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Atletico Madrid has had some ups and downs throughout the club’s history which started back in 1903. Today, however, we want to focus on those good moments. For fans of Atletico Madrid, here are the five best moments that we’ve seen, in no particular order.

Super Cup Victory

Atletico Madrid has won the UEFA Super Cup a handful of times, including defeating Inter Milan in 2010 and Chelsea in 2012. The winners of the Champions League and Europa League get to play each other every year in the Super Cup, so it’s rare to have two teams from the same league face off in the finals, especially archrivals. That’s what happened in 2018, however, as Atletico Madrid faced off against Real Madrid.

Real Madrid had won three of the previous four Super Cups, but Atletico came to play on that August evening. Diego Costa scored in the match’s first minute, but Karim Benzema knotted things up in the 27th. After Real Madrid took a lead in the 63rd minute, Costa scored his second to force extra time. Saul put Atletico ahead in the 98th minute, and Koke capped things off with his lone goal, giving Atletico the 4-2 Super Cup victory.

Beating Bayern

Surprisingly, throughout the history of Atletico Madrid, the club has never won the UEFA Champions League. That doesn’t mean that they haven’t come close, however. There have been multiple appearances in the final, with Atletico making some impressive runs to the championship match. The best of those runs came during the 2015-16 edition of the Champions League.

Atletico Madrid easily advanced through the group stage, but things became tougher during the knockout rounds. After two scoreless legs, the club advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating PSV Eindhoven in penalty kicks. They then knocked out rival Barcelona, setting up a memorable semifinal against Bayern Munich. After winning the first leg 1-0, Atletico needed a win, draw, or a loss by one goal at most. The latter ended up being the result, with the defense holding strong in the final 15 minutes to send Atletico to the final.

The Best in Europe

While it isn’t around anymore, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup was once a big deal after it was introduced in 1960, and was played through the rest of the 20th century. The event started out as a knockout tournament with a preliminary round, which Atletico Madrid was a part of. They defeated Sedan 7-3, then defeated Leicester City 3-1 thanks to a 2-0 victory in the second leg. German teams Werder Bremen and Carl Zeiss Jena proved to be no match in the quarters and semis, allowing Atletico to advance to the final to take on Fiorentina.

Joaquin Peiro scored in the 11th minute for Atletico in the final while Kurre Hamrin scored in the 27th minute for Fiorentina. Neither team scored the rest of the way, setting up a replay four months later. This time around, Atletico outmatched Fiorentina in a big way. Miguel Jones, Mendonca, and Peiro all scored for Atletico, giving the club a 3-0 victory in front of 38,000 people in Stuttgart.

Ending the La Liga Drought

Atletico Madrid had no problem winning the La Liga title throughout much of the 1970s, but things would change after they won the title in 1977. For nearly 20 years, Atletico attempted to get to the top, only to be shot down with each attempt as they had a long list of top-three finishes, but no championship. The tides would turn in the 1995-96 season as Barcelona and Real Madrid took big steps back while Atletico took a big step forward.

Heading into the final month of the season, Atletico Madrid and Valencia were locked into a battle at the top. After losing to Valencia on April 26, Atletico needed to turn it on, winning three of their last four matches while drawing against CD Tenerife. That draw ended up clinching the La Liga title for Atletico, with Cesar Gomez scoring in the 88th minute to end a nearly 20-year drought.

Ending the Second Drought

The La Liga title drought between 1977 and 1996 wasn’t the only one that Atletico Madrid has had. The club was relegated just a few years after winning La Liga, and it took a long time to bounce back to the top of the first division. After years of slowly finishing with a better spot in the table, the rebuild culminated with a title in the 2013-14 season.

In the final match of the season, Atletico faced off against Barcelona. Because of the goal differential, a win for Barcelona would have won them La Liga. They jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a 33rd-minute goal by Alexis. However, Diego Godin answered back in the 49th minute, drawing the game 1-1, which was enough for Atletico to finish the season on top.

Atletico Madrid was founded in 1903 and has seen a lot of success ever since then. However, not all of the moments have been high points. Let’s take a look at Atletico Madrid’s history, pointing out the five worst moments that fans have had to endure, from losses to rivals to being knocked down to a lower level.

Christian Minchola’s Death

In 2013, a young boy named Christian Minchola joined the Atletico Madrid youth program. Minchola was said to be a rising star, and the striker was netting dozens of goals each year, inching his way to the professional ranks. Sadly, in 2020, Minchola passed away at just 14 years old without a cause of death listed. “We join in the grief of his family, teammates, and friends,” the club announced upon his death. “May he rest in peace.”

Club president Enrique Cerezo added that “We are shocked by the sad news of the death of our player and deeply regret his loss.” As for star player Koke, he took the tragic death hard. “Anger and pain at having to say goodbye to Christian Minchola,” he said. “Life is very unfair. Proud that you have worn this shirt. Much support to colleagues, family, and friends. Rest in peace.”

