to perfection as the Rossoneri ran out 4-0 winners with goals from Daniele Massaro (2), Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly. It was a true clash of styles with few neutrals on the side of Milan – Capello’s side had scored just six goals in six group matches and a measly 36 in 34 league matches as they won the Scudetto. As successful as this Milan side were, they weren't exactly the entertainers.
21. Manchester United (2008)
Despite boasting a fluid front line of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, United based their last Champions League triumph to date – a decade ago this month – on their defence. With Edwin van der Sar between the posts and a centre-back partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, United were able to grind their way to the final despite scoring just eight goals in seven knockout matches. Having neutralised Barcelona in a dull semi-final, they had a stroke of luck in the final shootout against Chelsea. In the pouring rain of a Moscow summer, John Terry slipped when taking what could have been the matchwinning penalty. Chelsea had had 24 shots to United's 12, but United's aim was truer.
20. Inter (2010)
Jose Mourinho’s second Champions League title and Inter’s first since 1965 was won in typical fashion – grit, tactical discipline and occasionally playing Samuel Eto’o as an auxiliary right-back. Mourinho was happy to concede possession: Bayern Munich enjoyed 68% of it in the Santiago Bernabeu final, yet were still soundly beaten 2-0 thanks to a Diego Milito brace. Perhaps it shouldn’t matter, especially given the derivation of their name, but Inter didn't have a single Italian in their starting line-up. Subverting the old clichés about carefree South American football, Mourinho's masterclass was achieved with a starting XI featuring four Argentinians and three Brazilians.
19. Real Madrid (2016)
Real Madrid are the most successful club in the Champions League with five trophies, yet the most recent victory was arguably the least impressive. Zinedine Zidane's team were incredibly effective, sweeping aside all before them in the Group Stage with five wins and a draw, qualifying for the knockout stage comfortably from a pool including Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo. Cristiano Ronaldo was sensational throughout the tournament with 16 goals, but even that tally was inferior to his record two years previously when the Portuguese superstar netted 17. Los Blancos prevailed thanks to their defensive qualities, having kept a clean sheet in five knockout fixtures, including both matches against Roma in the round of 16 and in two games against Manchester City in the semi-finals.
18. Borussia Dortmund (1997)
Dortmund’s victory in the Champions League under Ottmar Hitzfeld came against holders and overwhelming favourites Juventus, with towering performances throughout the side. Paulo Sousa won his second Champions League in a row, having moved from Juve the previous summer; Karl-Heinz Riedle scored a quick-fire couple of goals in the first half and local lad Lars Ricken scored within seconds of coming on as a substitute for Swiss forward Stephane Chapuisat. Captain Matthias Sammer confirmed his status as one of the finest players on the planet – and maybe the last great sweeper the game has produced. Sadly, the 1996 Ballon d’Or winner was forced to retire shortly after with a knee injury.
17. Real Madrid (1998)
Real Madrid's statistical domination of Europe's premier club competition has come in two distinct eras: they won their first six titles by 1966 and all the others have come since 1998. It was still something of a surprise when the drought ended against a stronger Juventus side. Predrag Mijatovic scored the only goal at the new Amsterdam Arena in what was a rather disappointing affair, especially considering Madrid's magnificent team: Fernando Hierro at the back, Clarence Seedorf and Christian Karembeu in midfield and the young Raul up top. Jupp Heynckes, who had prioritised the Champions League over La Liga, was sacked eight days later.
16. Liverpool (2005)
Liverpool finished fifth in the league in Rafa Benitez’s first season in English football, but excelled in the Champions League. Things seemed to be going to script when the much-fancied Milan side were three up at half-time, but in six second-half minutes Liverpool dragged themselves level. Jerzy Dudek then produced one of the greatest saves in history from Andriy Shevchenko's effort, and the Pole also proved to be the penalty shoot-out hero. Liverpool were a tactically astute side, out-thinking Juventus in the quarter-finals and preventing Mourinho’s Premier League-battering Chelsea side from scoring over 180 minutes in the semi-final, winning the tie courtesy of a controversial Luis Garcia goal. They were not always as exciting as this final implied; how could they be?
