The UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of club football in Europe, where giants clash and legends are made. Despite the plethora of heavyweights on display, however, this year, it’s the debutants who are stealing the show.
At the top of the list are unheralded French side Brest. The Pirates secured their seat at the most elite dining table in European football after finishing third in Ligue 1 last season, their highest-ever finish. Not much was expected of the debutants in their maiden foray on the continental stage, but back-to-back victories against Sturm Graz and Salzburg – the latter of which being a 4-0 drubbing away from home – has seen them jump to second place in the revamped Champions Leaguetable.
Premier League side Aston Villa are also making their Champions League bow this season, despite winning the tournament’s predecessor, the European Cup, some four decades ago. They also have two wins from two, with their most recent being a stunning 1-0 victory against six-time champions Bayern Munich at Villa Park.
While the latest online sports betting at Bovada odds still makes perennial contenders, such as Manchester City (+285) and reigning champions Real Madrid (+325) the frontrunners for the crown, fans are speculating at just how far these debutants and underdogs could go. Over the years, there have been plenty of Cinderella stories in a team’s maiden Champions League campaign. Let’s take a look at two of the best of them.
Villarreal’s maiden voyage in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League was nothing short of a fairy tale. The Yellow Submarine gatecrashed the European elite with their tactical cohesion under the guidance of the astute Manuel Pellegrini, a man who would go on to manage both Real Madrid and Manchester City. Despite being tournament debutants with low expectations, the Spanish outfit managed to make it to the semifinals, and they were one kick of the ball away from potentially making it to the final.
With the mercurial Juan Roman Riquelme pulling the strings alongside captain, compatriot, and defensive stalwart Juan Pablo Sorin, Villareal managed to navigate their way through one of the toughest groups in the entire tournament. They were drawn alongside Benfica, Lille, and Premier League giants Manchester United, but they were not to be over roared. They ultimately topped the group undefeated, picking up two wins and four draws from their six games, with some crucial performances from the likes of Marcos Senna and Diego Forlan ensuring progression.
In the knockout stages, the Spanish outfit continued their impressive form. They edged past Rangers in the Round of 16 on away goals after a six-goal thriller across two legs, before facing the much-fancied Inter Milan in the quarter-finals. Despite coming up against a stellar Nerazzurri cast consisting of Adriano, Javier Zanetti, and Juan Sebastien Veron, Villareal managed to escape the San Siro with a narrow 2-1 defeat. Forlan’s first-minute away goal would ultimately be crucial as the Spaniards went on to secure a historic 1-0 win in the second leg to progress, with captain Rodolfo Arruabarrena grabbing the only goal of the game.
That propelled them through to a semifinal date with Arsenal, and another narrow first-leg defeat left it all to play for in the second leg. Trailing by one goal, Villareal was awarded a last-gasp penalty that would have taken the tie to extra time. However, unfortunately for them, Riquelme’s spot-kick was saved by Gunners keeper Jens Lehmann and it was the North London side that progressed to the Paris showpiece.
Leicester City’s entry into the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League was a continuation of their miraculous Premier League title-winning campaign the season before. Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes managed to stun the football world in 2016 as they romped to a sensational 5000/1 title triumph, and they carried that momentum into Europe’s grandest stage.
Drawn in Group G with Porto, Copenhagen, and Club Brugge, the Midlands outfit topped the group with relative ease. They won four of their six matches, with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez inspiring the attack just as they had done the season prior, while Kasper Schmeichel provided a staunch last line of defence. Their ability to counter-attack with precision led them to domestic glory and it was about to make them a formidable opponent for any side on the continent.
The Round of 16 pitted them against Sevilla, a seasoned European contender. It looked as though the journey would end here when the hosts battered away on the Premier League champions in the first leg, picking up a two-goal lead on the hour mark, and in truth, it should have been more. Despite Vardy netting a crucial away goal, the 2-1 defeat still relieved Ranieri of his job and left the Foxes with it all to do in the first leg.
Former assistant boss Craig Shakespeare took over for the second leg and he managed to help his side overcome the odds, winning 2-0 at the King Power Stadium. Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton scored the crucial goals to seal their side’s place in the quarter-finals and a test against another Spanish giant in the form of Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately, this was one mountain too many and Leicester eventually bowed out, but not before giving the eventual finalists a scare before ultimately 2-1 on aggregate.
