MUSEUM

INDEX

1 INTRODUCTION/04
2 BEST CLUBS/10
3 BEST FINALS/17
4 BEST PLAYERS/22
5 ROAD TO WEMBLEY/54
 1
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Since the competition was founded as the
European Champions Clubs’ Cup over half a
century ago, only 22 clubs and 515 players
have won it. But, in doing so, they and their
opponents have left us an incredibly rich
heritage of magic moments. You might not be
old enough to remember Alfredo Di Stéfano’s
Real Madrid, Eusébio’s Benfica, Johan Cruyff’s
Ajax or Franz Beckenbauer’s Bayern back in
the days when clubs established dynasties by
successfully defending the European crown
– something no team has yet managed to
do since the competition became the UEFA
Champions League in 1992.

And exactly what is it that sticks in your mind?

Is it a micro-second of breathtaking skill like
Zinédine Zidane’s sublime volley in the 2002
final? Do you focus on a wider time-span,
such as Manchester United’s three-minute
comeback in Barcelona in 1999? Maybe it’s
not an image at all, but the sheer drama
of a penalty shoot-out. Or perhaps it’s an
emotion rather than an image. The Museum
of Champions offers you memorabilia and
images to inspire memories and help you to
re-live the special emotions created by the
world’s top club competition.

CREDITS
Designwerk Event Branding and Design
act3 Event Production
Die Firma Print, Production and Build
Hanot
GABRIEL
1954

The Founder
It may be a statement of the obvious that
founder of the ‘European Cup’ was a man of
vision. In latter years ‘visionaries’ have tended
to wear bureaucratic or marketing hats. Not
Gabriel Hanot. He was a football man through
and through. Born in the northern French city
of Arras on 6 November 1889, he played as
full-back or winger for US Tourquennoise and
AS Française, winning his first cap at 19.

But, after scoring twice during his twelfth

international (a 2-2 draw in Belgium) his career
was truncated by an accident in the plane he
was piloting. After World War II, he partook
of a unique footballing cocktail as journalist
and national team coach until, after a 5-1
home defeat by Spain in 1949, he penned an
unsigned article in L’Equipe demanding his
own dismissal as coach. The coach, following
the recommendation of the journalist,
resigned.

He was 65 and still football editor of L’Equipe

when he launched his project for a ‘European
Cup’. Turning the vision into reality required a
team-effort and Hanot was ably backed by
the newspaper’s editor and publisher Jacques
Goddet, aged 50 at the time; by Jacques de
Ryswick, a loquacious written-press and radio
reporter also aged 50; and by Jacques Ferran,
a 34-year-old reporter who was about to start
a 30-year stint as football editor at L’Equipe
and France Football. Fittingly, L’Equipe’s special
correspondent in Lisbon for the first-ever
European Cup game between Sporting Clube
and FK Partizan was Gabriel Hanot, on the spot
to watch and record the birth of his baby.
The first 16
1955-1956

THE 16 PIONEERS
With England’s Football League barring
Chelsea FC from competing, Edinburgh-
based Hibernian FC were the sole British
representatives on a starting grid featuring
several names unfamiliar to today’s young
fans – among them MTK Budapest, who raised
the Hungarian flag under the name of Vörös
Lobogó, or 1. FC Saarbrücken who, months
earlier, had provided ten members of the Saar
national team that had played FIFA World Cup
qualifiers. Only three of the sixteen pioneers
– Real Madrid CF, AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven
– have ever lifted the trophy.

The first round of the European Cup produced

71 goals and only five home wins, with another
37 goals coming in the quarter-finals where
Real Madrid CF, having beaten FK Partizan 4-0
on Christmas Day, hung on for a 3-0 defeat
in ice-bound Belgrade five weeks later. They
then beat Gunnar Nordahl’s AC Milan to earn
a trip to Paris to take on Stade de Reims, who
were unbeaten en route to the final. Thanks
to Alfredo Di Stéfano, Héctor Rial (2) and
Marquitos, Real Madrid came from 2-0 and 3-2
down to win 4-3 and become first champions
of Europe.
The Next 8
1992 - 1993

THE 8 FOUNDING MEMBERS

The presence of eight participants explains
the eight-pointed Starball which has become
one of the competition’s trademarks –
and the eight names in the first-ever UEFA
Champions League created worried frowns in
the marketing department. The champions
of England, Germany and Spain had been
eliminated in the two preliminary rounds.
What’s more, with the group phase kicking-
off in late November, PFC CSKA Moskva, the
executioners of defending champions FC
Barcelona, were obliged to play their ‘home’
games in Germany, where they drew once
and lost twice. But their group went to
the wire, with Olympique de Marseille,
Rangers FC and Club Brugge KV fighting for
the top spot which gave direct access to
the final. The other group was dominated
by Fabio Capello’s AC Milan, who won all six
games, conceding only one goal. Fatally,
they conceded one more in the Munich
final – the Basile Boli header which made
Raymond Goethals’ Olympique de Marseille
the first champions of a competition that
set new benchmarks in European club
football.
3,779,169
1956 - 2013

