The True Champions of Europe: An Alternative History of the European Champions’ League

So, the Qatari sportswashing project in Paris finally paid off. After all that time and money, Paris Saint-Germain finally confirmed itself as the best team in Europe last season, beating Internazionale by the widest margin ever seen in the final of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup — or Champions’ League, as UEFA now calls it. Seeing an authoritarian government’s propaganda tool conquer the competition wasn’t fun; but in pure football terms, there was something nice about that final: it was a final actually contested by champions. Since 1997, when the competition was expanded to include second-placed teams from the major football powers, such finals have been rather rare. So, just for fun, I decided to go through the records and see what might have happened had the competition remained true to its name, erasing all the teams that wouldn’t have qualified under the original rules.

This isn’t a serious piece. In the real world, butterfly effects would have occurred; and in this project, I had to use my imagination whenever there wasn’t a clear winner at any given stage. Nonetheless, I found it fun to think about. In this timeline, the truly great teams still had the space to show their greatness, yet Cinderella stories also had space to develop. Would you have preferred it, or not? Let’s find out together…

1997–1998

When the competition was first expanded, it didn’t expand by much. Only seven second-placed teams were added to the traditional mixture of champions, and only one of these reached the quarter-finals. That team, Leverkusen, was knocked out by Real Madrid, who would go on to beat Juventus in the final.

Our alternative timeline, then, shows little change for our competition of interest. However, it does show a highly meaningful change for at least one other. Without a backdoor into the European Champions’ League, Cup Winners’ Cup holders Barcelona have no reason not to defend their own title. Without the desertion of domestic cup winners who had not won their national leagues, might the Cup Winners’ Cup still be going strong today?

With Louis van Gaal taking over the manager’s job, Barcelona won the Spanish championship in ’97-’98. Had they played in the Cup Winners’ Cup, they would have been as likely as anyone to win it, setting up a European Super Cup against their biggest rivals. A glorified friendly? Not on this occasion! Monaco wouldn’t have known what had hit it.

Juventus 0–1 Real Madrid

1998–1999

This time, the lack of second-placed teams makes a big difference. Manchester United never get the chance to win the Treble, having to make do with the UEFA Cup instead, while Bayern Munich ensure that the Cup Winners’ Cup gets its share of high-profile entrants. Thus, we are deprived of a the most dramatic finale in the history of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup.

However, the champions-only final is not without its interest. Valeriy Lobanovskyi, manager of the Dynamo Kyiv teams that won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1975 and 1986, has the chance to win the biggest prize of all with his last great team. In his way is a Juventus team playing in its fourth consecutive final. The romance may be on his side; but the Big, Bad, Black-and-Whites have already spoiled one sentimental story in the semi-finals, scrapping and sneaking their way past a Barcelona team that would have been hosting the final in its own stadium; and they will not hesitate to ruin another. It’s the tenth time in eleven seasons that an Italian club has reached the final, and the reigning champions of the toughest league in the world are the clear favourites.

Or are they? Yes, Juventus’ midfield square of Davids, Deschamps, Del Piero and Zidane looks like something a daydreaming schoolboy might pick for his World All-Star Team; whereas most football followers outside Ukraine would struggle to name a single Kyiv player; but might the Ukrainians be better organised? Might their relative anonymity work in their favour, giving them an element of surprise; and might the All-Stars of Juventus, whose domestic season has been disappointing to say the least, be suffering from Star Syndrome? Yes, Juventus won when the teams met in last season’s quarter-finals, but that was then; and this season, the Zebras could only finish their league campaign in seventh place, while the Dynamos won their seventh consecutive national Championship and their second consecutive Double. Yes, Juventus may have reached each of the last three finals, but they have lost two and won the other only after a penalty contest. Might their record of letting themselves down on the biggest occasion be something more than a coincidence? Juventus have the better team on paper, but football is played on grass.

And on grass, it’s the collective spirit of the East that wins out over the individualism of the West. Socialism may no longer be entrenched in the constitutions of the former Soviet States and their Cold War allies; but this is nonetheless a victory for its scientific, system-centric style of management, which Lobanovskyi did more than anyone to take to the football pitch. Marshalled expertly by Vladislav Vashchuk, the Dynamos’ defence maintains its formation almost flawlessly; and at the front, the combination play between Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov contrasts vividly with the disconnect between Fillipo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero. Inzaghi seemingly fails to notice that Del Piero is playing at all; but when Shevchenko, the competition’s leading goal-scorer, is put through on goal by Valyantsin Byalkevich, he is only too happy to make the square pass that gives his fellow striker a tap-in. That one goal, scored on a counter-attack in the 85th minute, is all the Dynamos get, but it’s all they need.

