The Best and Worst Champions League Title Defences
Barcelona's hopes of becoming the first club to successfully defend the UEFA Champions League came to an abrupt end on Wednesday night when they crashed out at the hands of Atletico Madrid at the quarter-final stage.
Luis Enrique's side were favourites for 2015/16's title and were hotly fancied to become the first side to win back-to-back tournaments, but they came undone against Diego Simeone's well-drilled Atletico side.
That no side has achieved that feat, 23 years since the first edition in 1992/93, speaks volumes of the competition's prestige and competitiveness.
So in honour of the cup with big ears, here are the teams that came closest to immediately repeating their success...and a few who didn't come close.
Juventus, 1996/97
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Juventus won their second European Cup, and first since it became the UEFA Champions League, when they beat Ajax on penalties in the 1995/96 final.
The following year, they beat Manchester United and Ajax (again) en route to a second consecutive final.
This time, it wasn't to be, as a Juve side including Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero (who came off the bench to score) lost 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund in Munich.
The Turin side were to return to Europe's biggest stage once again a year later only to lose the final again, this time to Real Madrid in Amsterdam.
AC Milan, 1994/95
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AC Milan shocked Europe in 1994 when they produced a masterful performance to defy the odds and thrash favourites Barcelona 4-0 in one of the UEFA Champions League's greatest finals.
The following year, they almost repeated their victory, defeating Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica on their way to the 1994/95 final in Rome.
There, they came up against the same Ajax team that had already beaten them twice in the competition's group stage.
Sadly for Milan, the Dutch side proved too good once again, as Patrick Kluivert scored the only goal of the game with just five minutes to go.
Manchester United, 2008/09
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Manchester United lifted the European Cup for the third time in 2007/08 when they beat Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shootout in Moscow.
A strong United team, led by Sir Alex Ferguson and including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, reached the final again a year later at the expense of Inter Milan, FC Porto and Arsenal.
Barcelona joined them in Rome, where goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi—who scored a rare header—secured the trophy for the Catalans.
Now for the worst Champions League title defences...
Liverpool, 2005/06
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Who can forget Liverpool's UEFA Champions League win in 2004/05? Trailing 3-0 to AC Milan in the final in Istanbul, the Reds staged a memorable comeback to level the game at 3-3 before beating their shell-shocked opponents on penalties.
Well if that campaign was memorable, Liverpool's defence the following year was equally forgettable.
Rafa Benitez's side finished outside the top four of the Premier League in 2004/05, forcing UEFA to grant them an extra spot in order to defend their trophy.
That defence was to prove in vain, as they slumped to a shock 3-0 aggregate defeat to Benfica in the last 16.
They were back in the final the year after, where Milan claimed revenge with a 2-1 victory in Athens.
Chelsea, 2012/13
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Chelsea became the first holders in the history of the UEFA Champions League to fall at the group stage the following year, when they crashed out of the 2012/13 competition early.
Roberto Di Matteo masterminded the Blues maiden triumph when they beat Bayern Munich in their own backyard in May 2012, but he was sacked just six months later following a defeat to Juventus that all but ended their hopes of qualifying for the last 16.
Rafa Benitez took over until the end of the season, as Chelsea dropped down and made up for their feeble Champions League defence by winning the Europa League.
Marseille, 1993/94
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In what must be the worst UEFA Champions League defence of all time, Marseille weren't even allowed to enter the competition a season after winning it in May 1993.
The French side beat AC Milan in the 1992/93 final but were banned the following season after it emerged the club's president Bernard Tapie had paid Valenciennes players to lose a fixture just before the final.
Marseille were allowed to keep the trophy, as the fixed match was a domestic tie and deemed unrelated to the Champions League, but the ban for the following campaign meant the title could not be defended [h/t Independent].