15. Juventus (1996)
Marcello Lippi’s Juventus overtook Fabio Capello’s Milan as Italy’s dominant force in the mid-1990s, with their Champions League win confirming the shift in power from Milan to Turin. En route to the final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, Juventus overcame Real Madrid in the quarter-final despite losing the first leg 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. 21-year-old Alessandro del Piero inspired the 2-0 turnaround at the Stadio delle Alpi and his influence throughout the Champions League was vast despite his tender age. This was a typically well-oiled Serie A machine with Didier Deschamps ably helped in midfield by Paulo Sousa and Antonio Conte – all of whom would later become top coaches.
14. Real Madrid (2000)
Real Madrid had chewed up and spat out no fewer than seven managers in four seasons but ultimately found stability with the man they’d looked to twice previously on a temporary basis, Vicente Del Bosque. A decade before winning the World Cup with Spain, the avuncular gaffer moulded several mouth-watering signings into a team with a fluid style that won over the hearts of neutrals. Ten-goal Raul was unstoppable, but perhaps the most famous moment that season was the outrageous trick Fernando Redondo performed in order to get past Henning Berg before assisting Raul in the superb 3-2 quarter-final win at holders Manchester United. They then threw out the 1999 runners-up Bayern Munich before thrashing Valencia 3-0 in the final at Stade de France.
13. Milan (2007)
Some suggested that Milan would struggle to maintain their level when club legend and goal machine Andriy Shevchenko was sold to Chelsea in 2006, but in many ways Carlo Ancelotti’s side improved. Their efficiency in front of goal was particularly noticeable in the knockout stages of the Champions League, with a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena against Bayern followed up with a 3-0 drubbing of Manchester United at the San Siro in the semi-final. The return leg resulted in a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford but went down as one of the great Champions League matches. Kaka was imperious throughout the campaign and was more than ably assisted by a wonderful midfield of Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso, with the prolific Pippo Inzaghi scoring the goals – including two in the final against Liverpool.
12. Barcelona (2006)
The year before Kaka ruled the Champions League, it was the turn of compatriot Ronaldinho. Dutchman Frank Rijkaard built his side around the mercurial Brazilian, giving Ronaldinho full licence to roam and destroy at will and that platform allowed the former PSG and Gremio man to sparkle. The Ballon d’Or winner led Barcelona to their first Champions League win since 1992, scoring seven goals along the way. Lionel Messi made his debut in the competition and was infamously fouled by Chelsea's Asier Del Horno in the second round. The Basque's subsequent dismissal turned that tie, as did the red card shown to Jens Lehmann early in the final at Stade de France. Arsenal managed to take the lead with 10 men, only for substitute Henrik Larsson to provide two late assists and give Barça a deserved Champions League triumph. But their best was yet to come.
11. Bayern Munich (2001)
Captained by Stefan Effenberg, flanked by flying French wing-backs Bixente Lizarazu and Willy Sagnol and with Oliver Kahn in goal, this was an excellent Bayern side. Traumatised by their late defeat in the 1999 final, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was desperate to atone and deliver Bayern's first Champions League in 25 years. The Germans managed to beat both previous winners home and away, overcoming the Red Devils in the quarter-finals and then Real Madrid in the semis; Giovane Elber scored three crucial goals in those matches. They might have required a penalty shoot-out against Valencia in the final, but this was a superb side.
10. Barcelona (2011)
The 2010/11 season was Lionel Messi’s second most productive in the Champions League, with his 12 goals guiding Barcelona to success in Europe’s top competition. He scored more the following season but his goals in the 2010/11 season weighed heavier – especially his two against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the semi-final of the competition, including a strike of sensational quality. Barcelona were in sparkling form more often than not this season, with Xavi and Andres Iniesta calling the shots in midfield, and David Villa enjoying a positive first season up front. Villa found the net, alongside Pedro and Messi, in the final against Manchester United, when Barcelona dominated Alex Ferguson's team in a 3-1 win at Wembley.