ULTIMATE FOOTBALL ARENAS

A great game needs a great setting. And
Europe’s finest teams and best footballers have
competed for club football’s greatest prize in
the continent’s most memorable stadiums.
These temples of football have often become
synonymous with the European Champion
Clubs’ Cup and UEFA Champions League finals
they have staged. It is impossible to think of
Hampden Park without picturing the glory
of the 1960 final, the most free-scoring in
the tournament’s history, or the grandeur of
Zinédine Zidane’s volley as Real Madrid CF won
the competition for the ninth time in 2002. The
mere mention of Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic
Stadium conjures up memories of a blockbuster
more thrilling than anything Hollywood has
produced, when AC Milan met Liverpool FC. 15
countries and 23 cities have hosted finals since
the competition started in 1956, ensuring that
a staggering 3,779,169 supporters across Europe
have had the chance to watch the game’s
legends in the flesh.
 2
BEST
CLUBS
BADGE OF HONOUR

Five great European football clubs – AFC Ajax,

FC Bayern München, Liverpool FC, AC Milan,
Real Madrid CF – are an elite within the elite.
They have won the European Cup 33 times
between them and, having won either five
times or more – or three years in a row – have
been awarded the Badge of Honour. This
iconic badge is a simple device – showing a
white outline of the trophy on a silver oval –
players at these clubs can wear on their left
sleeve to show that their club has achieved
this remarkable distinction.

In 1966, UEFA decided that Real Madrid CF,

having won the trophy for a sixth time, had
earned the right to keep it. A new trophy was
commissioned but AFC Ajax (winners from
1971 to 1973), FC Bayern München (winners
from 1974 to 1976), Liverpool FC (who won
their fifth European crown in 2005) and AC
Milan (who have won the competition seven
times) have all earned the right to keep the
trophy.

At the start of the 2000/01 season, a

new Badge of Honour was created to
commemorate such historic achievements.
This badge has now become one of the
greatest accolades in European football, a
mark that all great clubs aspire to.
LOS MERENGUES
1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1966 1998 2000 2002

REAL MADRID CF

Real Madrid CF have won more

games and scored more goals
than any other club in the
competition.
No club has won the European Cup more
often or reached as many finals as Real
Madrid CF. Any Real Madrid CF side aspiring
to greatness must prove its credentials by
winning the UEFA Champions League.

As long ago as the mid-1950s, Santiago

Bernabéu, Real Madrid CF’s great president,
realised that dominating this tournament
was the key to becoming the world’s most
famous club. The greatest players to star for
Los Merengues have illuminated the history
of this tournament from the glory of Alfredo
Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás to the more
recent splendour of Zinédine Zidane and
Raúl. The top two all-time goal scorers in the
European Cup have played for the club and
winger Francisco Gento is the only player to
have won this competition six times.

On their way to 12 finals – nine of which

they have won – Real Madrid CF have played
with a blend of panache, technique and
sheer joy that has become a trademark. The
club’s style and success set the standard
their greatest rivals in Europe have striven to
match.
THE Reds
1977 1978 1981 1984 2005

LIVERPOOL FC

Liverpool FC have never lost a

penalty shoot-out in Europe:
defeating AS Roma in 1984, AC
Milan in 2005 and Chelsea FC in
2007.
European football has become part of
Liverpool FC’s DNA. The club’s passion for
the UEFA Champions League has inspired
many truly historic, atmospheric nights
at Anfield. Victory in Istanbul in the 2005
final was a nerve-shredding affair but the
self-belief that inspired the Reds remarkable
recovery was familiar to anyone who had
watched the club win the competition four
times in eight years between 1977 and 1984.
Coached by Bob Paisley, the only manager
to win the tournament three times, the Reds
dominated European football with a team
including the considerable talents of Kevin
Keegan, Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish
and Ian Rush.

Paisley’s triumphs set a glorious precedent

and every Liverpool FC manager since has
aspired to conquer Europe. By leading the
club to victory in 2005, the final in 2007 and
two successive semi-finals in 2008 and 2009,
coach Rafael Benítez returned Liverpool to
the summit of European football.
DE GODENZONEN
1971 1972 1973 1995

AFC AJAX

In 1995, the year that they won

the UEFA Champions League, the
Dutch national team was almost
entirely composed of AFC Ajax
players.
AFC Ajax is historically one of the largest
and most storied clubs in European football.
Together with Juventus and FC Bayern
München, they are one of only three clubs to
have one all three major European trophies.