Dynamo Kyiv 1–0 Juventus

1999–2000

English football fans don't know enough to appreciate it; and perhaps Manchester United supporters wouldn't appreciate it, anyway; but the United's absence from the previous season's European Cup ends up being good news for the English game as a whole. Not having been able to participate in the competition, they couldn't win it; and not having won it, they aren't invited to participate in the inaugural World Club Championship and don't have to withdraw from the FA Cup.

Back in the European Cup this season, they reach the semi-finals, only to lose by the odd goal to - yes, that's right- Bayern Munich. Like Dynamo Kyiv before them, Bayern are going for a Treble. Like Dynamo, their team includes an ageing leader taking one last tilt at the one major honour he has missed out on in his career - or it would, if sweeper and captain Lothar Matthäus had not left the team as the season approached its business end to ease himself into retirement in North America's Major League Soccer. Matthäus has contributed enough earlier in the campaign to qualify for a medal should the Bavarians win, but he will win it in in absentia.

Their opponents are a Barcelona team coached by Louis van Gaal, a team and a manager with something big to prove. Yes, they've won the Spanish Championship in each of the two preceding seasons; but the fact that van Gaal's interpretation of the Ajax-Barcelona style isn’t as fluid as that of the great Johan Cruijff has been held against him in the Catalan press, as has the fact that he has brought in several of his fellow Dutchmen to assist the local players. More important is the fact that last season, his team failed where Real Madrid had succeeded the season before - and being outdone by Real Madrid is the one thing that no Barcelona team can afford. This season, however, Real Madrid are not in the Champions' League, and neither are Valencia. In a Champions' League for champions only, Barcelona get the chance to show how good they really are.

They don't waste it. Adventure is rewarded as Barcelona’s aggressive wingers get the better of Bayern’s shuttling wing-backs. Xavi Hernandez, one of van Gaal's academy graduates, plays a fine game alongside Josep Guardiola in midfield; the inside-forward trio of Enrique, Kluivert and Rivaldo score a goal each; and 3-2-5 beats 5–3–2 handsomely. Matthäus, watching from New York, can do nothing except shake his head and wonder what might have been.

With a European Cup to his name, does van Gaal still leave in the summer? How does the history of Barcelona Football Club unfold afterwards? We'll say he does; but he leaves with the credit he deserves and a smile on his face.

Barcelona 3–0 Bayern Munich

2000–2001

Bayern Munich are back in the final. Again, they beat Manchester United in the semi-final; and again, they face Spanish opposition in the final. This time, it’s Deportivo La Coruña. The Herculeans have had to live up to their name to get there, fighting all the way to get past Barcelona on away goals; and when the final kicks off, they still don’t seem to have recovered. Bayern, however, appear just as flat, and the game meanders through a 1–1 draw into a penalty contest. The German team, of course, wins that.

Bayern Munich 1–1 Deportivo La Coruña a.e.t (Bayern Munich win on penalties)

2001–2002

Bayern’s defence of their crown fails at the semi-final stage. Real Madrid, in their centenary year, beat them by the odd goal in five to set up a final dripping with symbolism. The match is at Hampden Park, the site of the greatest game of the club’s greatest era. It was at Hampden that Puskas, Di Stefano and company toyed with Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 Final, completing the run of five consecutive European Cups for the Royals. In the crowd that night was a young Glasgow Rangers supporter named Alex Ferguson, now manager of a Manchester United team celebrating its own centenary in its current incarnation. Ferguson is the last manager to have beaten Real Madrid in a European final, having done so when in charge of Aberdeen in the Cup Winner’s Cup nineteen years previously. Now, sixty years old and planning to retire at the end of the season, he must do so once more in order to win the one major trophy that has eluded him and, in his home town, bow out of first-class football on the highest of highs.

