The Greatest Club Sides

Reims led 2-0 early; Real came back and beat them again in the 1959 final.

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Kopa won three European Cups in Madrid and the 1958 Ballon d'Or.

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He scored in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 and three times in the 1960 final.

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Gento played in eight finals and won six; Modrić, Kroos, Carvajal and Nacho matched him in 2024.

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Gento scored the winner in extra time at the Heysel.

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Bernabéu, president from 1943 to 1978, built both the stadium and the team; Saporta was his right hand.

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Di Stéfano scored three and Puskás four.

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Reims in 1956 (and again in 1959), Fiorentina in 1957, Milan in 1958 and Frankfurt in 1960.

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Di Stéfano came in 1953, Kopa in 1956 and Puskás in 1958.

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About 127,000 watched the 7-3 win, still counted among the finest matches ever played.

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Barcelona had knocked Real out; they then hit the square posts of the Wankdorf several times.

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Real led 3-2 at half-time through a Puskás hat-trick; Eusébio scored twice late on.

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Guttmann left after the second title in a row over money.

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Facchetti scored freely for a defender, a rare freedom in Herrera's cautious system.

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The 1960 Ballon d'Or winner cost a world-record fee and supplied the long passes for Inter's breaks.

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Jair scored the only goal on a waterlogged pitch in Milan.

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Inter won 3-1; Mazzola's father Valentino had captained the Grande Torino.

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1961, 1962, 1963 and 1965.

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1960, 1964, 1965 and 1967.

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Born in Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, he arrived in Lisbon in 1960 and scored 41 goals for Portugal.

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Puskás took the Greek club to Wembley, the only final a Greek side has reached.

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Krol played left-back in Ajax's great side and moved into the libero role in the late 1970s.

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The win in Amsterdam is remembered as one of Total Football's finest displays.

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The holders of the European Cup met the Cup Winners' Cup holders, and Ajax won 6-3 on aggregate. UEFA would not sanction the tie while Rangers were serving a ban, so the 1973 edition counts as the first official one.

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Ajax drew 1-1 in Avellaneda and won 3-0 in Amsterdam.

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De Meer was too small, so European matches moved to the 1928 Olympic Stadium.

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Neeskens followed Cruyff to Barcelona in 1974.

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1969, 1971, March 1973 and summer 1973.

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Cruyff went to Barcelona in 1973, Neeskens in 1974 and Krol in 1980.

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Blankenburg came from 1860 Munich and partnered Hulshoff in the middle of the back four.

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The defender's shot made it 1-1 and forced a replay two days later.

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Each scored two in Brussels against Atlético Madrid.

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Leeds had a goal ruled out and their fans rioted; the club was banned from Europe.

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Cramer replaced Lattek in January 1975.

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Roth, nicknamed 'the Bull', also scored in the 1975 final.

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Maier also won the 1974 World Cup, playing more than 400 league games in a row.

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Bayern won 2-0 in Munich and drew 0-0 in Belo Horizonte.

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1974, 1975 and 1976.

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Real won five from 1956, Ajax three from 1971 and Bayern three from 1974.

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Saint-Étienne hit the square posts twice; many in France still blame the 'poteaux carrés'.

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McDermott, Smith and Neal scored; Keegan left for Hamburg straight after.

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Dalglish had arrived from Celtic that summer to replace Kevin Keegan.

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Kennedy ran on to a throw-in and shot in at the near post late on.

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Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani missed as Grobbelaar clowned on his line.

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Fagan, a Boot Room man, won the league, League Cup and European Cup in his first season.

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Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, Moran and Evans held their meetings among the players' boots.

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It was the highest fee between two British clubs until then.

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1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984.

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Shankly in 1959, Paisley in 1974, Fagan in 1983 and Dalglish in 1985.

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Both finals were at the Stadio Olimpico; in 1984 Liverpool beat Roma in their own stadium.

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Milan won 3-2 in Naples near the end of the season and finished three points clear.