2016 Champions League Final

One thing that has alluded Atletico Madrid since its inception is the Champions League title. Despite being one of the most prominent football clubs in the world, Madrid has not won the big one, but has come so very, very close. One of the more heartbreaking matches in club history came in May 2016 in Milan at the Champions League final. The club was taking on its biggest rival, Real Madrid, and the match was a battle throughout.

Sergio Ramos got things started scoring-wise when he netted a 15th-minute goal for Real Madrid. It took until the 79th minute for Atletico Madrid to respond, and they did so with a Yannick Carrasco goal. Neither team scored the rest of the way, even in the extra time, and the match came down to penalty kicks. Both clubs made their first three, and Real Madrid went ahead 4-3 thanks to Ramos. Juanfran missed his attempt in the fourth frame, though, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the clincher to win the Champions League.

Relegation

There was a period in the late 1990s that was pretty prosperous for Atletico Madrid. The club won La Liga in the 1995-96 season and still finished within the top seven in the following two seasons. However, things took a nosedive in 1998-99, with the club finishing 13th. The next year, things somehow got worse. After three straight losses to open the season, it looked like Atletico Madrid was getting things figured out as they pulled off a few wins.

After defeating Celta de Vigo on matchday 22, though, Atletico wouldn’t win another match until the final day of the season. They lost eight times during that stretch while also drawing another seven times. The win in the final week was too-little-too-late as Atletico had already fallen into the relegation zone, which is something that hadn’t happened in several decades at that point.

No Promotion

In the rare event that a big-name club gets relegated in a top-level league, they usually win the lower league the following year and get back to where they were. That wasn’t the case for Atletico Madrid in the 2000-01 Segunda Division, however. The club won just two of its first 11 matches in the lower level, needing to turn things around quickly just to stay competitive.

After a loss in the 20th matchday to Sporting Gijon, Atletico Madrid got hot. The club lost just three times and drew another four times, winning 15 of those matches. In the final week against Getafe CF, Atletico won 1-0, but they needed a lot more than that. They tied Tenerife for third place in the standings, and a few more goals would have allowed them to be promoted. Instead, they had to wait another year to get back to La Liga.

2014 Champions League Final

We already talked about the heartbreak that was the 2016 Champions League final, but that somehow wasn’t even the worst of it. Two years prior, Atletico Madrid had a shot at winning the Champions League, and once again it was against their biggest rival, Rela Madrid. In the first half, Diego Godin scored the match’s only goal (36th minute), and that proved to be the only goal of the 90-minute match.

However, stoppage time allowed Real Madrid to get back in the game, and Sergio Ramos scored in the third stoppage minute. This sent the match to extra time, and Real Madrid scored three times, including a 120th-minute penalty kick from Cristiano Ronaldo to add salt in the wound.

Atletico Madrid is among the most prominent clubs in Europe and has been one of the most successful clubs in La Liga history. Throughout that time, there have been hundreds of players, but a few of them stand out as truly the best. Here are our selections for the top five players in Atletico Madrid history. Before we start the list, some of the players who just missed the cut include Adelardo Rodriguez, Tomas Renones, Adrian Escudero, Paco Campos, and Antoine Griezman.

Koke

The first player on the list is Madrid-born Jorge Resurreccion Merodio, but simply known around the world as Koke. Koke began his youth career with Atletico at just eight years old, and in 2009 was promoted to the top squad. He would end up sticking around, as well, as the midfielder celebrated a full two decades with the club in 2020.

Nobody in Atletico history has made more appearances than Koke, who surpassed Adelardo Rodriguez with his 554th match to take the all-time record. During his career, Atletico has won La Liga twice and the Copa del Rey once. Though he doesn’t have a long list of individual trophies, Koke is very much a staple of the club and one of the first people you think of when you hear Atletico Madrid.

Diego Godin

The only member of the list to be born outside of Spain is Diego Godin, an Uruguay native who had several stints before joining Atletico. He made his professional debut with Cerro in 2003, then spent time with Nacional and Villareal. Godin spent nine years with Atletico from 2010 to 2019 before heading to Inter Milan.

When he retired, Godin was ninth all-time in club appearances with 389, which at the time was the most for any player born outside of Spain before being surpassed by Slovenia’s Jan Oblak. Godin was able to win La Liga once (2013-14) while with Atletico, as well as the Copa del Rey the previous year. Twice he was named to La Liga’s Team of the Season and in 2015-16 won the honor of the league’s best defender.

Fernando Torres

Known as El Nino to many, Fernando Torres was born in Fuenlabrada in 1984, then came up with the Atletico Madrid youth program during the late 1990s. In 2001, he made his professional debut with the senior squad and remained with the club for six years. While a member of AC Milan, Torres made his triumphant return in 2015 and stayed around for another three years.

