Greatest Moment for the World's 20 Greatest Clubs
With the international break in full swing, fans of club football are surely suffering from withdrawal.
While the World Cup qualifying matches haven't been short on drama, the fact that they are all crammed into a few days of action leaves the rest of the week quite slow. Plus, the abundance of mismatches at this point in international proceedings makes the emotion pale in comparison to the action tossed up weekly in the top level of league play in each nation around the world.
So, with a clear void to fill, let's talk about some club football.
However, instead of talking about this season's campaign, why not reflect on the history of the biggest clubs throughout the world and discuss each of their finest hours.
Here are the greatest moments for the world's 20 greatest clubs in the history of football.
Manchester United
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When the topic turns to Manchester United, there is absolutely no doubt about the storied club's greatest moment.
As the 1999 Champions League final entered stoppage time of the second half, United trailed Bayern Munich 1-0.
With the minutes ticking away and the Red Devils in dire straits, the English club was able to win a corner and send everyone, including goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, forward.
With the desperation of the situation clear, the ball was sent in well and flicked around a few times until Teddy Sheringham was able to slot it into the top of the net.
Just moments later, United won another corner, which Sheringham directed straight toward Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the unlikeliest of winners.
With that, Manchester United were crowned European champions for the first time since 1968 and were able to revel in their finest ever moment.
Real Madrid
2 of 21While any victory over Barcelona can be classified as a fantastic moment for Real Madrid, the club's greatest moment arguably came in their ninth and most recent European Cup triumph.
In the 2002 Champions League final with Bayer Leverkusen, the match sat poised at 1-1 just moments from heading into the halftime break.
After a ball was put down the left flank, a tight pursuit led to a high cross that seemed to stay in the air forever.
Under the trajectory of this ball, however, sat Zinedine Zidane, who unleashed an unthinkable left-footed volley from just inside the box straight into the back of the net.
The goal must be filed with some of the very best ever to be scored in a match and proved to be the difference in Madrid's 2-1 European final triumph.
Bayern Munich
3 of 21Bayern Munich may be the reigning European champions, but their finest moment actually came a little over a decade ago.
Entering the final day of the Bundesliga season, Bayern had a three point lead on Schalke. However, their inferior goal-differential meant that a Schalke win combined with a Bayern loss would gift the league title to Schalke.
After a see-saw battle with Unterhaching, Schalke were able to put the three points in the bag with a 5-3 victory. As the final whistle blew at Parkstadion, news spread of Hamburg's 90th-minute goal to give them a 1-0 lead on Bayern Munich.
Believing this was a report of the final score, many Schalke fans flooded the pitch to celebrate their league title.
Unfortunately, it was not, as Patrik Andersson scored a deflected goal with the last touch of the ball to give Bayern the decisive point in the title race.
Barcelona
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With a club like FC Barcelona, it is difficult to spotlight a greatest moment in such a storied history.
However, the best moment just might have come a little under three years ago.
After falling to Inter Milan in the 2010 Champions League final, Barcelona had built a level of animosity with then-Inter manager Jose Mourinho.
When Mourinho moved to Barca's arch-rival Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, this hostility merely grew.
The first El Clasico loomed over the first few months of that season, as both teams started the season strongly.
Hence, the contest saw an inordinate amount of pre-match build, even for an El Clasico.
When the teams finally took to the pitch, though, Barcelona completely dominated their arch-rivals and cruised to a 5-0 victory at the Camp Nou.
The match marked the pinnacle of Barca's most recent spell of dominance in Europe, as they made it clear that they were the best club in the world at that time.
AC Milan
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There are a few moments that could be picked for AC Milan's greatest moment.
Their incredible performance in defeating Manchester 3-0 at the San Siro in the 2007 Champions League semi-final was fantastic. Their 2007 Champions League final victory over Liverpool was sweet after their heartbreak at the Reds' hands two years prior.
However, the greatest moment has to be the 2003 Champions League final, where AC Milan defeated Serie A rival Juventus in the final match.
The match was a tight 0-0 encounter through 120 minutes, sending the match to penalties.
With Dida in the Milan goal and Gianluigi Buffon minding the Juve net, the advantage was clearly on the Old Lady's side.
Milan showed their heart, though, as they held their nerve and won the shootout 3-2.
Andriy Shevchenko's final kick marked the sweetest moment in Milan's storied history.
Liverpool
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In the 2005 Champions League final, Liverpool headed to halftime facing a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 deficit to a dominant AC Milan side.
Luckily, the Reds had Rafael Benitez on their side, as the manager delivered a half-time speech so rousing that Liverpool were level within 15 minutes of the restart.
The epic comeback was complete a little over an hour later, as Milan's Andriy Shevchenko missed a penalty to wrap up a shootout win.
Peñarol
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Uruguayan club Peñarol had their greatest moment ever in the 1987 Copa Libertadores final.
In the final with Colombia's América, neither team could score through 90 minutes, sending the match to extra time.
As the time was ticking down in the final overtime period, Peñarol's backs were against the wall. After all, in an attempt to avoid penalties, the Copa would have been awarded to the team with a better goal-differential through the tournament, which was América.
With 120 minutes gone, though, Diego Aguirre scored with virtually the final kick of the match, turning a loss into a victory with one strike.
Juventus
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It may seem like an incredibly strange pick on the surface, but I'd say that the greatest moment for Juventus was the culmination of the 2006/07 season.
The season started as terribly as one can imagine for a team that finished atop the table on points the season prior.
Thanks to a match-fixing scandal that rocked the club, Juve were stripped of every point they had earned the previous season, relegated to Serie B and given a nine-point penalty to start the 2006-07 season.