The UEFA Champions League wouldn’t be

the same without AFC Ajax. This legendary
club won three European Cups in a row in the
1970s with a fluid, revolutionary style called
‘Total Football’ and has discovered some
of the tournament’s greatest players and
coaches. FC Barcelona’s first two triumphs in
this competition were masterminded by Ajax
legends: Johan Cruyff (in 1992) and Frank
Rijkaard (in 2006).

AFC Ajax is particularly famous for its

renowned youth programme that has
produced so many Dutch talents over the
years. Since the UEFA Champions League
started in 1992/93, Ajax have relied on the
quality of youth to compete with Europe’s
finest. When De Godenzonen won the 1995
final, Patrick Kluivert, still only 18, scored
their winning goal.
Der FCB
1974 1975 1976 2001

FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN

FC Bayern München are the only

club to have won a domestic
championship, domestic cup,
European Champion Clubs’ Cup,
UEFA Champions League, UEFA
Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup,
UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club
World Cup.
The UEFA Champions League has been
a source of despair and joy to FC Bayern
München. The Bavarian giants have never
played in a dull final, losing in the dying
minutes in 1999 and coming back from
behind in the shoot-out to defeat Valencia
CF in 2001. The first truly great FC Bayern
München team – a stylish, competitive
side starring the likes of Sepp Maier, Paul
Breitner, Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller
– won the competition three times in a row
between 1974 and 1976. Germany’s most
famous club have reached 14 semi-finals –
one more than Manchester United FC – but
had to wait 25 years to reconquer Europe.
In 2001, inspired by Oliver Kahn (who saved
three spot kicks in the final shoot-out), the
combative instincts of Stefan Effenberg and
the artistry of Mehmet Scholl they put the
pain of 1999 behind them and reinforced
their position as the most successful German
club in European competition.
I Rossoneri
1963 1969 1989 1990 1994 2003 2007

AC MILAN

AC Milan have reached six UEFA

Champions League finals and
won three of them. No other
team has made the final as often
since the change of format in
1992/93.
If European club football was a game of
chess, AC Milan would be grandmasters.
Few teams have mastered the tactical and
technical subtleties of European competition
as thoroughly as Milan who have, since
1989, competed in eight European Cupfinals
(winning five) and one semi-final.

Under a coaching dynasty started by Arrigo

Sacchi in the late 1990s, I Rossoneri have
consistent lycreated competitive, well-
balanced teams that allow such geniuses
as Marco van Basten, AndriyShevchenko
and Ricardo Kaká to flourish while utilising
the craft, guile and vision of Paolo Maldini,
Andrea Pirlo and Franco Baresi in defence
and midfield. When pitted against the
very best, Milan can be inspired: they have
beaten Real Madrid CF 5-0 (in the 1988/89
semi-final, Real’s heaviest defeat in Europe),
FC Barcelona 4-0 (in the 1994 final, a record
victory in a UEFA Champions League final)
and Manchester United FC 3-0 (in the
2006/07 semi-final second leg).
 3
BEST
FINALS
1956
The First Final
Real Madrid CF 4 – Stade de Reims 3
Parc des Princes, Paris

A PARIS
Premiere
13.06.1956
1960
The Ultimate Final
Real Madrid CF 7 – Eintracht Frankfurt 3
Hampden Park, Glasgow

A RECORD
5 VICTORIES
18.05.1960
1999
The Last 3 Minutes
Manchester United FC 2 – FC Bayern München 1

90 + 3
Camp Nou, Barcelona

26.05.1999
2005
The Ultimate Final
AC Milan 3 – Liverpool FC 3 (2-3 on penalties)
Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadi, Istanbul

THE ULTIMATE
COMEBACK
25.05.2005
1962
A LEGEND
IS BORN
02.05.1962
When Eusébio Entered the Limelight
SL Benfica 5 – Real Madrid CF 3
Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam

1968
BELIEVE
29.05.1968
The Triumph
Manchester United FC 4 – SL Benfica 1 (after extra-time)
Wembley, London

1993
A NEW
ERA
26.05.1993
The Dawn of the UEFA Champions League
Olympique de Marseille 1 – AC Milan 0
Olympiastadion, Munich

1997
KALLE-LUJAH
28.05.1997
Riedle solves the Italian riddle
BV Borussia Dortmund 3 – Juventus 1
Olympiastadion, Munich

2008
MIDNIGHT
IN MOSCOW
21.05.2008
Theatre of Dreams
Manchester United FC 1 – Chelsea FC 1 (6-5 on penalties)
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

2011
MESMERISING
28.05.2011
A Return to Glory
FC Barcelona 3 – Manchester United FC 1
Wembley, London

2012
BLUE SKIES
19.05.2012
Drogba’s Final Journey to Glory
FC Bayern München 1 – Chelsea FC 1 (3-4 on penalties)
Fußball Arena München, München
 4
BEST
PLAYERS
Gento
Francisco

1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1966

Paco
Francisco ‘Paco’ Gento’s record of six winners’
medals in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup
still remains unbeaten today. He completed his
half-dozen against FK Partizan in 1966, having
played in eight of the first eleven finals.