Torres finds himself toward the top for a lot of career records with Atletico. Upon his retirement, he was eighth all-time in club appearances with 404. Torres is also high up on the career goals leaderboard with 129. Torres is the first member of the list to not win La Liga with Atletico, but he was able to secure the Segunda Division in 2002 while also winning the UEFA Europa League in 2018. In 2008, Torres was recognized as one of the world’s top players, finishing third in the Ballon d’Or voting.

Gabi

Though his full name is Gabriel Luis Fernandez Arenas, many know him simply as Gabi, or one of the finest Spanish midfielders of all-time. Gabi was born in Madrid and was a product of the Atletico youth program, making his professional debut on the top squad in 2004. He spent three seasons with the club in his first stint, then returned in 2011 to play another seven years before retiring with Al Sadd in 2020.

With his 417 club appearances, Gabi ranks seventh in club history. He helped Atletico win the 2013-14 La Liga title a year after the club won the Copa del Rey. He was named to the Squad of the Season for both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League and was often considered to be one of the best midfielders in Europe during his long and illustrious career.

Luis Aragones

The top player on the list is Luis Aragones, a Madrid native who started his professional career with Getafe Deportivo. He then became a member of Real Madrid in 1958 but didn’t make any appearances as he was loaned out to three other clubs. After brief runs with Plus Ultra, Oviedo, and Betis, Aragones spent the final decade of his career with Atletico, finally settling down before becoming the club’s manager upon retirement in 1974.

Despite the fact that he doesn’t come in the top 10 of matches played in Atletic history, he has the most goals out of any player. Aragones scored 172 times as a member of Atletico Madrid, with 123 of those goals coming in league play. Aragones won La Liga three times as a player while also adding two Copa del Rey titles.

Atletico Madrid has seen a long list of managers make their way to the club, all of which have had varying success. Some lasted for just a few months before they were sacked while others had years of sustained success. When talking about the latter category, there are a few names that really stand out above the rest. Here are our selections for the five best managers in Atletico Madrid history.

Helenio Herrera

Argentinian Helenio Herrera had an extensive playing career that lasted from 1931 to 1945, and he had stints with several teams including Stade Francais, Red Star Olympique, and Charleville. At the end of his playing career, Herrera also managed Puteaux, then returned to Stade Francais as a manager when his playing days ended. Herrera then had a short stay with Real Valladolid for a year, becoming the manager of Atletico Madrid from 1949 to 1952.

Herrera won the Copa Eva Duarte in 1950 while also winning La Liga in back-to-back years in 1950 and 1951. The Italian Football Hall of Fame inductee is named one of the greatest managers in football history, and he would go on to lead other clubs that included Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Roma until his retirement in 1981.

Quique Sanchez Flores

Quique Sanchez Flores was born in Madrid, though he never spent any of his playing days with Atletico. Instead, he started his professional career with a decade as a member of Valencia, then during the mid-1990s ended his career with Real Madrid and Zaragoza. Upon retiring in 1997, Flores became a manager and led Getafe, Valencia, and Benfica during the 2000s. In 2009, he became the manager of Atletico Madrid where he remained until heading to Al-Ahli in 2011.

Though his time was brief and league play was less than ideal, there was still a lot of success for Flores. Under Flores, Atletico Madrid won the 2009-10 UEFA Europa League title and the 2010 Super Cup. He nearly won the 2009-10 Copa del Rey as well. Flores continued his managerial career for many other clubs after Atletico Madrid, as well, including multiple runs with Watford. And one with Espanyol.

Luis Aragones

Another native of Madrid, Luis Aragones was born in 1938 and spent the first seven years of his playing career with eight different clubs. This includes Betis, where he spent the most matches outside of his run with Atletico Madrid. Aragones became a prolific scorer for Atletico when he joined the squad in 1964, spending a decade with the team before retiring in 1974 and taking over as the club’s manager.

Aragones had seven different stints as Atletico Madrid’s manager, with the last one coming between 2001 and 2003. During those stints, Aragones won La Liga once while also winning three Copa del Rey titles. He added a Supercopa de Espana, Intercontinental Cup, and Segunda Division to his trophy case, too.

Radomir Antic

The second spot on the list belongs to the late Radomir Antic, the only member of the list to not come from Argentina or Spain. Antic was born in Yugoslavia and spent his playing days with Sloboda Uzice, Partizan, Fenerbahce, Real Zaragoza, and Luton Town. Antic retired in 1984 after a 17-year career, taking over as an assistant for Partizan before his first managerial job with Zaragoza from 1988 to 1990.

After managing Real Madrid and Real Oviedo between 1991 and 1995, Antic had three stints as Atletico Madrid’s manager between 1995 and 2000. Antic won the Copa del Rey and La Liga early on in his managerial run with the club while also winning the Don Balon Award. Antic then returned to Real Oviedo before managing Barcelona and several other squads before his 2015 retirement.