9. Real Madrid (2002)
This was Real Madrid at the height of their Galacticos era. Zinedine Zidane arrived from Juventus, joining Luis Figo, Raul and Roberto Carlos at the Bernabeu. The results were instant; the team scored 27 goals in 12 matches across the two group stages and swept aside Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the knockout stages before Zidane’s iconic goal saw off Bayer Leverkusen in the final at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Sadly for the Spaniards, President Florentino Perez didn't understand how crucial Claude Makelele was to the team, and the project fell apart a year later when the Frenchman was sold to Chelsea and not replaced.
8. Real Madrid (2014)
This one meant more than most to Madrid, ending an obsession with la Decima – the tenth title – which had dragged on for more than a decade since 2002. Cristiano Ronaldo's competition-record 17 goals proved crucial, but it was very much a team effort. Carlo Ancelotti's team achieved some outstanding results and none more so than the 4-0 demolition of holders Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena in the second leg of the semi-finals, with Sergio Ramos scoring a twice to settle the tie. Before that, the other 2013 finalists – Borussia Dortmund – were demolished 3-0 at Santiago Bernabeu in the quarter-finals. Ronaldo was relatively quiet in the final against Atletico Madrid, who came so close to winning, but Sergio Ramos scored the injury-time equaliser before three extra-time goals sealed la Decima in style.
7. Ajax (1995)
The 1995 Ajax side were among the most popular winners ever. Coached by Louis van Gaal, they scored more than 100 goals in the Eredivisie, going the entire season unbeaten, and overcame the best team around – Fabio Capello’s Milan – three times in the 1994/95 campaign, twice in the Champions League group stage and again in the final, with 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert’s late goal sealing the title for the Amsterdammers. The young team assembled by Van Gaal was a joy to watch. With the veteran Frank Rijkaard guiding them from defensive midfield, the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Jari Litmanen, Finidi George and Marc Overmars flourished.
6. Real Madrid (2017)
Madrid were imperious throughout the 2016/17 Champions League, seeing off Napoli, Bayern Munich and neighbours Atletico in the knockout stages. Their opponents in the final were a strong Juventus side for whom the Champions League had become an obsession following three domestic Doubles in a row, but Madrid dominated as they had all season and ran out 4-1 winners in Cardiff.
'Now our watch is ended': history-making 'Game of Thrones' wraps
After eight epic years of chivalry, sex, death and dragons, "Game of Thrones" fans worldwide have just 79 pulsating minutes remaining Sunday to get their final fix in one of the most hotly anticipated events in TV history.
This was an imposing team, marshalled by Sergio Ramos at the back, while Toni Kroos and Luka Modric controlled midfield and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 12 goals fired Madrid to their 12th title. Such was the depth of the quality of the side, they were able to call upon the likes of Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale and Alvaro Morata from the bench. It was a champagne season for Los Blancos, winning a league and European Cup double for the first time since 1958.
5. Real Madrid (2018)
It's difficult to look beyond the fact that Real Madrid of 2018 were very similar to the Real Madrid of 2017. They didn't do as well in La Liga, sure, but they did remarkably well to reach the final here: PSG, Juventus and Bayern Munich were all beaten.
They netted two of the finest goals in the competition's history: Cristiano Ronaldo's wondergoal against future club Juve, and Gareth Bale's winner against Liverpool in the Kiev showpiece will be remembered for decades to come. It was only logical that Zinedine Zidane decided to step aside after that.
4. Barcelona (2015)
The 2014/15 season was the season the world was introduced to MSN, with the forward trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar delivering the treble for Barcelona in a phenomenal display of attacking football. One of the best teams in history, Barcelona easily knocked out the champions of England (Manchester City), France (PSG) and Germany (Bayern Munich) – then Italy (Juventus) in the final. MSN scored 27 in the Champions League with the tormenter-in-chief Lionel Messi providing the gift-to-GIFmakers moment of the season, leaving World Cup winner Jerome Boateng on his posterior in the 3-0 win over Bayern.