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Ancelotti, Rijkaard, Gullit, Van Basten and Donadoni scored after a 1-1 in Madrid.

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Red Star led when the fog came down; the replay the next day went to penalties, which Milan won.

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Gullit had won it in 1987; Van Basten won again in 1992.

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Evani's free kick in the last minute of extra time won it in Tokyo; Olimpia were beaten a year later.

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Capello's side went unbeaten through the 1991-92 league season.

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Baresi led the zonal back line from the centre; Maldini later took the armband at Milan.

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1987, 1988, 1989 and 1991.

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Liedholm was in charge until 1987, Sacchi from 1987 to 1991 and Capello from 1991.

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Rijkaard ran on to Van Basten's pass and scored; Milan were the last club to retain the trophy until 2017.

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Twenty-six wins and twelve draws.

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He won the Golden Boot and the players' and writers' awards.

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United won 2-0 at Old Trafford; the match is remembered for the food fight in the tunnel.

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His kick hit the bar in the last minute of a 0-0, and Arsenal players confronted him at the whistle.

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Winning the league at their neighbours' ground added to the celebration.

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Wayne Bridge's late goal at Highbury won the quarter-final for Chelsea.

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Preston went unbeaten in 22 games of the first Football League season and won the FA Cup.

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September 2003, April 2004, May 2004 and October 2004.

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Preston in 1888-89, Arsenal in 2003-04, Juventus in 2011-12 and Leverkusen in 2023-24.

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Arsenal drew 12 and won 26 of their 38 matches, and lost none.

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Guardiola had won promotion with Barcelona B in his only season as a senior coach.

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Ronaldinho went to Milan and Deco to Chelsea; Eto'o was also meant to leave but stayed.

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League, cup, Champions League, both Super Cups and the Club World Cup.

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Barcelona equalised late through Pedro and Messi won it with his chest in extra time.

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Puyol handed him the captain's armband so he could lift the cup.

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He was the first player to score in six competitions in one calendar year.

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Inter won 3-1 at San Siro and defended with ten men at the Camp Nou.

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Summer 2008, May 2009, May 2009 (after the Clásico) and December 2009.

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Xavi in 1998, Iniesta in 2002, Messi in 2004 and Busquets under Guardiola in 2008.

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Messi laid the ball back and Iniesta's shot from the edge of the box was Barcelona's only shot on target.

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The Lisbon Lions were local men to a player, which has never happened again for a European champion.

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Gemmell equalised with a thunderous shot and Chalmers deflected in the winner.

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PSV beat Benfica on penalties in Stuttgart without winning a knockout match in 90 minutes.

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Robben, who had missed chances in earlier finals, scored in the 89th minute.

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Heynckes retired at the end of the season, handing over to Guardiola.

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Coman, who came through at PSG, scored against his first club in a final behind closed doors.

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Flick replaced Kovač in November 2019 and won every competition that season.

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Celtic in 1967, Ajax in 1972, United in 1999 and Bayern in 2013.

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Celtic in 1967, PSV in 1988, Bayern in 2013 and Bayern again in 2020.

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PSV won the Eredivisie, the Dutch cup and the European Cup in the same season.

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Zubeldía's side was built on preparation, set pieces and hard defending; Bilardo was one of his players.

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The two legs were bad-tempered; United had George Best sent off in Manchester.

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Martín Palermo scored twice against Real Madrid in Tokyo in 2000.

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Flamengo had won the Copa Libertadores that year; Nunes scored twice in Tokyo.

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Raí scored twice against Cruyff's Dream Team in Tokyo in 1992.

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The Congolese club beat Internacional in the semi-final and lost the final to Inter.

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Paolo Guerrero headed the winner; no South American club had won the tournament again by 2024.

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1968, 1981, 1992 and 2000.

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Independiente seven, Boca six and Estudiantes four.

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Peñarol and Nacional have met since 1900, one of the oldest club rivalries outside Britain.

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