33. Real Madrid: 1997/98
Snapping a barren run lasting 32 years was going to take something special. Ironically, the 1997/98 version of Real Madrid was anything but special, at least not domestically.
A squad chafing under the authoritarian rule of manager Jupp Heynckes finished fourth in La Liga. It meant success in Europe was the only chance for a trophy. Thankfully, Heynckes could call on several star players, including Seedorf, Fernando Hierro, Davor Suker, Roberto Carlos, Fernando Redondo, Christian Karembeu, Predrag Mijatovic, Raul and Fernando Morientes.
Underpinned by a defense held together by Manolo Sanchis, Real were a different animal in the Champions League. Heynckes’ men eased past Leverkusen in the quarter-finals, before ousting holders Dortmund in the last four.
The dubious reward was facing a Juventus team playing in its third-straight final. It took a stubborn defensive effort to hold off a group featuring Alessandro Del Piero, Zidane, Inzaghi and Didier Deschamps.
Mijatovic separated the teams after some fancy footwork in the box late on to finally give Real a seventh triumph in the competition. The aftermath was surprisingly brutal, with Heynckes getting the boot. Suker, Seedorf and Karembeu soon moved on and Sanchis would retire three years later.
It took Vicente del Bosque to sift through the wreckage of Real’s alarming slide following this final.