Champions League - 2005 To 2010

2005 to 2010 — Liverpool, Barcelona and Milan Triumphs, Manchester United reaches back-to-back finals

2005: The miracle of Istanbul

There was a similar surprise in 2005. This time it involved two of Europe's most successful clubs. Six-time European Champions A.C. Milan faced four-time winners Liverpool in what could be considered one of the most dramatic finals in the competition's history. Milan were the overwhelming favourites, having claimed the crown two years previously and boasting a star-studded lineup that included the ageless Paolo Maldini and Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko along with a new threat in the form of the Brazilian attacking midfielder Kaká. Liverpool, on the other hand, had struggled through a domestic league campaign that saw them only finish fifth, but produced an incredible series of performances in Europe, beating Juventus for the first time since Heysel, and then upsetting runaway Premiership winners Chelsea.

Milan broke through after just 52 seconds, Maldini striking the fastest goal in European Cup Final history. The Italians, buoyed by a sensational showing from Brazilian star Kaká took control of the game. Shevchenko fed Hernán Crespo five minutes before half-time to make it 2–0, only for Crespo to add another two minutes later after a defence-splitting pass from Kaká. At 3–0 down at half-time, Liverpool looked dead and buried; so much so that a small minority of Liverpool supporters left the match at half-time, a decision that they would later come to regret.

Liverpool's Spanish manager Rafael Benítez changed the course of the game when he introduced German midfielder Dietmar Hamann, who helped to stifle the previously instrumental Kaka. After Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek made a fine save from a Shevchenko free-kick, one of the European Cup Final's greatest ever comebacks began. Captain Steven Gerrard scored with a header before Vladimír Šmicer's long-range drive made it 3–2 just two minutes later. And on the hour mark Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso completed the comeback by converting the rebound from his saved penalty kick to make it 3–3. With Liverpool's three goals coming in the space of only six minutes.

Milan almost won it at the end of extra time when Shevchenko was twice denied in quick succession by Dudek. That proved crucial as they moved on to a penalty shoot-out where Liverpool triumphed 3–2 when Dudek, at the urging of colleague Jamie Carragher, consciously mimicked Bruce Grobbelaar's legendary 1984 "spaghetti legs" routine. Amazingly, the stunt worked its magic again, as Dudek again saved from Shevchenko in the decisive spot kick, after having watched Serginho blast his penalty over the bar and Kaka have his penalty also saved - Hamann, Djibril Cissé and Smicer scored for The Reds to give them the win. Liverpool had captured their most unlikely European Cup victory, and as five-time winners earned the honour of keeping the trophy.

In keeping with the dramatic fashion of the knockout phase, Liverpool had almost failed to qualify from the group stage at the beginning of the competition. Participating in Group A, along with Monaco, Deportivo La Coruña and Olympiacos, Liverpool were placed third going into matchday 6 and had to win with a clean sheet or by at least two clear goals in their last match against Olympiacos at home. At half-time, the Greeks were leading by a goal to nil; although Florent Sinama Pongolle had equalised two minutes after the break, the score was still 1-1 with less than ten minutes left. After 81 minutes, Neil Mellor gave Liverpool the lead before, with just four minutes of normal time left, Steven Gerrard fired in a spectacular goal from 25 yards to seal the 3-1 victory that took them into the knock-out stages.

Rule changes: league position and qualifying

There was further controversy as Liverpool had finished fifth in their domestic league and thus were not automatically entitled to enter the 2005–06 competition. The Football Association had entered Everton as the final entrant after their fourth place finish in the league, and did not wish to replace the team with Liverpool to allow the defence of the Champions' League (despite having made provision for such an eventuality the previous season when Arsenal faced Chelsea in the quarter-final).