As a result, many of the club's top names sought employment elsewhere, with Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and manager Fabio Capello all exiting.
However, the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet and Mauro Camoranesi all remained committed to the club.
What ensued was a truly remarkable season, as the players came together to raise their club back to the top flight of Italian football.
Was this the highest peak Juve ever reached? No.
Could it be viewed as a shameful moment since it represented the club's punishment for egregious acts? Perhaps.
However, the way these top players stuck with their club when it needed them and helped restore it to its past glory is special, especially with the present business nature of football.
In 2006-07, we saw Juventus' heart.
Sao Paulo
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After losing the first leg of the 1994 Copa Libertadores 1-0 to Newell's Old Boys, Sao Paulo looked to be in a tough position heading home.
However, they were able to overcome the deficit and send the tie into penalties, where Cafu's kick proved the difference.
The win gave Sao Paulo their first Copa, but it was just one of several trophies they won over a great few seasons.
Inter Milan
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Inter Milan's greatest moment came in their 1963-64 European Cup title.
In the final, Helenio Herrera's patented catenaccio, or door-bolt, approach smothered then five-time champions Real Madrid and helped Inter race to a 3-1 victory.
The win validated Herrera's approach, leading to another European trophy in 1965 and a runners-up finish in 1967.
Ajax
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Fans that are new to football might be surprised to learn that that small Ajax club that upset Manchester City in last year's Champions League and should have upset AC Milan this season used to be a world power.
In fact, their 1973 European Cup marked a third consecutive such title for the Dutch club.
More than that, it marked the pinnacle of their "Total Football" style, the free-flowing, attractive approach that hinged so dearly on the talent of Johann Cruyff.
Unfortunately, the 1973 final victory over Juventus was one of the last matches Cruyff played for Ajax, as he left for Barcelona in the summer.
It took over two decades for the club to return to these heights once more.
Boca Juniors
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Argentinean club Boca Juniors has a long history of success, boasting 30 league titles.
However, their greatest moments came en route to the 2003 Copa Libertadores title.
After almost two decades without winning South America's most valued trophy, Boca won back-to-back Copas in 2000 and 2001.
It was in 2003, though, that they really left their mark on the tournament, bulldozing through opponents with 29 goals throughout, a number surpassed just once in the decade since.
Carlos Tevez led the way as Boca absolutely throttled Santos in the two-legged final.
Rangers
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Rangers' greatest moment came all the way back in 1972, as they took on Dynamo Moscow in the European Cup Winners' Cup final.
After jumping out to a 3-0 lead shortly after halftime, the Gers seemed to be well on their way to the title.
Moscow pegged back twice and made the final few moments interesting, but Rangers were able to hold on for their only European title to date.
River Plate
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For River Plate, the greatest moment in the Argentinean club's history came in 1994's Apertura.
In a match at La Bombonera, the home of their bitter rival, Boca Juniors, River Plate was able to secure a famous 3-0 victory.
What's more, the victory wrapped up the Apertura title for the club, allowing them to celebrate on their rival's pitch.
Not much is sweeter than that.
Santos
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In 1962, Santos became the first club in the world to win a continental treble, winning the Campeonato Paulista, Taça Brasil and the Copa Libertadores.
While the feat has been equalled 17 other times around the world since then, this team remains the only South American side to do it.
What's more, they did it in style: Boasting the likes of Pele, Zito and Pepe, the Brazilians ran up an incredible number of goals.
The 11 men that made up the 1962 Santos side are still considered one of the strongest sides ever compiled.
Nacional
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In the 1971 Copa Libertadores final, Uruguayan club Nacional faced three-time defending champions Estudiantes.
After two 1-0 victories for the home team in both legs, a replay on neutral ground saw Nacional win 2-0, giving them their first Copa.
Benfica
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In 1961, Benfica became the first club other than Real Madrid to win the European Cup after they defeated Barcelona.
The next year, though, was even more special, as they contested the 1962 final with Real Madrid.
A Ferenc Puskas first-half hat-trick gave Madrid a 3-1 lead, but it was a 20-year-old Eusebio who proved the difference-maker, scoring a brace after an hour to guide Benfica to a 5-3 victory and their second (and most recent) European championship.
Porto
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Despite having won a treble (Primeira Liga, Portuguese Cup and UEFA Cup) the previous season, Porto entered the 2003-04 Champions League as an underdog.
However, manager Jose Mourinho was able to get the most out of the team's talent, defeating Manchester United en route to the final.
There, Porto upset AS Monaco, ripping them apart 3-0 to capture an incredible European title.
Celtic
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Celtic may have won a European title in 1967, defeating the great Inter Milan side of Helenio Herrera, but their finest hour came in the 2003 UEFA Cup final.
After a Cinderella run to the final, the Bhoys came up against Jose Mourinho's Porto side. Despite two fine goals from Henrik Larsson, Celtic fell 3-2 in the final.
However, it was not the result that made this such a powerful moment for Celtic.
Instead, it was the traveling support, as over 80,000 Celtic fans traveled to Seville for the final, creating an incredible atmosphere and providing a true definition of a supporter.
Arsenal
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In 2003-04, Arsenal went an entire Premier League campaign without losing a match, becoming the only team to ever do so.
Needless to say, they won the title.
To make it even sweeter, they won it with a draw at White Hart Lane, the home of their arch-rivals Tottenham.
Yes, this was a sweet moment for the Gunners.
Conclusion
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So that's what I think, but what do you think?
Are there any clubs I should have included that I didn't? Any that just don't belong?
Do you disagree with any of the moments? Are there any moments I missed?
Let me know in the comment section below or on Twitter.
