UEFA Champions League: Ranking the Top 10 Finals Ever

The UEFA European Cup, as it used to be called, or its modern name, the UEFA Champions League, is without a doubt the crown jewel of club football silverware in the world.

Since 1955, the top teams across the continent of Europe have competed for the ultimate title and ultimate bragging rights.

Spanish club Real Madrid have won nine trophies, more than any other club, and are followed by Italian Serie A side AC Milan with seven and English Premier League side Liverpool with five as the top three winners of all time.

The goal is to see the two best teams in Europe battle it out in the Final, and there have been some battles at that. Here are the top 10 European Championship Finals ever to have been played to this date.

FC Porto vs. Bayern Munich, 1987

Scoreline: FC Porto 2 - 1 Bayern Munich

Venue: Prater Stadium - Vienna, Austria

FC Porto won their first European Crown in dramatic fashion, as two goals in five minutes from Rabah Madjer at the 77th minute and then substitute Juary at the 81st minute, assisted by Madjer, allowed the Dragons to overcome a 0-1 first-half deficit to Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians had been put in front at the 25th minute by Ludwig Kögl. The collapse of the German side's defense was largely due to missing sweeper and club captain Klaus Augenthaler.

However, it set a precedent that was never intended by Bayern Munich, as it would not be the first time they lost the European Cup thanks to two late goals.

Barcelona vs Arsenal, 2006

Scoreline: Barcelona 2 - 1 Arsenal

Venue: Stade de France - Paris, France

Barcelona claimed their second European Championship in Paris over Arsenal thanks to a second-half comeback similar to that of FC Porto in 1987.

Sol Campbell scored the opening goal of the match to put Arsenal in the lead at the 37th minute. His goal would be the difference until the 76th minute saw Samuel Eto'o claim the equalizer.

Only five minutes later, defensive substitute Juliano Belletti would give the Blaugrana the lead at the 81st minute, and Frank Rijkaard's club would hold on for the victory from there.

Many will blame Arsenal keeper Jans Lehmann for costing them the match, as his red card in the 18th minute put the Gunners a man down for the last 70 minutes; yet despite that, they still nearly managed to take the game.

Inter Milan vs Real Madrid, 1964

Score line: Inter 3 - 1 Real Madrid

Venue: Ernst-Happel-Stadion - Vienna, Austria

Italian side Internazionale Milan won their first two back-to-back European Cups in 1964 by knocking off five-time champions Real Madrid in Austria in what was a monumental feat of excellence from the Nerazzurri.

The action was left till nearly the second half, as Sandro Mazzola scored the opener at the 43rd minute just before the half.

Aurelio Milani would be the next to put one past the Spanish side in the 61st minute, giving the Italians a 2-0 lead heading into the final half-hour of the match.

Rafael Batista Hern, known as Felo, put Los Bloncos back in the game with a goal at the 70th minute, giving the veteran side a chance to make a comeback.

However, they were denied those chances when minutes later Mazzola struck once again to give Inter a 3-1 lead that they would see out to victory.

AC Milan vs Barcelona, 1994

Score line: AC Milan 4 - 0 Barcelona

Venue: OAKA Spiros Louis - Athens, Greece

AC Milan won their fifth European Championship with a decisive victory over Barcelona in Athens on May 18m 1994.

Daniele Massaro scored the first two goals of the game at the 22nd minute and then 45th minute during extra time of the first half.

Fabio Capello continued to press his team’s advantage, and the Rossoneri would add another two goals in the second half, starting with Dejan Savićević at the 47th minute just after the restart and then the nail- in-the-coffin fourth goal from Marcel Desailly at the 58th minute as the Italian cruised.

It was one of the most decisive in history, and proved that Milan was top of the game at the time.

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Real Madrid, 2002

Score line: Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 2 Real Madrid

Venue: Hampden Park - Glasgow, Scotland

Real Madrid had not lost in a final appearance since 1981, and started the night off right with legendary striker Raul Gonzalev taking first blood with the opening goal at the 8th minute for Madrid.

However, Luico pegged the German's back into the match only moments later on the 13th minute, and the tie would remain level nearly to the break; but another legendary figure by the name of Zinedine Zidane scored on the 45th minute to send Real back in front.

That was how it would end, with the kings of Europe returning to the top for their ninth and most recent Champions League title and their second in a three-year span.

Liverpool vs Borussia Monchengladbach, 1977

Score line: Liverpool 3 - 1 Borussia Monchengladbach

Venue: Stadio Olympico - Rome, Italy

English top-flight, upstart, powerhouse Liverpool and German upstart's Borussia Monchengladbach met in the Eternal city for the 1977 Champions League final. It was the first trip for both clubs to the grand stage of Europe's elite and remains the only time the German side has ever made it that far.

The Reds took the lead on the 28th minute through Terry McDermott, and would have the led through the first half.

Borussia would draw level again on the 52nd minute through a strike from Allan Simonsen as the match started to heat up heading into the final half hour.

Liverpool, however, were not to be denied, as Tommy Smith fired them back in front on the 64th minute and Phil Neal converted from the penalty spot at the 82nd minute to ensure that the European trophy was coming back to Merseyside.

AC Milan vs Ajax Amsterdam, 1969

Score line: AC Milan 4 - 1 Ajax Amsterdam

Venue: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium - Madrid, Spain

AC Milan took home their second European Trophy in 1969 in their third final appearance by taking down first-time finalists Ajax Amsterdam in the home stadium of then six-time champions Real Madrid.

Pierino Prati led the Rossoneri to a first-half lead of 2-0 with goals in the 7th and 40th minute.

Ajax pulled one back in the second half when Velibor Vasovic converted from the spot at the 60th minute, and the comeback should have been on.

However, Milan's Angelo Benedicto Sormani fired in the Italians' third goal of the match only seven minutes later.