Liverpool and the FA lobbied hard for a special fifth Champions League place for the team, claiming it was UEFA rules rather than the FA's previous decisions that were keeping Liverpool from the competition. After some debate, UEFA decided to grant special dispensation and allow Liverpool to defend their title, but they had to enter the tournament at the First Qualifying Round. The ruling also stated that if the team made it into the Champions League proper the other English teams would have to split the prize money that was due to them. The rules of the competition were also changed to prevent any further dispute if the same situation happened again; future winners not qualifying through their domestic league will take the place of the team claiming the last Champions League spot in the domestic League. If the same situation were to happen again, where Everton claimed the fourth and final Champions League place in the English Premiership with Liverpool finishing fifth, Liverpool would take Everton's place in the Champions League and Everton would have to settle for a UEFA Cup spot.

The situation almost presented itself again in the 2005–06 season, when Arsenal made progress all the way to the final of the Champions League while performing poorly in their own domestic league, finding themselves behind their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur — it was only on the last day of the domestic season that Arsenal achieved the final Champions League qualification spot, with Spurs, who had held fourth place for several months, going into the UEFA Cup. Had Arsenal finished fifth, then gone on to win the Champions League, then they, and not Spurs, would have been England's final entrant into the next season's competition.

This changes the previous rules where the winners of the competition had to qualify in order to defend their title, just like the winners of World Cup, as it was assumed they would finish in the qualification places in their domestic league. All winners are now however, as described, allowed to defend their title.

2006 — "Victòria del Barça!"

After 3 years of dominance by La Liga during 2000–2002, Spain teams were not as successful during 2003–2005 as they only had semi-finalists Real Madrid in 2003 and Deportivo in 2004. In 2006, they made a truimphant return with Barcelona and Villarreal in the semi-finals. The semi-finalists were Villarreal, Arsenal, AC Milan and Barcelona. Barcelona overcame Chelsea and Benfica in the knockout stages, while Villarreal beat the Glasgow Rangers and Inter Milan, AC Milan beat Bayern Munich and Olympique Lyonnais, and Arsenal beat Juventus and Real Madrid. Making use of their 1–0 victory at Highbury, Arsenal succeeded in holding off Villareal (including a Jens Lehmann save of a late penalty from Juan Román Riquelme) to a 0–0 draw which put them through to final. Barcelona played Milan in the other semi-final, and held on to the 1–0 advantage of the first leg to qualify for the final.

In the final, held on 17 May at the Stade de France, Lehmann became the first player ever to be sent off in a European Cup/Champions League final after fouling Samuel Eto'o just outside the penalty area. The sending off was the subject of some protest, as Eto'o had already passed off to an open Ludovic Giuly who put the ball in the goal; however, the referee had blown the whistle for the foul. Arsenal nonetheless took the lead off a Sol Campbell header in the 37th minute and held it for most of the second half, with substitute keeper Manuel Almunia tipping away a shot by Eto'o. Eto'o equalised off a probing feed from substitute Henrik Larsson in the 76th minute; this goal was disputed by Arsenal as they had thought it was scored from an offside position [6]. Five minutes later, another Larsson ball found Juliano Belletti, who put the second goal through the legs of Almunia to give Barça their final 2–1 margin.

2007 — "Vendetta del Milan"

Route to semi-finals

The Premier League boasted three semi-finalists with Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea, with the last spot being held by A.C. Milan. 2006 Champions League finalist Arsenal was the only English disappointment, unable to repeat its record shutout streak from last year and being hampered by injuries to Thierry Henry, as they were eliminated 2–1 by PSV Eindhoven in the round of sixteen. Manchester United lost 2–1 to A.S. Roma in the first leg but returned home to deliver a 7–1 drubbing. Man Utd's closest Premiership competitors Chelsea edged Valencia with a goal in the 90th minute. Liverpool knocked out defending champions Barcelona in the round of sixteen, including a comeback 2–1 away victory at Nou Camp and then holding Barça to 0–1 at Anfield to advance on away goals. Liverpool then they proceeded to comprehensively shutout PSV in the quarterfinals, which included a 3–0 first leg victory, and a 1–0 win in their second leg as they rested their key players. Milan continued their dominance of Bayern Munich, leading most of the first leg until Bayern equalized with a stoppage time strike to level it at 2–2, with Daniel van Buyten scoring both goals for Bayern; the Italians beat the Germans at their home stadium 2–0.