On the pitch, the game is a battle of two midfield playmakers, signed in the summer from big Italian clubs to great fanfare and for record-breaking fees. Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane and Manchester’s Juan Veron have disappointed in the domestic competitions of their new countries, but both have been brilliant under the Wednesday night lights of the Champions’ League, and the final is no exception. Zidane makes a brilliant assist for Raul Gonzalez to score, and Veron does the same for Ryan Giggs; but whereas Zidane’s pass is perfectly timed, Veron waits a split-second too long and Giggs is called offside. A fraction of an inch gives Madrid a 2–1 victory; and a frustrated Ferguson, fuelled by the knowledge of how close he came, rethinks his retirement plans. He’ll be back.

Manchester United 1–2 Real Madrid

2002–2003

But not just yet. The 2003 final, played at Old Trafford, would have made an excellent stage for a second chance at the perfect send-off; but in their focus on continental competition, the United lost their grip on the English Premier League last season. With no place for non-champions, they’ll have to wait a little longer. England’s place is taken by Arsenal, who won the Double the previous season and, for most of this campaign, look set to repeat the achievement; yet for all their fine football, the Gunners find themselves foiled at the quarter-final stage by Valencia. The Spanish champions then beat Ajax to become the fourth team from their country to reach the Final in four years. The consensus, reflected in the decision of Britain’s Channel 4 not to broadcast Serie A this season, is that the Spanish League has surpassed its Italian counterpart as the best in Europe; but Juventus, their opponents in the final, have something to say about that. Having overcome Real Madrid in the semi-finals, the Italian champions suffocate Valencia out of the final. Alessio Tacchinardi cuts off the supply to the strikers by adhering like a limpet to Pablo Aimar, whereas Alessandro Del Piero seems hardly bothered by the attentions of Ruben Baraja. Del Piero sets up David Trezeguet to score Juventus’ first goal before half-time, then adds a second himself near the end. 2–0; and, as far as Italians -Juventini in particular- are concerned, point proved.

Juventus 2–0 Valencia

2003–2004

But pride goeth before a fall. The Grand Old Lady enters her semi-final supremely confident, already thinking about facing and beating Spanish opposition in the final again; but she forgets that she has to beat Portuguese opposition first. With tactical and financial shrewdness, Porto manager Jose Mourinho has assembled and coached a team better than any team from such a small country should be expected to be; and they play with all the tenacity of his own character, outfighting anyone who underestimates them. They’ve been somewhat lucky to get this far, needing a blown offside call and Tim Howard’s fumble to get past Manchester United; but if the Dragons had not had the fire inside them, they wouldn’t have been in a position to get lucky at all. By the time the men in Zebra-striped shirts realise their mistake and adjust, those in blue-and-white have taken a lead they will not surrender.

In the final, they face Real Madrid. It’s a chance for a fairy-tale ending; but in this fairy-tale, it’s the Royal Knights who are the favourites and the Dragons the underdogs. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez is in the middle of his Galactico project; and his star-studded forward line of Figo, Beckham, Ronaldo, Zidane and Raul has swept aside all opposition on the way to the final.

But pride goeth before a fall. Behind that famous front five is a hole at the heart of the half-back line, vacated in the summer by Claude Makelele and still -it seems- unnoticed by the men in charge. With Michel Salgado and Roberto Carlos dashing upfield at every opportunity, a world-class holding player is needed to protect the backs; and Guti, though a fine creative player, is not that. Against top opposition, it’s only a matter of time before someone smart enough to spot the gap and skilful enough to exploit it brings the system down. Deco, Porto’s deep centre-forward, is just the man to do it. Two counter-attacks and two through-passes to Carlos Alberto and Derlei result in two goals, and the game is done.

Porto 2–0 Real Madrid

2004–2005

For the first time since the turn of the century, there is no Spanish team in the Final. This season’s round of the dispute between the best of the Italian and Spanish Leagues sees Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan, a better-balanced version of the Galacticos, dominate Valencia home and away. They do the same to Lyon, setting up a Final that promises to be a purist’s delight. Their opponents are the Arsenal team that won last season’s Premier League without losing a game.

Unfortunately for anyone not of a Milanese persuasion, the Final is being played in Istanbul, four days after the Arsenal contest the English Cup Final against Manchester United. Dennis Bergkamp, the Non-Flying Dutchman, is unable to play. To make matters worse, midfield enforcer Patrick Vieira is suspended.

