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The biggest dream of every footballer is to win the UEFA Champions League at the club level. Europe’s premier club football competition regularly features the best teams and players on the planet.
The biggest dream of every footballer is to win the UEFA Champions League at the club level. Europe’s premier club football competition regularly features the best teams and players on the planet.
With the 2022/23 Champions League final; between Inter Milan and Manchester City days away, Pulse Sports delves into some of the greatest players to ever win the medal in history.
1. Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona is arguably the greatest footballer of all time, yet with all his glory, he didn’t win the Champions League.
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Maradona won the World Cup virtually in 1986 but never got his hands on the European Cup. The only European trophy he won in his career was the 1989 UEFA Cup with Napoli.
Maradona played in it twice with Napoli. In 1987/88, they were knocked out by Real Madrid, and in 1990/91 by Spartak Moscow.
2. Ronaldo Nazario
El-phenomena is rated by many as the most fantastic striker of all time. Ronaldo had whatever one demanded from a striker and more.
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The Brazilian won almost everything in football, individually and collectively, except the UEFA Champions League.
His hugely decorated trophy cabinet boasts 18 trophies for club and country.
This tally includes two FIFA World Cup and Copa America trophies, a La Liga title with Real Madrid and a Copa del Rey with FC Barcelona, among others.
3. Dennis Bergkamp
Just before retirement, Dennis Bergkamp’s last game for Arsenal was the 2006 Champions League final, when the Dutchman was an unused substitute in the Gunners’ agonizing 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.
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He was also part of the Arsenal side that reached the last eight in 2003/04 when Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners on aggregate in a London derby.
4. Michael Ballack
As though finishing runner-up with one team is bad enough, doing it with two must be extremely hard.
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That’s precisely the fate which befell Michael Ballack: first in 2002 with Bayer Leverkusen and in 2008/09 with Chelsea as he lost to Real Madrid and Manchester United, respectively.
5. Gianluigi Buffon
Juventus signed him from Parma for a world-record fee for a goalkeeper in 2001; Gianluigi Buffon is second only to Alessandro Del Piero in Juventus’ all-time appearance list.
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Buffon was on the wrong end of three final defeats with the Turin-based giants, making two penalty shootout saves in 2003 and then watching Barcelona run out 3-1 winners in 2015 and Real Madrid win in 2017.
6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Swede only retired 48 hours ago, ending a hugely successful career that had him win over 30 trophies, albeit, without a Champions League winners medal.
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It’s a damning fact, given that he featured for some of the most successful clubs in the competition, including AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Ajax and Manchester United.
7. Lothar Matthaus
Matthaus is the highest-capped player for Die Mannschaft with 150 appearances. He also won everything in club football representing Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
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But once again, he never won the UEFA Champions League. Similar to many players on this list, Matthaus came close to winning the title – on two occasions.
He was a losing finalist in 1986/87 when FC Porto defeated the German record champions, and he was also on the receiving end of a bitter defeat in the famous 1998/99 final to Manchester United.
8. Francesco Totti
Featuring 785 games, with 307 goals and for one club, is already a glorious feat. Francesco Totti loved Roma. Roma loved Franceso Totti.
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Totti won the Serie A title and two Italian Cups. The Champions League was out of reach, though. Totti was successful in just two knockout ties but didn’t get past the quarterfinals.
9. Fabio Cannavaro
The legendary Cannavaro won the 2006 Ballon d’Or and amassed a haul of 138 international caps, second only to another name on this list.
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Yet despite playing for Parma during the peak of their European powers in the late 1990s, and subsequently Inter, Juventus and Real Madrid, a Champions League medal still needs to be added to the World Cup winner.
10. Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira won the World Cup. He won the European Championship. He won three titles at Arsenal and four at Inter Milan.
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He was captain of the Invincibles but never played in a Champions League final.
His last kick as an Arsenal player won the 2005 FA Cup final in a penalty shootout against Manchester United.
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