Diego Simeone

Without a doubt, the top spot on the list has to belong to the man who has spent more time as Atletico Madrid’s manager than anybody else. In March 2023, Argentinian Diego Simeone passed Luis Aragones for the record. Simeone had a playing career that lasted from 1987 until 2006, making appearances for the likes of Inter Milan and Lazio, but of course, Atletico Madrid.

Simeone then managed six different clubs between 2006 and 2011 before taking over at Atletico Madrid and cementing his status as the club’s greatest-ever manager. Simeone has won multiple La Liga titles as well as the Copa del Rey. Other honours include the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Europa League multiple times on his way to becoming the winningest manager Atletico has seen.

Bayern Munich has been one of the most successful clubs in German football history with some of the best players around the world. However, that doesn’t mean that the club has been immune from making some pretty bad signings over the years. Today we’ll take a look at the five worst signings in club history, costing Bayern millions of wasted Euros. Before we begin the list, some of the “dishonorable” mentions include Marcell Jansen, Breno, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andri Herzog, and Ciriaco Sforza.

Lukas Podolski

Polish native Lukas Podolski had been a fantastic player in his home country. The forward began his professional career with 1. FC Koln, making his debut in 2003. Over the next three years, Podolski shined as he netted 46 goals in 81 league matches, making him a hot commodity throughout Europe. Several major clubs put in offers to acquire Podolski, including Real Madrid and Liverpool.

Bayern Munich, however, won the bidding war as it was reported that the club sent €10 million to Koln for the transfer. Unfortunately, times in Munich weren’t as great for Podolski. His scoring dropped tremendously and he suffered a serious injury while training that derailed his development. At one point, Podolski couldn’t crack the lineup for Bayern and was part of the second squad. In 2009, the experiment was over and Podolski returned to his former club.

Landon Donovan

Being the greatest all-time American in most sports would easily translate to European success. For instance, LeBron James or Tom Brady would dominate in basketball and gridiron, but it doesn’t typically translate into football. Many thought Landon Donovan would be the one that proved everyone wrong and show that American players deserve to be on the biggest stages in European football.

As a member of Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy, Donovan was sent away to Everton twice on loan. Prior to that, though, Donovan was loaned to Bayern Munich but made just six appearances without a goal. He did score four times in five friendly matches, but that wasn’t enough to justify the cost, which was estimated to be over €4 million, and didn’t extend the loan any further.

Corentin Tolisso

Midfielder Corentin Tolisso was one of the biggest up-and-comers in France when he was part of Lyon’s youth program. Tolisso started with the second squad in 2012, then the following year made his top squad debut. In 116 league matches, Tolisso netted 21 goals. There were plenty of teams that wanted to throw millions at Lyon to obtain Tolisso, and Bayern Munich spent €41.5 million plus bonuses for his talents.

Over the course of five years, however, Tolisso would appear in just 72 league matches and scored only 11 times. Tolisso suffered a serious injury in Bundesliga play during the 2018-19 season and never really recovered fully and his contract was seen as a massive overspend. In 2022, Tolisso’s contract wasn’t extended and he returned to Lyon. While he wasn’t bad, he didn’t live up to the hype.

Mario Gotze

Mario Gotze was considered to be one of those amazingly versatile players that would thrive with Bayern Munich for a very long time. Gotze, a Memmingen native, came up with Borussia Dortmund and made his professional debut in 2009. Over the course of 83 league matches, Gotze scored 22 times for his original club. In 2013, Gotze became the most expensive player in German history (at the time), costing Bayern Munich €37 million.

Like Tolisso, Gotze wasn’t downright terrible, but his contract proved to be worth more than what he was being paid to do. He matched his goal total of 22 with Bayern but tapered off in each passing year. The two sides became more frustrated with one another and Gotze returned to his original team. Gotze said that he regretted leaving Borussia Dortmund in the end while Bayern continued its success without him.

Renato Sanches

The final contract that really ended up disappointing Bayern fans was that of Renato Sanches, a Portuguese midfielder who dazzled while with Benfica. He made his top squad debut in 2015, and after just two dozen league matches had impressed enough people to make clubs want to pay his €45 million release with Benfica. Bayern Munich signed Sanches to a five-year deal worth a total of €80 million in bonuses, fees, and salary.

Bayern only got 35 league matches, one goal, and three years out of that massive five-year contract, though. Sanches became frustrated with how he was being used and couldn’t quite develop into the Bayern system. With that, Sanches joined Lille in the summer of 2019 with the French club breaking a club record for highest-paid salary. 

Bayern Munich has more trophies and Hall of Fame players in its history than any other team in Germany, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there have been some very memorable matches throughout the club’s history. While there are memorable matches where Bayern was defeated, we want to focus on the ones where they came out on top. Here are our picks for five classic games in Bayern Munich history that all supporters should go back and watch from time to time.