Henry, Pires and Ljungberg have a good go at Milan’s defence; but without the promptings of Bergkamp, their most inventive inside-forward, carving a good opening is beyond them. Milan, so spoiled for choice with respect to playmakers that they can afford to leave Rui Costa on the bench, have no such problems. Without Vieira, Arsenal look light in midfield. Pirlo, Seedorf and Kaka create chance after chance for Shevchenko and Crespo, who score two each to create the most one-sided scoreline in a Final since Milan themselves beat Barcelona in 1994. Arsenal’s players can only consider themselves lucky that Milan stopped at four.

Arsenal 0–4 Milan

2005–2006

The Spanish League is on top again. After beating the holders in the semi-finals, Barcelona encounter the team that succeeded Milan as Italian champions. Juventus, the worst offenders in the calciopoli affair that will be exposed in the summer, are about to be forcibly relegated to Serie B. Goals from Eto’o and Ronaldinho outweigh the one scored by Trezeguet, sparing European football an even bigger embarrassment.

Barcelona 2–1 Juventus

2006–2007

Italy’s place in the continent’s most prestigious club competition is taken by Internazionale, who were awarded the 2006 Scudetto in a courtroom when Juventus were stripped of the championship for corruption of officials. The Black-and-Blues perform creditably, reaching the quarter-finals, but there they are outdone at the classic Italian game. A cagey, defence-first display gives Chelsea a 1–0 win over the two legs. Meanwhile, holders Barcelona are upset 3–2 by Eindhoven, ensuring that there will be no Italian or Spanish presence in the Final for the first time since 1991. On the other side of the draw, the romantic runs of Glasgow Celtic and Anderlecht are halted by Bayern Munich and Lyon respectively. The Moneyball-style management of Lyon has made it the most dominant team in France, and is bringing the club closer to continental glory; but at the semi-final stage, the Bavarians remind them of how far they still have to go, winning home and away by a combined score of 6–1. Chelsea dispose of their Dutch opposition less flamboyantly but equally emphatically. The two 2–0 scorelines, one feels, could have easily been twice that margin had the Pensioners pushed for more.

So, for the third time since her clubs were re-admitted to continental competitions after the Heysel ban, England has a representative in the European Cup Final; and after the failures of Manchester United and Arsenal, Chelsea make it third time lucky. Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Bayern’s Claudio Pizzaro trade first-half volleys before Michael Ballack, playing against his old team-mates, scrambles in the winning goal from Frank Lampard’s corner kick.

Bayern Munich 1–2 Chelsea

2007–2008

Again, Celtic reach the quarter-finals, with Porto this time the team to knock them out. Again, Chelsea beat Internazionale by the odd goal, this time in the semi-finals. But although the routes to the final change, eliminating non-champions leaves the finalists themselves unchanged for the first time in a decade. Chelsea, the cup-holders in this timeline, are still eligible; as are Manchester United, the team that displaced them as English champions. The only difference is that instead of being the second European Cup final contested by clubs from the same country, this is the first.

Of course, if Chelsea had won the trophy the previous season, club owner Roman Abramovic may not have lost patience with Jose Mourinho so early in this one; and their season, for better or for worse, might have been very different. Would they still have reached the Final with Mourinho at the helm? Would they have done slightly better? Might they have beaten the Red Devils to the Premier League Championship instead of being pipped at the post? Might they have retained their European crown instead of being beaten on penalties? Perhaps, but such considerations don’t concern us here. Drogba’s red card, Terry’s slip, and Edwin van der Sar’s heroics all remain untouched. Six years on from his anti-climax at Hampden Park, Alex Ferguson’s persistence is rewarded. Fifty years after Munich, and forty years after winning their first European Cup, Manchester United finally have their second.

Chelsea 1–1 Manchester United a.e.t. (Manchester United win on penalties)

2008–2009

They don’t have to wait nearly as long for their third. Although not as impressive as they were last season, the United still manage to reach their second successive Final without losing a game. With Barcelona, who finished third in the Spanish League last year, having to content themselves with the UEFA Cup, Manchester United’s last obstacle is Bayern Munich. Yes, it happens eventually!