Valencia was the only La Liga team to advance to the quarter-finals, knocking out Serie A leaders Internazionale on away goals, but falling to Chelsea in the next round. Barcelona and Real Madrid were eliminated in the round of sixteen; Madrid has not advanced beyond the quarter-finals since 2003. Madrid won their home leg 3–2 against Bayern Munich with two crosses from David Beckham, but Bayern triumphed 2–1 on the second leg after Roberto Carlos conceded the ball early which led to Roy Makaay scoring the quickest goal in Champions League history. Spanish teams Sevilla, Osasuna, and Espanyol, however, have made the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, with Sevilla defeating Espanyol in the final.

Both Ligue 1 teams, Lille and Lyon were defeated in the round of sixteen. Lille lost to Manchester United in an acrimonous first leg with Ryan Giggs' controversial free kick being the difference; the French protested that they had insufficient time to assemble their defensive wall which allowed Giggs to score.

Semi-finals

This was Milan's third consecutive trip to the semi-finals and fourth in five years, keeping them at the top of UEFA rankings, while Chelsea had also reached that stage in three of the last four years. The Chelsea–Liverpool matchup was a rematch of the 2005 semi-final. Each of the four possible final matchups would have been compelling for various reasons:

As Manchester United and Chelsea were then first and second in the Premiership standings (and would eventually finish in that order), and made the final of the FA Cup, there was a possibility that all three competitions could come down to a Man United–Chelsea showdown, with the possibility of the Treble being completed.
A Man Utd–Liverpool matchup would exemplify the traditionally heated rivalry between the two teams; it would also be a major potential logistical problem due to two teams located only 50 km apart and their large numbers of fans using the two nearby airports.
A Chelsea–Milan final would see Blues striker Andriy Shevchenko playing his old team.
A Liverpool–Milan final would be a rematch of the 2005 final.
All four managers/coaches of the clubs in the Champions League semi-finals had previously managed Champions League-winning teams; three of them with their current club, though José Mourinho had taken key players and staff to join him at Chelsea.

In a repeat of the 2005 semi-final, Liverpool knocked out Chelsea this time in a shootout. Chelsea won the first leg at Stamford Bridge 1–0 thanks to a goal by Joe Cole, but Daniel Agger levelled the aggregate scoreline at Anfield. Thus, the match went to penalties which Liverpool won 4–1, with keeper José Reina saving twice. This was Chelsea's third semi-final defeat in four years.

The first leg of the other semi-final, at Old Trafford, was an exciting match with Cristiano Ronaldo opening the scoring, only for two Kaká goals to put Milan ahead 2–1 at half time. A Wayne Rooney brace in the second half gave United a 3–2 aggregate lead. The second leg at the San Siro, however, was a one-sided affair with Milan outclassing Man United from the start and winning 3–0 thanks to goals from Kaka, Clarence Seedorf and Alberto Gilardino.

As a result of the semi-final outcomes; 2007 was to feature an unofficial Third Place play off as losing semi-finalists Chelsea and Manchester United happened also to be FA Cup finalists; the latter match was played four days prior to the Champions League final, Chelsea winning 1–0 in (after extra time).

Final

Milan won the final 2–1, two goals from Filippo Inzaghi proving to be the difference. Liverpool scored late on through Dirk Kuyt, giving the Reds hope of another amazing comeback but to no avail. Steven Gerrard was given the chance to blast home from 30 yards in the 92nd minute, but his strike hit a defender. Milan were champions for a 7th time.

