5 times rivals met in the UEFA Champions League final
The UEFA Champions League is a competition which pits the best in Europe against each other as they do battle for the ultimate prize in club football.
This leads up to nights which are etched onto the minds of football fans as the very best of European Football produce some of their very best to not only wow the watching world but also to write their names into the history of the game.
Imagine the fervour around the UEFA Champions League final when two of the best teams in Europe collide. Now imagine the same fervour when this crucial game is played between domestic arch-rivals.
The intensity of these games is often raised tenfold when Europe’s ultimate prize also becomes the opportunity to transform into the ultimate bragging right as two local rivals go toe to toe with more than just pride on the line.
So, how many times have such nights come to be exactly? Let us look at 5 times when rivals met in the Champions League final right here.
1999-2000: Real Madrid vs Valencia
Most folk wouldn’t consider Real Madrid and Valencia as traditional rivals at present but back in the time, many would’ve sworn that it was after this game that Valencia were transformed into a team that went on to rival the Galacticos and snatch La Liga titles away from them twice.
In 1999-2000, Hector Cuper had guided an unfancied Valencia side, into the finals of the UEFA Champions League. On their way, they had impressively beaten Barcelona and Lazio by the same 5-3 aggregate score and seemed to be considered as possible candidates to upset Real Madrid’s party on the night.
This game had already achieved a place in history as the first UEFA Champions League final to be played between two teams from the same League. On the night, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, 80,000 people saw Real Madrid run away with their eighth European Cup.
Vicente Del Bosque’s Real Madrid side went two goals up courtesy some fantastic work by Fernando Morientes who opened the scoring and Steve McManaman who scored the second. Club legend Raul then completed the rout with a third to seal the game.