In the opening minutes of the match, Sebastian Schweinsteiger’s deflected free-kick gives Munich the lead, and although the Bavarians fail to add to their one-goal advantage, they seem to be sitting on it comfortably for most of the match; but substitute Dimitar Berbatov turns the game around. With his vision, subtlety of touch and fresh energy, the United start to create openings; and in the dying minutes, he pokes home an equaliser in a scramble before setting Luis Nani up to win the match.

Bayern Munich 1–2 Manchester United (it had to be)

2009–10

After a decade of dominance by Italian clubs, and a half-decade in which the Spanish League reigned supreme, European football appears to be entering an age of Anglo-Saxon ascendancy. Aided by a favourable draw, Manchester United continue their unbeaten run all the way up to their third consecutive final, one game away from an historic hat-trick. Their opponents are an Internazionale team in with a chance of completing their own Treble. Manchester United are the favourites; but the underdog status of Internazionale, and Italian champions generally against their English or Spanish equivalents, plays into their hands. Jose Mourinho is famous as the world’s most effective coach of reactive, backs-to-the-wall football; and in the club that once perfected and popularised catenaccio, he has found a team whose history and identity could not be a better match for his own. His brand of “anti-football” has already beaten Barcelona in the semi-finals; and, having won the competition with Porto and Chelsea in previous seasons, he enters the final bullishly confident of his ability to achieve a hat-trick of his own.

His confidence is justified. Mourinho’s men set up camp in their own half, allowing their opponents the majority of possession and territory without a clear sight of goal, while they wait for the moment to strike. When the moment arrives, shortly before half-time, Samuel Eto’o takes full advantage. In the dying minutes, as the United pour men forward in hopes of another last-gasp comeback, he adds another goal for insurance.

Internazionale 2–0 Manchester United

2010–2011

Barcelona get their revenge on the team that, as they see it, shit-housed them out of a place in the previous season’s Final, although not on their manager. Having taken over at Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho is now annoying the Catalans in their own domestic league; but Internazionale still have enough to make a second consecutive European Cup Final. After sharing League and Cup honours with Madrid and Mourinho, Josep Guardiola takes his men to Wembley for a re-union with the Inter players.

It’s another happy memory in a happy place for Guardiola. On the site of his first European Cup triumph as a player, also for Barcelona and also against Italian opposition, he gets his first as a manager. Messi, playing as a false centre-forward, is harder for Inter’s defenders to mark than he was on the right wing last season; and with him dropping back in build-up play, he and his three midfield players outnumber Internazionale's. The Black-and-Blues take an early lead and defend deep to minimise the space permitted to their technical superiors; but this time, ninety minutes is too long for them to hold out. In the last half-hour, the Barcelona forwards find enough time and space to score three goals. Both wingers score, both inside-forwards provide assists, and Messi does both.

Barcelona 3–1 Internazionale

2011–2012

Having finished the 2010–2011 season as Germany’s third-placed team, Bayern Munich do not get the chance to play in a final that their ground is scheduled to host. In their absence, and that of Real Madrid, APOEL of Nicosia give the competition one of its great Cinderella stories, becoming the most unlikely finalists since Malmö in 1979. With Porto and Zenit St. Petersburg taking enough points from each other while squeezing out Shakhtar Donetsk, the Cypriot champions emerge from their first-round scramble with their tally of nine points enough not only to reach the playoffs but to do so as group winners. The luck of the draw sees them pitted against Trabzonspor, Olympiacos and Basel on the way to a final against Barcelona.

Alas for the romantics, seven rounds is not a lucky number for Nicosia. Barcelona break the record for the largest margin of victory in the European Cup Final, scoring six goals to their opponents’ one, but the Cypriots go home with pride.

In spite of the magnitude of the occasion, the ease with which the opposition is dismantled makes this one of the least stressful matches of Josep Guardiola’s four years as manager of Barcelona; but even such a nice, relaxing climax to a season as this cannot counter the four years of tension built up in his brain. His decision to resign for the sake of his own sanity is one that he does not reverse.

Barcelona 6–1 APOEL Nicosia

2012–2013

Perhaps he regrets it a year later. Barcelona are back in the Final, with a chance to win their third European Cup in a row. They’re back at Wembley, where they’ve won two before. But this time, they’re missing the man who was there for both of those triumphs. Tito Vilanova is a good coach, but he doesn’t have Pep’s magic touch, and Jürgen Klopp’s heavy-metal football is too much for him. Borussia Dortmund’s counter-pressing disrupts the Catalans’ measured build-up play; and twice in the first twenty minutes, Robert Lewandowski takes advantage of the confusion to shoot past Pinto. Barcelona leave the field at half-time fortunate to be only two goals down. They look less vulnerable after the interval, but the damage has already been done, and they never look like undoing it.

