2003: Juventus
Beaten by: Milan (on penalties, 0-0 AET)
Following season’s finish: Round of 16
Juventus have lost more Champions League finals than any team in the competition’s history. They had just beaten Milan to the Scudetto in 2003 but failed to convert domestic superiority into a third European Cup win. Pavel Nedved will have been consoled by a subsequent Ballon d’Or win and other notable names include Edgar Davids, Alessandro Del Piero and, of course, Gianluigi Buffon. The next season, Juventus both relinquished their Serie A title and failed to make it past the last-16 of the Champions League, losing to arguably the 21st century’s ultimate ‘cult’ team, Deportivo La Coruña.