Beatdown of Barca (2012-13 Champions League)

For the 2012-13 Champions League, Bayern Munich was placed into a group with Valencia, BATE Borisov, and Lille. After securing 13 points, Bayern won the group on a tiebreaker and advanced to take on Arsenal in the round of 16, winning because of three away goals. They then shutout Juventus 2-0 in back-to-back matches, setting up a showdown with Barcelona with a trip to the finals on the line.

Bayern came out on fire, winning the first match 4-0. Some thought that maybe Barca could bounce back and answer with a victory of their own, but the clean sheet streak continued for Bayern as they defeated Barcelona 3-0 in the second leg, giving them a 7-0 win overall. Bayern then advanced to take on Borussia Dortmund in the finals, winning 2-1.

Entry to the Bundesliga (1965)

1963 saw the first year of play in the newly-formed Bundesliga, but Bayern Munich was not part of it. Instead, Bayern was part of the Regionalliga Sud as a member of the second division in football but was able to advance into promotion easily. In the South, Bayern Munich collected 55 points in 36 games and had an insane goal differential of 114 as they scored 146 against just 32 given up.

In the promotion round, Bayern Munich was placed against Alemannia Aachen, 1. FC Saarbrucken, and Tennis Borussia Berlin. Instead of sneaking their way into the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich kicked the doors down, defeating Tennis Borussia Berlin by a score of 8-0 to secure their spot, and they’d never look back.

Dismantling of Borussia Dortmund (1971-72 Bundesliga)

Bayern Munich had very few problems throughout the 1971-72 Bundesliga season. The club would end up winning the championship thanks to 55 points, losing just three times throughout the season and securing a +63 goal differential. The biggest one of their 24 victories came against one of their biggest rivals, Borussia Dortmund.

The match took place In November 1971, and Gerd Muller got the party started with a goal in the 11th minute. He would score three more times while several other players scored multiple goals en route to an 11-1 victory. For Borussia, Dieter Weinkauff would net the only goal as the team began their path toward a rare relegation season.

The 2001 Champions League Final

There wasn’t really a clear-cut favorite for the 2001 UEFA Champions League, but Bayern Munich had one of the best chances. The club was placed into a group stage with Paris Saint-Germain, Rosenborg, and Helsingborg, and Bayern wound up winning with 11 points in six matches.

In the quarterfinals, Bayern defeated Manchester United 3-1 on aggregate, including a 1-0 away win in the first leg. The club had an identical result in the semifinals against Real Madrid, setting the stage for the finals against Spain’s Valencia. Seeking their fourth Champions League title (and first since 1976), Bayern didn’t disappoint, sending the match to penalties. In fact, all goals were scored via penalty kicks, with Stefan Effenberg scoring in the 50th minute. Bayern won 5-4 on the penalties, with Thomas Linke netting the winner.

The 1974 European League Final

Prior to being known as the UEFA Champions League, it was called the European Cup. Bayern Munich was searching for its first-ever European League Championship at the time and advanced past Atvidaberg in the preliminary stage. They then defeated Dynamo Dresden, CSKA, and Ujpesti on their way to the final. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid had stormed through the bracket, defeating Celtic in the semifinals.

Just like in 2001, the match’s scheduled time would end with a 1-1 score. Instead of penalty kicks to determine a winner back then, though, a replay was set for two days later. In front of a crowd at nearly half the capacity of the first match in Brussels, Bayern Munich didn’t hold back in the scoring department. Uli Hoeneß scored in the 28th and 82nd minutes while Gerd Muller scored in the 56th and 69th minutes, giving Bayern Munich the 4-0 victory and its first European League title.

Bayern Munich has had more success than just about any football club in Germany, so it can be hard to narrow down the club’s history to just a few moments. However, there are some that certainly stand out as being the best of the best, with these five ones that the fans will remember for generations to come.

Opening Allianz

Bayern Munich has played in a few different stadiums throughout the club’s history, with much of that time being played in Munich’s Olympic Stadium from 1972 until 2002. While it was a nice home, there was something that was lacking for Bayern playing its home matches there. Toward the end of the 1990s, Bayern started looking for new options. The club thought about staying in Olympic Stadium while it was redeveloped but eventually settled on building the new Allianz Arena.

The new stadium was finally opened in 2005 with a capacity of just over 75,000, including an illuminated exterior. On the stadium’s opening day, 1860 Munich won a friendly against 1. FC Nurnberg. The following day, Bayern Munich had its first match in the new stadium, taking on the German national team in front of a sold-out crowd, marking a new era in the club’s prestigious history.

Club World Cup Champs

The World Cup has been around for a long time to determine the top football-playing country on Earth, but it took until 2000 for FIFA to determine the best club team in the world. The FIFA Club World Cup was introduced as essentially a trial in 2000 and would return on a yearly basis in 2005. After multiple attempts at winning the FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich would break through in 2013 when the tournament was held in Morocco.