Barcelona 0–2 Borussia Dortmund

2013–2014

Both of the previous season’s finalists reach the last four again; but the possibility of a re-match doesn’t materialise. Josep Guardiola, having taken charge of Bayern Munich after his self-imposed sabbatical, is turning them into the most dominant team in the history of German football, and he outduels Jürgen Klopp in an all-German semi-final decided by the odd goal in nine. At the Parc des Princes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic strikes in stoppage time to send Paris Saint-Germain through, denying his former team-mates the chance of a re-union with their old mentor.

Instead, Ibrahimovic has the chance to get one over on a coach with whom he never got on. However, the system beats the individual by two clear goals. Thomas Müller and Franck Ribery are credited with the goals, but it’s a complete team performance. To say that Bayern run rings around Paris is to give Laurent Blanc’s men too much credit: such is the ease with which Kroos, Lahm et al pass their way around their opponents that they hardly have to run at all.

Bayern Munich 2–0 Paris Saint-Germain

2014–2015

In defence of their title, Bayern Munich look even more majestic than they did in winning it. They sweep aside Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel before coming face-to-face with Paris Saint-Germain again. This time, their victory is by three goals, completing a stately procession to their second consecutive final.

Atlético Madrid, playing in the other semi-final, know that a win will get them a long-awaited re-match with the team that broke their supporters’ hearts forty-one years ago. To break the decade-long stranglehold held over the Spanish League by their neighbours and Barcelona, Diego Simeone’s men have had to fight tooth and nail; and they’ve carried that combative spirit into the club’s first European Cup campaign in eighteen years, knowing that it could be another eighteen before they get a crack at it again. They face a Juventus team looking to send Europe an overdue reminder that they, and Italian football generally, are still a force to be recknoned with. When, with Atlético leading the tie on away goals, Diego Godin gets away with a foul in his own penalty area, it looks like their night; but after Carlos Tevez falls under a much softer challenge, their luck runs out. Andrea Pirlo, set to leave Europe for MLS in the summer, converts the kick to give himself the chance of a glorious send-off.

He gets it, thanks in large part to his own brilliant organisation of his midfield colleagues. Like Jose Mourinho’s Internazionale before them, Juventus beat Guardiola’s possession machine with guerilla football. With Marchisio and Vidal doing the chasing and tackling ahead of him, Pirlo has time and space to protect his backs and pick his passes. Bayern dominate the ball; but Buffon, Bonucci and Barzagli are hardly troubled. At the other end of the pitch, Alvaro Morata heads home Patrice Evra’s cross for the only goal of the game.

Bayern Munich 0–1 Juventus

2015–2016

For Josep Guardiola and Bayern Munich, it’s a season of reunions. In the eighth-final, they face Juventus again with a point to prove. This time, they win; and after disposing of Benfica in the quarter-final, Pep at last gets to face his old team, still containing several of his former charges. After a 1–1 draw in Munich and a 3–3 thriller in the Camp Nou, the away goals rule sees Bayern through to the final. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain survive an early scare in Gent to win 4–1 before seeing through the home leg 2–0. For the third consecutive season the nouveau riches of French football face the giants of the German game in the knockout rounds. For the second time, it’s the final.

This time, it’s closer; but there’s no case of third-time lucky. Bayern don’t exactly outplay their opponents; but they do outwork them, a foreign despot’s diplomatic interests palpably a weaker motivator than the strong local support of a proud province. 2–1 is the final score, Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski the goal-scoring heroes.

Another continuity question arises. Having reached three European Cup finals out of three, and won two, does Guardiola still leave Munich in the summer? Or is his contract renewed? We’ll assume he does leave, but without any sense of failure, the silverware providing a much clearer reflection of his impact on the team.