When he played the first, in 1956, the flying left-

footer from Santander was 22 – a good six years
younger than his illustrious attacking partners
Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás.
Di Stéfano
1956 1957 1958 1959 1960
Alfredo

LA SAETA RUBIA
Alfredo Di Stéfano was never one to transmit
or receive flowery speeches. The man who
emerged as the dominant figure in the early
years of continental football was a prototype of
the player who preferred to do his talking on the
pitch.

Di Stéfano’s eloquence as a footballer was

pure poetry to those who saw him wearing the
famous all-white strip of Real Madrid. He was
the classic example of a player who cannot be
judged by what he said but can best be judged
by what others said about him.
Puskás
FERENC

1960

The Galloping Major

Only the happiest of accidents allowed the
name of Ferenc Puskás to be deeply engraved in
the history of European club football. Olympic
champion in 1952 and silver-medallist at the
1954 FIFA World Cup, he had hammered in 83
goals in 84 games for Hungary.

But the birth of European club football was

rapidly followed by the uprising in Hungary
which consigned many top stars to exile – and
to be the victims of a two-year ban. Puskás
dropped out of sight in Vienna, only to be
signed by Real Madrid CF in 1958, when he was
on the wrong side of 30 and even further on the
wrong side of his ‘fighting weight’. The gamble,
however, paid off for both parties. He was top
scorer four times in the Spanish league, scoring
154 times in 179 games, hit 50 in 40 cup games
and, if 110 friendly matches are included, struck
an astounding total of 324 goals in 372 games
for the Spanish club.
Eusébio
1962

A PANTERA NEGRA
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira was among the first
African players to make a huge impact in
European football. Although Portuguese in
his footballing denomination, he has never
forgotten his roots in Mozambique and
expresses enormous gratitude to Mário Coluna,
the compatriot who did so much to help him
integrate into Portuguese football when he
travelled, on 16 December 1960, from Lorenço
Marques to a wintry Lisbon. And it was there, at
the Estádio da Luz, that Eusébio earned himself
the ‘Pantera Negra’ Black Panther nickname.

SL Benfica were delighted to have discovered

a fast, inventive attacker who, when he had
the goal in his sights, had a kick like a mule. At
that time, the Lisbon club was a major force
in European football and Eusébio made an
international name for himself by scoring twice
as Benfica came from 2-0 and 3-2 down to beat
Real Madrid CF 5-3 in the 1962 final.
Best
GEORGE

1968

The Fifth Beatle

It was against SL Benfica that George Best
revealed the full range of his skill and tricks.
Manchester United FC went into the European
Champion Clubs’ Cup quarter-final tie in Lisbon
in 1966 leading by a solitary goal after the 3-2
first-leg win at Old Trafford. United manager
Matt Busby planned a cautious approach, at
least for the opening 20 minutes, but later
famously commented: “George must have
listened to my talk with cotton wool in his ears.”

Caution was not for Best. He threw it to the

wind and scored twice in the first eleven
minutes as United stormed to a 3-0 lead within
a quarter of an hour. The next day the local
papers christened him ‘El Beatle’.

Best would play a leading role when Manchester

United FC finally won the European Champion
Clubs’ Cup in 1968. He broke the deadlock and
produced a scintillating performance as United
defeated Benfica in extra time at Wembley.

Later that year he beat United team-mate

Bobby Charlton to the France Football Ballon
d’Or award. Blessed with exquisite talent, the
Northern Irishman also contributed to two
league championship successes at United while
his good looks and flamboyant lifestyle earned
him pop-star status in the United Kingdom.
Charlton
1968
Sir Bobby

Bobby Dazzler
Bobby Charlton was the ultimate ‘Busby Babe’,
a player blessed with a left foot wielded with,
it was fashionable to say, cannon-ball power.
But he was much more than a striker. He could
glide down the wing, he could lead the attack,
and he was at his most effective as a deep lying,
play-making centre-forward. As his Manchester
United FC’s team-mate Pat Crerand said “Bobby
was pure poetry.”
Cruyff
JOHAN

1971 1972 1973

NUMMER 14
The Total Footballer helped AFC Ajax to take
Europe by storm during the first three seasons
of the 1970s, prompting his coach, Rinus
Michels, to claim that “Cruyff is from another
planet”.