Bayern qualified for the tournament by winning the 2012-13 Champions League, earning a spot in the semifinal. There, the club defeated Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0, setting up a final match against Raja Casablanca. In the seventh minute, Dante scored what would end up being the match-winning goal while Thiago added a second goal just 15 minutes later to give the club the World Cup.

Ending the Champions League Drought

During the 1970s, Bayern Munich was a staple of the European Cup, winning the title for three consecutive years. The tournament would eventually become known as the UEFA Champions League, but after 1976, Bayern Munich struggled to win the title. Fortunes would finally turn in the 2001 edition of the tournament, though, after three losses in the final during the 1980s and 1990s.

Bayern advanced past the group stages, then defeated Manchester United and Real Madrid to meet Valencia in the final. Things started poorly for Bayern as Gaizka Mendieta scored in the third minute, but Stefan Effenberg knotted things up in the 50th minute. Extra time was needed, but neither team scored and the clubs advanced to penalty kicks. In the seventh frame, Oliver Kahn made the winning save against Mauricio Pellegrino to end the drought for Bayern Munich.

Completing the Treble

The 2012-13 season for Bayern Munich proved to be one of the best in the club’s history. The club lost just one time during the Bundesliga season, finishing 25 points ahead of second-place Borussia Dortmund in the standings. Meanwhile, Bayern competed in the DFB-Pokal, winning all six matches while surrendering just one goal prior to the final, then defeated VfB Stuttgart to win the DFB-Pokal.

Bayern had already won the DFL Supercup the previous August by defeating Borussia Dortmund, but the crowning achievement throughout the year was winning the UEFA Champions League. Despite needing away goals to defeat Arsenal in the round of 16, Bayern won a combined 11-0 on aggregate against Juventus and Barcelona to set up a match against rival Borussia Dortmund in the final. Bayern won the treble thanks to an 89th-minute goal by Arjen Robben, defeating Dortmund 2-1.

The Second Treble

The 2012-13 season wasn’t the only time that Bayern Munich won the treble. Seven years later, Bayern pulled it off by winning the Bundesliga with 82 points. That came on the back of 26 wins and just four losses, finishing 13 points ahead of second-place Borussia Dortmund. Interestingly enough, Bayern lost four matches in eight weeks from the seventh to 14th matchdays.

Bayern would not lose the rest of the season, drawing just one time. The club then won the DFB-Pokal, beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 with Robert Lewandowski scoring two goals. In the UEFA Champions League, Bayern easily advanced to the knockout stage, taking on Paris Saint-Germain in the final. The lone goal came from Kingsley Coman in the 59th minute, and although the stadium was empty due to COVID-19, it was a momentous occasion for Bayern.

When we think of Bayern Munich football, we think of one of the most successful teams in German football. However, that hasn’t always been the case, and there have been some rough moments for the club. Here’s a look at the five worst moments that Bayern Munich fans have had to suffer through.

Finishing the 1977-78 Season

Ever since the 1977-78 season for Bayern Munich, the club has had unprecedented success. In that year, however, Bayern was ‘just another team’ at best. In the DFB-Pokal, the club won its first two rounds before losing 3-1 to FC 08 Homburg. In the UEFA Cup, Bayern advanced to the third round but was defeated 6-1 on aggregate by Eintracht Frankfurt. As for the Bundesliga, season, it wasn’t pretty, and things haven’t been as bad ever since.

Bayern Munich won just 11 of its 34 matches that year while drawing 10 and losing 13. That was only good enough for 32 points, which placed them just one point ahead of 15th-place Werder Bremen. Thankfully, Bayern avoided relegation, but the season was capped off by one of the worst performances in club history. Against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern dropped a 5-0 match with four of those goals coming in the second half.

2007 Champions League Quarter-final

The 2006-07 season was a frustrating one for Bayern Munich. The club ended up sacking manager Felix Magath due to the fact that they went the entire season without winning any major trophies. In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich finished in fourth place behind VfB Stuttgart, Schalke 04, and Werder Bremen. This meant no Champions League the next year, but there was still the 2006-07 Champions League to get through.

It was the last chance for Bayern Munich to salvage the season after the club lost out on winning DFB-Pokal (knocked out in the second round) and DFL-Ligapokal (lost in the finals). Bayern made it past the group stage along with Inter Milan, then defeated Real Madrid in the first knockout stage. However, the team ran into AC Milan and lost 2-0 in the second leg after drawing 2-2 in the first, capping off the disappointing campaign.

The Uli Hoeneß Scandal

When you think of Bayern Munich, one of the first names that come to mind is Uli Hoeneß. After all, as a player, Hoeneß spent nearly the entirety of the 1970s (and his playing career) as a forward with 239 league appearances and 86 goals. After retiring from football in 1979, Hoeneß remained a staple of the club as he was appointed as the general manager. He held the position for three decades and was elected as the club’s president.