Bayern Munich 2–1 Paris Saint-Germain

2016–2017

Without Guardiola, Bayern Munich still win the German championship, but their defence of their continental crown fails one step from the final. English champions Leicester City are having much less success defending their Premier League title; but their fairytale continues on the continental stage. Bayern, now coached by Carlo Ancelotti, win 1–0 in Munich; but in the second leg, a vigorous home crowd roars Leicester on to a 2–0 win, both goals scored by Jamie Vardy.

The Foxes almost have a home team’s advantage in the Final, played in Cardiff, but it isn’t enough to overcome Juventus. Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain spoil the party, Riyad Mahrez’s outstanding dribble and finish only a consolation.

Juventus 2–1 Leicester City

2017–2018

Chelsea, having taken the English title from Leicester City, follow them into the Champions’ League and equal their achievement in reaching the final. Their opponents in the knockout rounds are Olympiacos, Shakhtar Donetsk and a Basel team that forces a penalty competition in the semi-finals. Real Madrid, their opponents in the final, have had it harder, overcoming Juventus in the quarter-finals and Bayern Munich in the last four.

In his last season at Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo finally wins the right to call himself a European champion again. To his obvious frustration, he and his team have been outshone by Barcelona and Lionel Messi for most of his nine years in Spain, but his farewell night is glorious. He scores twice, the only two goals of the final. But Luka Modric still wins the Golden Ball.

Chelsea 0–2 Real Madrid

2018–2019

Liverpool’s four-goal comeback against Barcelona doesn’t happen, and neither does Tottenham Hotspur’s three-goal recovery against Ajax. Instead, Barcelona comfortably beat Porto, while the presence of Ronaldo seems to hurt Juventus more than it helps as a static forward line fails to trouble Manchester City. The semi-finals under the champions-only format might be less interesting, but the final is surely more so than the soporific spectacle served up by the 'Spurs and the "Scousers."

Instead, it’s Josep Guardiola’s New Boys against Josep Guardiola’s Old Boys - well, some of them, anyway. After following up their hundred-point season with a domestic treble, Manchester City find themselves one game away from a quadruple. Their opponents are a team, now coached by Ernesto Valverde, still featuring in its first eleven three of those who won back-to-back European Cups under Guardiola’s command. Pique is still the same imposing figure in the defence, Busquets still the pivot on which the team turns, and Messi still sprinkling his magic all over the forward line. In a see-saw match which sees both teams take the lead and both teams equalise, It’s Messi who makes the difference. After scoring two goals in normal time, he sets up Suarez to slot home an extra-time winner that leaves the New Boys no time to reply.

Barcelona 3–2 Manchester City a.e.t.

2019–2020

This time, the champions-only format produces no change in the finalists. Bayern Munich still beat Paris Saint-Germain, and they still enjoy their 8–2 victory over Barcelona in the quarter-finals, although their semi-final victory comes against Manchester City instead of Lyon. PSG’s route to the final sees them knock out Slavia Prague, Shakhtar Donetsk and Benfica.

Bayern Munich 1–0 Paris Saint-Germain

2020–2021

Neither Chelsea nor Manchester City qualify, England’s sole representative being Liverpool. Real Madrid, however, do qualify, and when the Reds run into them in the quarter-finals, their campaign is put to an end. The first leg of Real Madrid’s semi-final, played at the Bernabeu Stadium, sees Porto earn a draw and an away goal. The Dragons are one game away from a final played on their own turf, and the ghosts of 2004 begin to awaken in the minds of both sets of supporters. This time, however, neither sentiment nor underdog energy is enough. This time, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still being felt, there’s little that home team advantage can do without a home crowd. And this time, in Carlos Casemiro, Real Madrid have a world-class holding midfield player backing up their illustrious forward line. A man-of-the-match performance from the Brazilian half-back sets the stage for Benzema and Vinicius to score the goals that send the Madrileños through.

Awaiting them on the other side are Paris Saint-Germain. Having finally got the better of Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, the Parisians have made light work of Olympiacos to reach their second consecutive final. Unusually, they know that they have to win this one in order to qualify for the competition the following year, having lost their French national championship to Lille. Real Madrid are in the same boat, their neighbours Atlético having beaten them to the Spanish League.

Mbappé, returning to action after an injury and expertly marked by Dani Carvajal, is quiet; but his team-mates do enough to win the game for Paris. Neymar and Di Maria create chances for Icardi to finish, cancelling out Isco’s opener. For the sports-washing oil-state autocracies, the final frontier has been crossed: the age of the petro-club has arrived.