In 1992, by leading FC Barcelona to victory

at Wembley, he became only the third man
behind Miguel Muñoz and Giovanni Trapattoni
to take the European crown as both player and
coach – a feat which was repeated by Carlo
Ancelotti in 2003, Frank Rijkaard in 2006 and
Josep Guardiola in 2009.
Beckenbauer
FRANZ

1974 1975 1976

DER KAISER
On 3 August 1971, Franz Beckenbauer was
playing with FC Bayern München in Vienna for a
pre-season friendly against FK Austria Wien to
celebrate the Austrian club’s 60th anniversary.
At the team hotel, he was approached by
Austrian photographer Herbert Sündhofer
who – with no ulterior motive – wished to take
a photo of him. It so happened that Franz was
photographed next to a bust of the Austrian
Emperor, Kaiser Franz Joseph I 1848-1916. The
photo was published in Austria and Germany
and one caption read the meeting of two
Emperors Kaiser Franz and Kaiser Franz Joseph.
A legend was born.
Maldini
PAOLO

1989 1990 1994 2003 2007

Il CAPITANO
Left-backs don’t often become legends but
Paolo Maldini did – as a role model of loyalty
to a club, as an outstanding performer and as
ambassador for the game. Following his father’s
footsteps into AC Milan, Paolo made his debut
at 16 and bowed out a month short of 41. Over
1,000 games separated the two dates and,
when he became champion of Europe in 1989,
20 years after Cesare, the Maldinis became one
of two fathers and sons to win the title.
Paolo, a UEFA Champions League pioneer when
it was born in 1992, headed the fastest goal ever
scored in a final after 51 seconds of the ill-fated
meeting with Liverpool in 2005. When he lifted
the trophy for the fifth time – the second as AC
Milan captain – in 2007, he became the oldest
champion at almost 39. It was a fitting climax to
174 UEFA games and 126 for Italy.
Raúl
1998 2000 2002

EL SIETE
Raúl made his UEFA Champions League debut
against AFC Ajax in Amsterdam in September
1995. It was Real Madrid’s debut in the new
format of the competition and Raúl’s explosive
pace, intelligent running and innate finishing
ability have been hallmarks of the club’s
illustrious contributions since then.

He has twice topped the UEFA Champions

League scoring charts. He has been champion
of Europe three times. And he has scored in
two of the three victorious finals, rolling in
the opener against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in
Glasgow in 2002 two years after the 70-metre
solo run towards the Valencia CF goal at the
Stade de France had produced one of the
most remarkable goals ever seen in a UEFA
Champions League final.
Seedorf
CLARENCE

1995 1998 2003 2007

OPA
The Dutch midfielder made UEFA Champions
League history as the only player to have been
champion of Europe with three different clubs.
Launched into the AFC Ajax first team by Louis
van Gaal at 16, he made an immediate impact
with his superlative technique, quick feet and an
even quicker footballing brain. Having donned
the European crown with the Amsterdam
club in 1995, he returned to the city as a Real
Madrid CF player in 1998 to lift the trophy for
a second time at the newly-built ArenA. After
two years with FC Internazionale Milano, he
crossed the city to join AC Milan in 2002 and,
in his first season, completed his hat-trick by
winning the 2003 final against Juventus at Old
Trafford. Four seasons later he picked up UEFA’s
Best Midfielder award after lifting the trophy
for the fourth time at the 2007 final against
Liverpool FC. By the time he bowed out of
the UEFA Champions League in the 2011/12
quarter-final against FC Barcelona, he had made
125 appearances in his favourite competition.
Del Piero
ALESSANDRO

1996

ALE
Alessandro Del Piero joined Juventus in 1993
and remained faithful to Italian football’s Old
Lady during a 19-year career – even continuing
to wear the captain’s armband when the
famous Turin club was relegated to Serie B.
Scoring goals regularly for almost two decades
against Italian defences required talent – and
Del Piero had it. When he finally left in 2012,
he had set club records of 705 appearances
and 290 goals for Juventus and had forged
a reputation as one of the game’s deadliest
strikers of a dead ball, with his free-kicks
regularly among the candidates for UEFA
Champions League accolades in the set-play
category. He played in various attacking roles,
winning the UEFA Champions League in the
first of his four finals in 1996, operating in the
hole behind Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli
and played a similar role behind Luca Toni and
Vincenzo Iaquinta when he came on as sub in
the 2006 FIFA World Cup final and converted his
penalty in the shoot-out victory over France.
Casillas
IKER