Unfortunately, Hoeneß would end up being investigated for tax evasion starting in 2013. It turned out that he owed millions in back taxes, and he admitted to nearly 30 million Euros in evaded taxes. Hoeneß was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in March 2014, though he served just under two years of that sentence. Upon his release, he returned as Bayern Munich president before retiring in 2019 with nearly a half-century with the club.

Second Division Stint

The first few decades of Bayern Munich’s history weren’t all that remarkable, really. Up until the late 1960s, the club had only won the top title in Germany once (1932) and was seen as one of those ‘average’ clubs in the top division for a long time. At one point, it was even worse than that and Bayern Munich was considered one of the worst clubs in Germany’s top division. Playing in Oberliga Sud (now Bundesliga), Bayern finished 16th, knocking them down to the second division.

Thankfully, it wouldn’t take too long for Bayern to get back to where they belonged. The club finished second in the 2. Oberliga Sud table for the 1955-56 season and they were promoted back for good. The promotion marked the beginning of Bayern building toward becoming a juggernaut in German football with the sleeping giant finally awoken.

1999 Champions League Final

Bayern Munich won the European Cup for three consecutive years prior to the tournament being named the UEFA Champions League. However, those consecutive years all came in the mid-1970s, and it took quite some time for Bayern to return to the promised land. For the 1998-99 Champions League season, it appeared that the drought may finally be drawing to a close.

Bayern had gotten through the qualifying round and group stage rather easily, even though both Manchester United and Barcelona were in the group. Bayern then defeated fellow German club Kaiserslautern and Dynamo Kyiv to earn a spot in the final. Mario Basler scored in the sixth minute, and Bayern was on its way. In stoppage time of the second half, however, Edward Sheringham scored one minute in while Ole Solskjaer added another goal two minutes later to steal the 2-1 victory and the Champions League title.

AC Milan has had no shortage of success over the club’s history that started at the tail end of the 19th century. Since then, AC Milan has won a long list of titles in Serie A, UEFA, and FIFA. The club is also one of the richest, meaning that it can afford just about any player imaginable. Not all of those big-money signings end up working, however.

There have been many instances of AC Milan shelling out millions to players, only to have it blow up in their faces. Here are the five worst signings in AC Milan’s history. Before we start the list, some of the other players who just missed the cut (fortunately for them) include Ricardo Oliveira, Luther Blissett, and Jose Mari.

Leonardo Bonucci

Center-back Leonardo Bonucci has had a pretty interesting career. After starting as a professional with six different clubs within four years, Bonucci finally found a home with Juventus in 2010. During his seven years there, Bonucci played in 227 league matches and netted 13 goals while winning the Serie A title several times. In July 2017, Bonucci signed a five-year deal with AC Milan worth €42 million.

Things got off to a good start when Bonucci became team captain, but his performance in the first season was less than stellar. Bonucci, despite the long-term deal, played in just 35 total league matches and scored two goals. AC Milan didn’t win any major titles in his one year, and he was shipped back to Juventus in exchange for Mattia Caldara, which leads us to our next player.

Mattia Caldara

Playing the same position as Leonardo Bonucci, Mattia Caldara got his career started with Atalanta in 2014 after more than a decade with the youth program. The Bergamo native also spent time with Trapani and Cesena on loan before joining Juventus. While with Juventus, Caldara would be loaned out again, spending almost all of his time with his original club. In 2018, Caldara was part of the Bonucci swap and was given a five-year, €35 million deal.

Injuries took their toll immediately as Caldara didn’t appear in a single league match for AC Milan. He appeared in the Europa League and Coppa Italia for the club but was almost immediately sidelined due to a ruptured ACL. With that, AC Milan used Caldara as a loaner for multiple clubs instead. He made yet another return to Atalanta while also playing for Venezia and Spezia.

Digao

Digao was supposed to be the next big thing to come out of Brazil and there were a lot of clubs interested in his service around the world. His youth career started with Sao Paulo, and he came to Italy as part of Sampdoria until being loaned to AC Milan. The club then signed him to a lucrative deal and he made his senior squad debut in 2005. Over the next six years, though, Digao appeared in just one Serie A game.

Digao was loaned out to Rimini, Standard Liege, Lecce, Crotone, and Penafiel throughout that time. Unfortunately, he just was never able to break into the lineup for AC Milan and he joined the New York Red Bulls in the United States for a brief period at the end of his career. Now, Digao is the ultimate ‘what could have been’ story for AC Milan.

Oguchi Onyewu

Speaking of players who spent time in the United States, Oguchi Onyewu was actually born in the country, calling Washington D.C. his home. Onyewu moved down to Florida where he enrolled at the IMG Academy before heading to Clemson University. Onyewu headed to Europe where he played for Metz, La Louviere, Standard Liege, and Newcastle United from 2002 to 2009.