The final in Athens, however, was marred by the actions of fans off the pitch. In the aftermath of the final many Liverpool fans were blamed for attempting to get into the match without valid tickets by overwhelming the security at entry points, causing many fans with legitimate tickets to be turned away. The aftermath of Liverpool's defeat also saw many of their fans engage in wild fights with Milan fans in the city, who were guilty of none of the same behaviors.[7] Liverpool's officials defended the behavior of their fans against widespread criticism by claiming that many fans without tickets were allowed entry to the Stadium, and that the choice of a modern venue with extensive security checks were inadequate. Former Conservative leader Michael Howard stating 'It's not a football stadium ... Ticket checks were a joke. Many people with valid tickets were not allowed in.

UEFA officials later hit back at claims of inadequate systems, with William Gaillard stating "It is obvious that at one point the police felt overwhelmed and it is much to their credit there were no dangerous incidents.[9] UEFA and Gaillard famously branded Liverpool's supporters "Europe's worst" for their actions in Athens.

2008 — England ascendent

Edwin Van Der Sar won the Champions League for Manchester United in the penalty shootout after he had won it for Ajax in 1995The 2008 UEFA Champions League Final was the first all English club final in European Cup/Champions League history, and was played out between Manchester United and Chelsea in front of a packed-out Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. United took the lead midway through the first half when Cristiano Ronaldo's header met Wes Brown's cross and bounced into the bottom left-hand corner of Petr Čech's goal. However, a series of deflections allowed Frank Lampard to equalise in the last minute of the first half. Although both sides created chances, the scoreline remained 1–1 until the end of extra time, and penalties loomed. Both teams scored their first two penalties, but Cristiano Ronaldo's shot was saved by Petr Čech. However, for Chelsea's last penalty, their captain John Terry slipped as he was taking the shot, and the ball hit the outside of the post and flew helplessly wide. In the second round of sudden death, Ryan Giggs successfully converted his penalty before Edwin van der Sar won the Champions' League for United by saving Nicolas Anelka's effort.

2009 — Barça treble, Barça triumphant!

On route to the final, Barcelona overcame Chelsea in controversial circumstances, winning 1-1 in London in the second leg, thus advancing to the final on an away goal. Chelsea had close to 5 penalty claims with none being given, which led to Didier Drogba confronting the referee after the match and being kicked out of the stadium and suspended by UEFA. Andrés Iniesta scored for Barcelona in injury time, advancing them to the final. The other semi-final saw Arsenal face Manchester United, with United winning the first match 1-0 then winning in London 3-1, advancing through on a 4-1 aggregate scoreline. On 27 May 2009, FC Barcelona overcame Manchester United at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, winning 2-0 with goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi. This made Barça the first team from La Liga to win a domestic cup, domestic league, and European Cup treble. This was made all the remarkable by the fact that it was coach Josep Guardiola's first season in charge, with just one year as coach of the B team as previous experience. At 38, Guardiola, who also won the title as a player with Barça in 1992, became the youngest coach ever to lead a team to the trophy.

2010 — Inter treble, father & son, Grande Inter again!

For the first time in 5 years, no English teams were featured in the Semi-finals (3 English teams were in the finals for each of the past few seasons before), with Manchester United and Arsenal both being eliminated in the quarter finals. Internazionale stunned Barcelona with a 3-1 win in Milan in the semi final first leg, holding them to 1-0 the second leg, thus advancing through. Bayern Munich defeated Lyon 1-0 on aggregate to advance to the final. On 22 May 2010, Internazionale –coached by José Mourinho – beat Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. This made Inter the first team from Serie A to win a domestic cup, domestic league, and European Cup treble, and only the 6th team ever to do so (it has happened once per decade, following Celtic in 1967, Ajax in 1972, PSV Eindhoven in 1988, Manchester United in 1999 and FC Barcelona in 2009). Inter president Massimo Moratti, son of former president Angelo Moratti, succeeded in bringing the title back to Internazionale 45 years after the latest European Cup success, achieved by his father's presidency. And Samuel Eto'o played in the third Champions League final of his career, and with Internazionale's triumph over Bayern Munich became the first and only player to win two consecutive trebles in consecutive seasons.