2000 2002

San Iker
With trophies ranging from the European
Under-16 title to a FIFA World Cup winner’s
medal and two UEFA European Championships,
Real Madrid CF’s No.1 is in the select band of
players who have won every major competition
with club and national team. Casillas has played
more UEFA Champions League games than any
other goalkeeper, picking up winner’s medals in
2000 and 2002. His reflexes and shot-stopping
abilities have won him a collection of individual
awards and his leadership qualities made him
the ideal choice to captain Real and to wear the
armband for the Spanish national team, where
he has made more appearances than any other
player.
Scholes PAUL

Giggs
1999 2008
RYAN

THE GINGER PRINCE

Paul Scholes is the archetypal ‘team player’.
The ginger-haired midfielder has been loyal
to Manchester United FC since the days when
he was winning the FA Youth Cup in England
alongside David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.
He has always preferred to keep a low media
profile and let his football do the talking. And his
football has been based on selfless hard work,
intelligent passing and explosive shooting power.

It was his solitary long-range goal that beat

FC Barcelona in the 2007/08 semi-final and
allowed him to lift the UEFA Champions League
trophy in Moscow, sweetening the bitter
aftertaste of having missed United’s 1999
triumph through suspension. Scholes has now
passed the landmarks of 700 games and 150
goals for United, with well over 100 appearances
in the UEFA Champions League – which could
have been more had he not ‘retired’ in 2011, only
to be persuaded to return seven months later.

THE WELSH WIZARD

Clichés about ‘living legends’ are not wasted on
Ryan Giggs, one of the most decorated players
in the British game. The Welshman made his
debut as a flying left-winger in March 1991 and,
20 years later, appeared in a deeper midfield
role to beat Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 758
appearances for Manchester United FC when he
came on as sub in the 2008 UEFA Champions
League final. His penalty in the shoot-out
turned out to be the winner that gave United
their third European crown and he went on to
reach 1,000 competitive appearances for the
club and to become the oldest player ever to
score in the UEFA Champions League.
Beckham
DAVID

1999

Becks
Not many footballers inspire full-length feature
films. Bend it like Beckham was a tribute to the
charisma and exceptional abilities of a player
who wore the colours of clubs which had, jointly,
been champions of Europe on 19 occasions. It
was at Manchester United FC that he developed
from boy to man, as a footballer and a human
being, while progressing from victory in the FA
Youth Cup in 1992 to the epic triumph in the
1999 UEFA Champions League final. Although
unprecedented glitter has been attached to it,
his career has been underpinned by a profound
love for the game and a strong training ethic
which allowed him to hone his crossing, long-
range shooting and set plays.

His moves to Real Madrid CF and Paris Saint-

Germain FC, with two loan spells at AC Milan
allowed him to surpass 100 UEFA Champions
League appearances and to confirm the
magnetism of a player who successfully
blended glamour with a lot of hard work on the
training pitch.
Shevchenko
Andriy

2003

Sheva
Andriy Shevchenko joined AC Milan from FC
Dynamo Kyiv in 1999 and his prolific exploits in
Italy earned him the France Football Ballon d’Or
in 2004. His ability to score goals was derived
from exceptional fitness, clinical finishing and
intelligent off-the-ball movement. When he
left Italy for Chelsea FC in 2006, his haul of 173
goals had made him Milan’s second-highest
marksman and he had also converted the
winning penalty during the shoot-out that
decided the 2003 UEFA Champions League final
against Juventus. Returning to Dynamo in 2009,
one of Ukraine’s legends rounded off a career
that featured 67 goals in 143 games in UEFA
competitions.
Gerrard
STEVEN

2005

STEVIE G
Steven Gerrard has been an inspirational force
as captain, goalscorer and talismanic presence
for Liverpool FC. The archetypal ‘complete
midfielder’ possesses a rare blend of tenacity,
technique and an extraordinary ability to hit
long passes and long-range shots with power
and precision. Gerrard led by example and gave
his team-mates confidence and belief with
his tackling, passing and shooting as the club
won the UEFA Champions League in 2005 with
that unforgettable, improbable comeback
from 3-0 down against AC Milan in Istanbul. It
was his header, early in the second half, which
turned the tide but it was his inspirational role
throughout the season which earned him the
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.

Gerrard also scored in another of the ‘craziest’

European finals in recent history, when Liverpool
beat Deportivo Alavés 5-4 in Dortmund to take
the UEFA Cup in 2001. But his career has been
about consistency rather than isolated peaks.
The Liverpool captain is the club’s highest
scorer in UEFA competitions and has passed the
milestone of 100 appearances for his country –
a quarter of them as captain.
Ronaldinho
2006

Ronaldinho gaÚcho
If he’s wearing the FC Barcelona shirt, it takes a
special player to earn a standing ovation from
the Real Madrid CF fans at the Estadio Santiago
Bernabéu. Ronaldinho has been special enough
to do just that. France Football Ballon d’Or, FIFA
World Player, and UEFA Club Footballer of the
Year in 2006, his collection of individual awards
is not only a mark of exceptional quality but also
an ode to the joy of football.