Pairs Saint-Germain 2–1 Real Madrid

2021–2022

For those clubs, it’s four finals out of four; and for Josep Guardiola, it’s another re-union with old friends. Bayern Munich, a true community club whose supporters hold a majority share, are almost a polar opposite to the City in their structure; and with Manuel Neuer in goal, Joshua Kimmich in midfield and Robert Lewandowski at centre-forward, they are more or less the English champions’ equal on the field. But in this battle between Good and Evil, it’s Evil that takes home the spoils. Manuel Neuer plays as good a game as he ever has until the 85th minute, shutting out everything that comes his way and giving a masterclass in the art of the sweeper-keeper; but when Kevin de Bruyne receives the ball on the edge of the penalty arc and draws his right leg back, Neuer’s vision is blocked by a crowd of players. His reaction to the long-distance shot is a split-second too late, and Manchester City are champions.

Bayern Munich 0–1 Manchester City

2022–2023

Without their neighbours to stop them, AC Milan make it all the way to the final for the first time in eighteen years, beating Ajax and Porto en route. Again, the final is played in Istanbul; and again, they face an English club. This time, however, they’re no match for Manchester City, whose 3–0 win makes them the first English team to complete the treble.

Manchester City 3–0 Milan

2023–2024

Paris Saint-Germain reach their fifth final in eleven years. For the fourth time, they face Bayern Munich on the big night. Bayern have won each of the previous three finals between the two clubs; but PSG, having won the most recent encounter, are confident of beating a Bayern team that has lost its grip on the German championship for the first time in twelve years.

But Bayern seize the chance to compensate for that loss, controlling the game from start to finish. Talk of the Curse of Harry Kane is silenced as the star striker scores a hat-trick. Mbappé gets one back, but it’s not enough.

Bayern Munich 3–1 Paris Saint-Germain

2024–2025

As discussed, 2025 sees no change in the finalists. Instead of Aston Villa and Arsenal, PSG’s obstacles on the way to the final are Brugge and Real Madrid. Internazionale, their patsies, see off Bayern Munich and Sporting Club Portugal.

Internazionale 0–5 Paris Saint-Germain

So, who are the big winners and losers in this timeline? As mentioned earlier, Louis van Gaal gets better credit for his time at Barcelona (especially if they win that 1998 Cup Winners' Cup). Josep Guardiola has to wait longer to win the trophy than he did under the expanded format, but he too comes out ahead in the end. He wins two Champions' Leagues with Barcelona, as in the real world; and the improvements he makes to Bayern Munich, obvious when one looks at the team's domestic record, are reflected on the continental stage. He also doesn't have to wait so long to achieve the same results with Manchester City. One manager who isn't so lucky is Carlo Ancelotti. The two European Cups won by his Milan teams are reduced to one, although they at least avoid the nightmare of Istanbul; and his Real Madrid teams never win the trophy at all.

Relatively speaking, Real Madrid are the club who lose the most in this alternative universe. Without non-champions qualifying, six of the nine European Cups they won in this period wouldn't have been possible. Individually, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation probably takes a hit. Yes, he gets an extra European Cup during his time at Manchester United; but without the continental crowns won by his Real Madrid teams obscuring the domestic superiority of Lionel Messi's Barcelona, the Messi-Ronaldo debate is more heavily weighted towards the former. Real Madrid still rank as the most successful team in the competition's history, with nine European Cups overall, but only just. Bayern Munich, with eight, are only one behind. Barcelona and Milan are tied for third place with six each. Juventus end up with an extra two (2003 and 2015) to add to the two they won in 1985 and 1996. This puts them level in the all-time table with Liverpool, whose triumphs in 2005 and 2019 never get the chance to happen.

Relative to the expanded format, does this timeline better reflect who the best teams were at a given time? For a single season, not necessarily. Over a stretch of multiple seasons, probably. Under the expanded format, Real Madrid won several European Cups, including four in five seasons, during a period when they probably weren't the best team in their own country. In our champions-only timeline, the great teams have to wait longer to fully prove themselves, but those periods of dominance which occur (Manchester United 2007-2010, Barcelona 2010-2013, Bayern Munich 2013-2016) belong to teams which genuinely have a case as the best of their time.