Benfica upset Ajax to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in ten years, and they were handed a difficult draw against Liverpool.
Reaching the Champions League semi-finals is an impressive achievement for most teams, but if Benfica manages to beat Jurgen Klopp’s side, it will go down as one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.
There is always excitement when a team wins gold and goes on an unexpected run in Europe. The Champions League is essential viewing because it features a smaller team with fewer resources or star players than the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich showcasing their style and defeating a giant.
Over the years, there have been a number of iconic European runs in which the biggest teams folded and clubs shocked the world to be one tie away from the final.
Despite the fact that some of these teams fell just 90 minutes short of glory, some of the players and games on these runs will go down in history. Here are a selection of eight of the best.
Kyiv Dynamo, 1999
In 1999, Dynamo Kyiv were at the pinnacle of their powers. The Ukrainian side easily won the domestic league and cup double, defeating Arsenal and Real Madrid on their way to the semi-finals, where they were defeated 4-3 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.
Andriy Shevchenko came along that season and scored 28 goals, including eight in the Champions League, to help his club achieve such success, earning him a big move to AC Milan the following season.
Who knows how the final would have turned out if Dynamo had beaten Bayern in the semifinals…
Leeds United, year 2001
Leeds United is a club steeped in history, and prior to their financial difficulties, they were a European threat.
Leeds had one of their best seasons in 2001, when they smashed their way to the semi-finals before losing to Valencia, but the cup run was memorable.
David O’Leary guided Leeds past Deportivo La Coruna in the quarter-finals, with a 3-0 victory at Elland Road in the first leg enough to get them through despite a 2-0 away loss a few weeks later.
Rio Ferdinand, Ian Harte, Alan Smith, and others all scored in the first leg, and Ferdinand, who would go on to sign for Manchester United, remembers the night fondly.
“It was incredible. The fans, the passion, the noise that used to be generated in there,” he stated in January 2021.
“I scored a goal, I think it was the third goal against Deportivo at Elland Road, a header, that was probably one of my best memories here at the club.”
Such nights will live on in the minds of Leeds fans for the rest of their lives.
2004 Deportivo La Coruna
Deportivo La Coruna would avenge their Leeds defeat three years later when Javier Irureta led them to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Jose Mourinho’s eventual winners Porto.
After defeating Juventus at home and away in the first round, Deportivo faced AC Milan in the second round, and all hope seemed lost after a 4-1 away defeat in the first leg, with goals from Kaka, Shevchenko, and Andrea Pirlo.
But Deportivo completed one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history, defeating the Italians 4-0 in the second leg, and it remains one of the greatest days in the club’s history.
It’ll be a long time before Riazor sees another scene like this…
#OnThisDay in 2004, Deportivo beat Milan 4–0 to make it 5–4 on aggregate, and reach the Champions League semi-finals. Watch Walter Pandiani leave Maldini and Dida with no chance for the first. pic.twitter.com/M5bRdc8OnQ
— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) April 7, 2020
2006, Villarreal
Villarreal, like Benfica, defied the odds to reach the 2022 quarter-finals, defeating Juventus 4-1 on aggregate, and will be hoping to make their first semi-final appearance since the infamous 2006 tie against Arsenal.
Manuel Pellegrini had brought the club from Castellon, just north of Valencia, agonisingly close to European glory, defeating Rangers in the first knockout round before defeating Inter Milan on away goals in the quarters.
A 2-1 loss at the San Siro was turned around with a 1-0 win at El Madrigal, and Diego Forlan’s first-minute goal in the away leg proved crucial in setting up the meeting with Arsenal.
Schalke (2011)
Schalke, like Deportivo, is now in the lower divisions after competing in European knockouts not long ago. Schalke’s famous run to the semi-finals came in 2011.
With a young Manuel Neuer in goal and a veteran Raul up front, this was a great mix of star quality, youth, and experienced greats under Felix Magath and later Ralf Rangnick.
In the first knockout round, a 4-2 aggregate victory over Valencia set up a match against holders Inter Milan. Schalke then accomplished the impossible, defeating Inter 5-2 at the San Siro before completing the remarkable victory with a 2-1 home win in the return leg and advancing to the semi-finals.
At the San Siro, Joel Matip, Edu, Raul, and Andrea Ranocchia all scored before Raul and Benedict Howedes put the Italians away.
However, Schalke fell short against Manchester United in the semi-finals, losing 6-1 on aggregate, but they will never forget the ferocious football they played on their way there.
Hands up if you remember Raul at Schalke? 😍
A goal and an assist for him against Inter on this day in 2011 👌pic.twitter.com/O8Md2Z9y0U
— GOAL (@goal) April 13, 2020
2017 in Monaco
Monaco’s team, which was packed full of elite young talent alongside an ageing Radamel Falcao, blew Europe away under Leonardo Jardim during an iconic European run that is mostly remembered for the emergence of a teenage Kylian Mbappe.
Monaco were unlucky to lose to a strong Juventus team in the semi-finals after smashing Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund on their way there, but after also winning Ligue 1 that season, their great team was gutted as quickly as it was formed.
Guardiola is said to have nightmares about Mbappe and Falcao…