At Paris Saint-Germain FC, at FC Barcelona, at

AC Milan or as a FIFA World Cup winner with
Brazil, Ronaldinho has played the game with
a trademark toothy smile and has spread
smiles among the fans with his extraordinary
repertoire of skills ranging from passes with
his back to free-kicks over or round defensive
walls – or even under them, as displayed in a
UEFA Champions League game against Werder
Bremen. But his trickery is productive. As well as
the 2006 UEFA Champions League win in Paris,
his teams have won titles at levels ranging from
the Under-17s to the FIFA World Cup.
Xavi
Iniesta
2006 2009 2011
ANDRÉS

El Profe
A product of FC Barcelona’s famous youth
system, Xavi Hernández has become the
ultimate pass master in an astounding
sequence of successes for club and country.
Xavi is a profoundly modest genius with
immaculate timing, superb technique, a deep
understanding of the game and a unique ability
to dance his way out of trouble and, somehow,
to deliver inspired passes from tight situations.
Apart from two EUROs and a FIFA World Cup,
Barça’s diminutive playmaker has won every
conceivable club title; has smashed appearance
records; and has become a perennial candidate
for the game’s top individual awards.

El Cerebro
He’s more than happy for his team-mates
to hog the limelight, but the sheer quality of
Andrés Iniesta’s football pushes him towards
centre-stage. The FC Barcelona midfielder is
one of a rare breed who, season after season,
can still find unique solutions to one-on-one
situations and bring the fans to their feet. His
creative passing carries a sting, as he ghosts
into the opponents’ area to score crucial goals
– including the extra-time strike which won
Spain the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Iniesta, UEFA’s
Player of the Tournament when Spain won
the European Championship two years later,
will also go into the record books as one of the
few top footballer to own a vineyard while still
offering the fans some vintage football.
Eto’o
SAMUEL

2006 2009 2010

SAMMY
One of the best all-around forwards in the
world, with an astonishing strike rate, Samuel
Eto’o won the first of well over 100 caps for
Cameroon at 15; has been gold-medallist at
African Cup of Nations and Olympic finals;
and became the first player to win the African
Player of the Year award four times. But he
claims his greatest satisfaction was becoming
one of only four players to have won the UEFA
Champions League in consecutive seasons with
two different teams. In Rome in 2009, he scored
FC Barcelona’s first goal in the final against
Manchester United FC as the Catalans clinched
their third European crown and then showed
his insatiable appetite for success by dropping
deep and contributing to defensive play when
FC Internazionale Milano beat FC Bayern
München in Madrid a year later. His exciting,
volatile attacking skills have made him a serial
goalscorer – and a specialist in hitting the crucial
first goal which opens up the opposition.
Kaká
Ricardo

2007

KaKÁ
A brilliant striker or playmaker, Ricardo Kaká
can win games with shots from distance, an
inspired pass or by running at defences from
central midfield. The Brazilian scooped up all
the individual awards in the 2006/07 season,
when he was top scorer in the UEFA Champions
League with ten goals and was a key performer
in AC Milan’s run to the title, rounding off a
great campaign by providing both assists as
the rossoneri defeated Liverpool FC 2-0 in the
Athens final.

His game is not just about what he does. It’s

also about the way he does it. His movements
on and off the ball have a special economy and
elegance. He makes his exceptional ball skills
look effortless and, on the pitch, he expresses
himself with the humility and belief which are
the hallmarks of his personality. Having joined
AC Milan in 2003 and been signed by Real
Madrid CF in 2009, Kaká’s professionalism has
earned him role-model status within the game
and his blend of Brazilian fantasy and tactical
awareness have fascinated fans all around the
globe.
Ronaldo
Cristiano

2008

Abelhinha
Vicious, swerving free-kicks, tap-ins after high-
speed runs behind defenders, bullet headers,
power drives from improbable distances…
Cristiano Ronaldo finds all sorts of routes to
the net. The Portuguese striker’s immense
repertoire has made him one of the world’s
greatest and prompted Real Madrid CF to pay
Manchester United FC a world record fee for him
in the summer of 2009.

When Ronaldo joined United from Sporting

Clube de Portugal in 2003, pace, one-on-one
dribbling skills and stepovers were his most
obvious attributes. But, as an ambitious
and relentless self-improver, he added extra
dimensions to his game under Sir Alex Ferguson
and won the France Football Ballon d’Or, FIFA
World Player and UEFA Club Footballer and
of the Year in 2008 after scoring 42 goals in
all competitions, eight of them in the UEFA
Champions League, including the goal in the
victorious final against Chelsea FC.