AC Milan then signed Onyewu to a three-year contract but had some injury issues that limited him to just a single Champions League match. He never appeared in a Serie A game and was loaned out to Twente for a brief time during his two years with AC Milan. When he left the club in 2011, Onyewu played just 60 league games for the rest of his career which lasted for six more years.

Fernando Redondo

There are a lot of interesting details in the Fernando Redondo story. The midfielder had a brilliant career heading into the 21st century after having spent his career with Argentinos Juniors, Tenerife, and Real Madrid. AC Milan acquired Redondo for £11 million, with Redondo having no say in the issue.

Almost immediately, Redondo suffered a serious injury that kept him out of action for more than two years. Luckily for AC Milan, Redondo said he wouldn’t take a salary while not playing and even wanted to give back the house the club paid for, as well as the car. Redondo made just a handful of appearances toward the end of his career, thankfully able to contribute before retiring.

AC Milan has achieved as much success as just about anyone on an international level while also being one of the best Serie A performers. The Italian club has had a lot of high points throughout its history, including some matches that go down as some of the fans’ all-time favorites. Here are our picks for five classic games in AC Milan history that you should go back and watch.

1963 European Cup Final

Now known as the UEFA Champions League, the European Cup was one of the most coveted football trophies in the world, and perhaps the biggest one after the World Cup itself. The league was founded in 1955, and AC Milan hadn’t won any of the first eight editions. In the 1962-63 tournament, however, AC Milan made a nice run, which included a 14-0 opening-round win over Union Luxembourg.

Milan then defeated Ipswich Town 4-2 and Galatasaray 8-1 before an easy 5-2 victory over Dundee in the semis. With the final brought down to one match instead of two legs, it was all on the line on May 22, 1963, when Milan took on Portugal’s Benfica. Benfica took a 1-0 lead into halftime thanks to a goal from Eusebio. However, Jose Altafini scored in the 58th and 69th minutes to give Milan the 2-1 lead that they would hang on to for their first European Cup title.

AC Milan 6-0 Inter

There have been well over 300 matches throughout the history of the Derby della Madonnina that pits inter-city rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan. Throughout the series, the two clubs have traded wins and kept things close in the head-to-head. There have been a few instances in which one club dominated the other, but no victory was as convincing as the one from the 2000-01 Serie A season.

The two clubs first met in January 2001 that season with a 2-2 draw. Things were dramatically different. Gianni Comandini scored two goals in the first two minutes, and those would be the only two goals of the first half. Frederico Giunti made it a 3-0 match in the 51st minute, with Andrii Shevchenko adding two more before Serginho netted the final goal that made it 6-0, the biggest margin in the rivalry’s history.

2003 UEFA Champions League Final

There have been several times in which AC Milan has won the UEFA Champions League, but some of those have been sweeter than others. Since the tournament changed to its current name and format in 1992, there have been three finals matches where AC Milan took home the title. The top three on the list are those finals matches, with the first of them being the 2003 edition.

Milan entered the tournament in the third qualifying round and advanced past Slovan Liberec on away goals. After passing through the group stages, Milan defeated Ajax and rival Inter to take on yet another rival, Juventus. Neither team scored in the match, sending the championship to penalties. Serginho netted the goal that put Milan ahead, while Shevchenko scored the decider, giving Milan the 3-2 edge.

1994 UEFA Champions League Final

The next Champions League Final win on the list is the first one under the tournament’s current name. In the 1993-94 edition of the Champions League, Milan defeated Aarau 1-0 in the first round, then proceeded to demolish Copenhagen 7-0, with six of those goals coming in the first leg. Milan advanced alongside Porto from the group stage to take on Monaco. It was another easy victory, with Milan winning 3-0.

Barcelona was coming off of a 3-0 win themselves, taking out Portuguese team Porto. The finals were held in Athens, and the two teams were seemingly evenly matched. Milan would prove that wasn’t the case early on when Daniele Massaro scored in the 22nd minute. He added a second goal in added time just before the half. Dejan Savicevic opened the second half with a third goal for Milan while Marcel Desailly added the cherry on top to give Milan the 4-0 Champions League final victory.

2007 UEFA Champions League Final

Due to sanctions from the Calciopoli scandal in 2006, Milan was knocked down to the third qualifying round and had to take the hard road through the 2006-07 Champions League. Milan defeated Red Star Belgrade to get things started, then won their group which also contained Lille, AEK Athens, and Anderlecht. 

After a 0-0 first leg, Milan defeated Celtic in the round of 16, needing extra time for the 1-0 victory. The club then beat Bayern Munich and Manchester United to advance to the final against Liverpool. It seemed that the clubs would head into halftime scoreless, but Pippo Inzaghi scored in the 45th minute to give Milan the lead. He then scored again in the 82nd minute. Dirk Kuijt scored for Liverpool in the end to make things interesting, but Milan came out on top.