Before the end, Prati converted his hat-trick with a 75th-minute goal to see the club win in convincing fashion and become the fourth team at the time with multiple European Cups in their cabinet.

Real Madrid vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, 1960

Score line: Real Madrid 7 - 3 Eintracht Frankfurt

Venue: Hampton Park - Glasgow, Scotland

One of the largest crowds of all time at 127,621 strong made their way to Scotland in 1960 to watch Real Madrid chase their fifth straight European Cup.

The Blancos would face off against German opposition for the first time in a final, being the one side to have been in all up till that time so far, and Eintracht made their one and only trip to the final to this day.

Real Madrid's strike partnership of Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas ran wild for the match. Stefano scored the opening two goals at the 27th and 30th minute for Real after they had gone behind to an 18th- minute strike from Richard Kreb.

From then on, it was all Puskas for the next part as the legendary Hungarian scored four straight at the 46th, 56th (Pen), 60th and 71st minutes before anyone else came close.

Frankfurt once again scored on the 72nd minute from Erwin Stein, only for Di Stefano to convert his hat-trick of the match at the 73rd minute. Stein again scored only two minutes later to convert for a brace and end what was a four-goal flurry in just five minutes of play.

The fans definitely got a show and Real Madrid became five-time champions of Europe.

Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich, 1999

Score line: Manchester United 2 - 1 Bayern Munich

Venue: Camp Nou - Barcelona, Spain

A crowd of 90,000 people watched as Manchester United looked set to lose the 1999 Champions League final, only to make perhaps the second greatest comeback in the history of the European Cup.

Bayern went ahead in the 6th minute thanks to Mario Balser and held onto that lead for the entirety of regulation.

However, that crucial few moments of extra time took on new meaning for Manchester United at that point. Earlier in slide one, discussing Bayern Munich losing to FC Porto after taking an early 1-0 lead set an unfortunate precedent for their future; 1999 was that future.

Manchester United had no time left, and they were pressing and pressing without finding the breakthrough until they won a corner at the 90th minute.

David Beckham swung in the corner to Dwight Yorke, who headed it to Ryan Giggs. Giggs hit the ball poorly as a shot, but it went straight to poacher Teddy Sheringham, who struck it home to draw the match level to the crowd going crazy and Bayern fans feeling their chests heave heavily.

But, that would not be the end. United pressed again at the start of play and won yet another corner at the 93rd minute and they were allowed to take it.

Again, Beckham ran to the corner flag and swung it in. As it was headed down towards Teddy Sheringham, United's most clutch goal scorer—and perhaps the greatest super sub of all time, having come on in the 81st minute—Ole Gunnar Solskjaer poked it into the top of the Bayern net and was mugged by United player's and staff alike as the Red Devils won their second European Championship in dramatic fashion.

AC Milan vs Liverpool, 2005

Score line: Liverpool 3 - 3 AC Milan, Liverpool 3 - 2 AC Milan on Penalties

Venue: Atatürk Olympic Stadium - Istanbul, Turkey

There have been few events in sports that have had the level of resounding shock and awe as Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul in the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan.

The Reds had scrapped through into the final thanks to having scored the only goal during their two legged semi-final with Chelsea, while AC Milan had blasted Dutch side PSV Eindhoven 5-1 on aggregate to come in as the heavy favorites for the night.

Heavy favoritism seemed the right approach and the truth as the Rossoneri's legendary defender Paulo Maldini struck in the first minute of the match to give the Italians the lead and the advantage.

However, that was not the end of it, as the first half came to a close with two quick strikes from Hernan Crespo, putting the six-time champions on top 3-0 after the 43rd and 44th minute goals.

But, the night proved to be young, and Liverpool came out in the second half with their fans behind them and charging for something to happen, and happen it did. Rafael Benitez substituted Steve Finnan as the Irishman made way for Dietmar Hamann, with the Reds going to three at the back to push more men forward.

Steven Gerrard scored on 54 minutes to give the Reds hope of a revival in the last half hour, but it would only take two minutes for Vladimir Smicer to make it 3-2, as Liverpool could not believe their luck.

AC Milan were stunned and still struggling to recover from Liverpool's continuous attack of the last five minutes Gennaro Gattuso fouled Steven Gerrard, awarding the Reds a penalty.

Xabi Alonso stepped to the spot and had his penalty saved, but blasted home the rebound and it was game on with the match now tied at 3-3 in one of the most magical—for Liverpool—and devastating—for AC Milan—moments in UEFA Champions League history.

There were still 30 minutes of action left, but neither side could end the deadlock in the last half hour nor through two 15 minutes periods of extra time and the game now headed to spot kicks.

Serginho stepped to the spot first for Milan and fired over the bar. Liverpool sub Dietmar Hamann then converted to send the Reds to their first lead of the night. Andrea Pirlo was next to the spot for Milan, and Jerzy Dudek dove right stopping the shot.

Djibril Cissé was next for Liverpool and was the second straight substitute to convert from the spot.

Liverpool were now two goals to the good, but scores from Jon Dahl Tomasson and Kaka with a block on John Arne Riise in between saw the match level once again, with the Reds' third substitute of the game, Vladimír Šmicer, now at the spot, who converted to send his club back on top.

The last man standing for Milan was Ukrainian hit man Andriy Shevchenko, who fired straight down the middle, only for a diving Dudek to save clear with his trailing left hand and give the Reds their fifth European title in what to me is the greatest Champions League Final of all time.

Conclusion

I hope you all enjoyed a trip down memory lane. Please open up the discussion below and let me know your thoughts about other great finals from the great history of the UEFA European Cup and UEFA Champions League.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out more on Bleacher Report and at the links below. You can follow me on Twitter @thedailyatz and Facebook or visit my Website.