Ronaldo not only scores, but scores

spectacularly. Season after season, when
UEFA’s technical observers meet to select the
best goals of the UEFA Champions League, he
supplies candidates in both the open-play and
set-play categories. Under José Mourinho at
Real Madrid, he has operated across the width
of the attack and has hammered in goal after
goal from any position and his flair for the
spectacular has made him as popular among
‘merengue’ fans as club legends like Zinédine
Zidane, Luís Figo or even Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Messi
lionel

2006 2009 2011

La Pulga
Once in a generation, an extra-special player
comes along. Lionel Messi seems to have
stepped out of a computer game and on to
the pitch. His skills have the fans rubbing their
eyes and asking “how did he do that?” And
FC Barcelona’s modest pocket-sized genius
is not just a scoring machine. He clocks up as
many assists as he does goals. Even Argentina’s
other left-footed legend, Diego Maradona, is in
awe: “He feels the ball, that’s what makes him
different from the rest. I have found my heir.”

Messi loves the UEFA Champions League.

The fans gave him the first of many standing
ovations on his tournament debut against
Udinese Calcio on 27 September 2005.
Inheriting Ronaldinho’s No. 10 jersey in 2008/09
seemed to inspire him to even greater heights;
to score crucial goals against Manchester United
FC as Barça won the 2009 and 2011 finals;
to become a serial top scorer in the world’s
greatest club competition; and to pick up award
after award in the polls that pay homage to the
most dazzling performers on planet football.
And, as if to demonstrate that greatness can
be measured in numbers, he smashed Gerd
Müller’s 40-year-old record of 85 goals in a
calendar year by hitting the net 91 times in
2012. Will we see anything like him again?
Milito
diego

2010

El Príncipe
Arriving from Italian Serie A club Genoa CFC
as a replacement for the departing Zlatan
Ibrahimović, Diego Milito had big boots to fill at
FC Internazionale Milano. And fill them he did.
While his reputation as a marksman may have
been understated, José Mourinho knew the
type of player he was bringing to San Siro.

It took the rest of Europe a little longer to wake

up to the talents of Milito but, when they did,
it was too late as the Argentinian was firing
goals against them with regularity and aplomb.
Chelsea FC were a high profile victim in the
Round of 16, with Milito’s opener at the Stadio
Giuseppe Meazza setting Inter on their way
to victory over Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but FC
Bayern München proved the best scalp of all.

The biggest names shine on the biggest stage

and Milito proved his star pedigree in the UEFA
Champions League final in Madrid, grabbing
both goals in a 2-0 victory that secured Inter
their third European crown and their first in 45
years.
Zidane
ZINÉDiNE

ZIZOU
One of the hallmarks of truly great players is
that they are often known by their nickname.
The technical brilliance of the left-footed volley
by ‘Zizou’ that gave Real Madrid CF their 2-1
win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the 2002
final encapsulated the flair and originality of a
player who also reached finals with Juventus
and helped FC Girondins de Bordeaux to reach
the UEFA Cup final in 1996. His goal at Hampden
Park was arguably the best ever seen at a final.

THE
ULTIMATE
GOAL 15.05.2002

That volley, of course, was a great

moment for me. To score like that in
the Champions League, think that
only happens once in your life. It’s
one of my greatest memories.”
 5
ROAD
TO
WEMBLEY
Road to
Wembley
FC BAYERN München

Group Stage F
FC Bayern München
Valencia CF
FC BATE Borisov
LOSC Lille

Round of 16 3-3

Bayern win on away goals

Arsenal FC 1-3 FC Bayern München

Arsenal Stadium, London

FC Bayern München 0-2 Arsenal FC

Fußball Arena München, Munich

QUARTER-FINALS 4-0

FC Bayern München 2-0 Juventus

Fußball Arena München, Munich

Juventus 0-2 FC Bayern München

Juventus Stadium, Turin

SEMI-FINALS 7-0

FC Bayern München 4-0 FC Barcelona

Fußball Arena München, Munich

FC Barcelona 0-3 FC Bayern München

Camp Nou, Barcelona

FINAL

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Group Stage d
Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid CF
AFC Ajax
Manchester City FC

Round of 16 5-2

FC Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

Donbass Arena, Donetsk

Borussia Dortmund 3-0 FC Shakhtar Donetsk

BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund

QUARTER-FINALS 5-2

Málaga CF 0-3 Borussia Dortmund

La Rosaleda, Málaga

Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Málaga CF

BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund

SEMI-FINALS 4-3

Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid CF

BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund

Real Madrid CF 2-0 Borussia Dortmund

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid

FINAL
FINAL
Wembley
25.05.2013