3. Bayern Munich (2013)
Poor old Jupp Heynckes delivered Real Madrid’s first Champions League title in 32 years back in 1998 and was sacked eight days later, but things eventually turned out alright for the German coach – his Bayern side won the Treble in 2013, giving Heynckes the perfect gift before his (short-lived) retirement. His Bayern side was one of balance, quality and a seldom-matched ruthlessness. They beat Juventus 2-0 home and away in the quarter-final before utterly obliterating Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the competition. Even Arjen Robben broke his habit of wasting chances when it mattered most to score a dramatic winner two minutes from full-time in the final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. A team to remember and cherish.
2. Manchester United (1999)
Sir Alex Ferguson guided his ’99 United side to an unprecedented Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, with the latter being won in the most incredible fashion. As sensational as the late victory against Bayern at the Nou Camp was, arguably the comeback against a strong Juventus side in the semi-final of the competition was even more impressive. Having drawn the first leg 1-1 at Old Trafford, United trailed 2-0 in Turin but goals from Roy Keane, Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole turned the tie on its head and saw Fergie’s side into the final. Even with key players Keane and Paul Scholes suspended and with Bayern having much the better of things, United won it courtesy of two late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from two David Beckham corners.
1. Barcelona (2009)
Pep Guardiola’s 2009 Barcelona are quite comfortably the best Champions League winners in the competition’s history. Los Cules played with an attacking swagger that had never been seen before and in the 2008/09 season the team was at its purest – Guardiola found an incredible team balance without over-relying on any individual or, indeed, the need to tailor the side to allow any one player to shine. Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets were close to perfection at times, and that team also included Yaya Toure in his prime, while Samuel Eto'o starred alongside Thierry Henry in his last season at Camp Nou. They might have been lucky with refereeing decisions in the semi-finals against Chelsea, but their 4-0 demolition of Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals was amazing, while the 2-0 win over Manchester United in the final at Stadio Olimpico was overwhelming.
27/27 SLIDES
'The time has come for me to go' - Kompany confirms Man City exit in emotional farewell letter.
The Belgian, who led the club to an unprecedented level of success, had been rumoured to be ending his tenure at the Etihad Stadium this year
After pipping Liverpool to the league title in the most exciting title run ever and overcoming Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shootout to claim the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola's side have won it all on these shores. While the Champions League may have, once again, alluded them, there is no denying this is another Herculean effort from this vaunted outfit, crowned by a 6-0 thrashing of Watford at Wembley. 
What an all-English Champions League final actually says about the Premier League 
Today, spaceflight firm Blue Origin is expected to announce its lunar ambitions—and clues point toward it joining the global race for this prime extraterrestrial real estate. 
Could he have joined Real Madrid? Will anyone ever get more Brazil caps? And what’s it like to hang with Berlusconi? The legendary ex-right-back reveals all 
Lucas Moura's stunning hat-trick unseated Ajax's unlikely Champions League run and Tottenham will face Liverpool in the final. 
Former Juventus star Andrea Pirlo talked up Antonio Conte for Inter, at Jose Mourinho's expense. 
After eight epic years of chivalry, sex, death and dragons, "Game of Thrones" fans worldwide have just 79 pulsating minutes remaining Sunday to get their final fix in one of the most hotly anticipated events in TV history. 
Top five seasons of the Premier League era: From Manchester City's... 
What an all-English Champions League final actually says about the Premier... 
Why the moon's south pole may be the hottest destination in... 
Cafu: "It's true that Milan were celebrating at half-time against Liverpool in... 
Ajax 2 Tottenham 3 (3-3 agg, Spurs win on away goals): Lucas treble sends Spurs 
Conte better than Mourinho, says... 
'Now our watch is ended': history-making 'Game of Thrones'... 
'The time has come for me to go' - Kompany confirms Man City exit in emotional... 
