TThe Bodo/Glimt fairy tale conquered Europe. The northernmost champions in soccer history defeated last season’s runners-up Inter in the play-offs (3-1, 1-2) to advance to the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Materials are plentiful. A team that played in the second division until 2017, a team located in the heart of the Arctic Circle with a population of only 55,000, an artificial turf stadium with only 8,270 spectators, only two Norwegian players (Bjorkan and Berg), and a 99.7% chance of elimination with just two games left before the end of the league phase.
To make matters worse, Bodo, who watched the Vikings end their second consecutive league title, has gone 87 days without playing an official game in his home country. For the winter break, they are “based” between Marbella and Benidorm in Spain. Since then, they became the first Norwegian team to win the Champions League four games in a row. They defeated Manchester City (3-1), Atletico Madrid (1-2) and Inter (3-1, 1-2).
A “miracle” that has already etched its name into the history of the Champions League. But is it the best ever? MARCA wanted to put other examples on the table for you to choose from.
Dynamo Kyiv 1998-99
Coach Valery Lobanovskyi’s team’s journey began in the preliminary round with wins over Barry Town (10-1) and Sparta Prague (penalties). They then progressed to the quarter-finals as winners of Group E, leaving behind Lens, Arsenal and Panathinaikos. The greatest achievement of Shevchenko, Rebrov and company was undoubtedly the defeat of Real Madrid in the quarter-finals by an aggregate score of 1-3. Bayern ended that dream in the semi-finals.
APOEL 2011-12
Another great ‘Cinderella story’ in recent Champions League history. They reached the group stage after three qualifying rounds (Skunderbeu, Slovana-Bratislava and Visla). But the draw was kind to them. They finished first in a group that included Zenit, Porto and Shakhtar. The turning point came in the round of 16. Brazilian Manduca and Ayrton’s team eliminated Lyon on penalties. However, Real Madrid showed no mercy and defeated them 8-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
Malaga 2012-13
Manuel Pellegrini’s side also started early in the match, defeating Panathinaikos 2-0. They already showed their potential in the group stage. They finished in first place in Group C with three wins and three draws, ahead of Milan, Zenit and Anderlecht. In the last 16, they came from behind to beat Porto 1-0 (2-0) at La Rosaleda. Joaquín, Isco, Saviola, Baptista, Demichelis and Monreal had already tasted the semi-finals. They drew 0-0 in the first leg, but were leading 1-2 at the 90th minute against Borussia Dortmund. However, two goals scored in stoppage time by Reus (91′) and Santana (93) were clearly offside and conceded by Craig Thompson, resulting in Malaga being eliminated from Europe.
Porto 2003-04
Sure, Porto already knew what it was like to win the European Cup (1986-87) and had just won the UEFA Cup (2002-03), but no one expected Jose Mourinho’s side to win the Champions League in 2003-04. The Dragons finished in second place behind Real Madrid in Group F and advanced to the knockout stages. The first “miracle” happened in the round of 16. Although they were eliminated, Costinha’s goal in the 90th minute helped them defeat Manchester United at Old Trafford (2-1, 1-1). After defeating Olympique Lyon in the quarter-finals and Deportivo La Coruña in the semi-finals, they defeated Monaco in the final (0-3).
Monaco 2003-04
The crushing defeat against Porto (0-3) in the final should not detract from a great season for Fernando Morientes’ side. Monaco advanced to the last 16 as Group C winners after suffering a memorable 8-3 defeat to Deportivo thanks to four goals from Dado Pourso. Didier Deschamps’ side unleashed their magic, eliminating Lokomotiv in the last 16 and defeating two giants, Real Madrid and Chelsea, in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Villarreal 2005-06
In their first appearance in the Champions League, “Yellow Submarine” almost made it to the finals. Their campaign began in August, when they eliminated Mikel Arteta’s Everton in the qualifying round. Pellegrini’s team got off to a strong start. They finished top of Group D ahead of Benfica, Lille and Manchester United, who finished last. They defeated Rangers in the round of 16 and became the “giants” by defeating Inter in the quarter-finals (2-1 and 1-0) thanks to the goal of Arlu Barrena. Even the loss at the Emirates (1-0) did not discourage Javi Benta, Quique Alvarez, Senna, Sorin and Forlan. In fact, they almost forced overtime. Riquelme missed a penalty in the 88th minute.
Ajax 2018-19
Ajax, a historic four-time Champions League winner, appeared to be “rising from the ashes” in the 2018-19 season with Erik ten Hag at the helm. They had to eliminate Sturm Graz, Standard Liege and Dynamo Kiev in the qualifying rounds. They finished second in Group E behind Bayern Munich. The climax for Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Donny van de Beek, Dusan Tadic and David Neres came after they overturned a 2-1 defeat in Amsterdam to beat Real Madrid in the round of 16 (1-4). In the quarterfinals they defeated Juventus 1-1, 1-2 in Turin. They defeated Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 in London and won the second leg 2-0, and looked set to advance to the final, but Lucas Moura’s hat-trick meant they were eliminated.
Schalke 2010-11
Raul’s team defied all odds and advanced to the semi-finals. The Miners topped Group B ahead of Olympique Lyonnais, Benfica and Hapoel Tel Aviv. In the round of 16, they defeated Valencia in the first leg with a goal from Raul, in the quarter-finals they defeated Inter with two goals from the 7 (2-5 and 2-1), and in the semi-finals they lost to Manchester United despite a recital in goal from young Manuel Neuer.
