10 Greatest Underdog Runs In Champions League History (Ranked)

10 Greatest Underdog Runs In Champions League History (Ranked)

The Champions League is built for giants. The budgets are ridiculous. The squads are stacked. The favourites are predictable. And yet every so often, a club tears up the script and reminds us why we fall in love with this competition in the first place.

These are not one-off shock wins. These are full runs. Deep, chaotic, against-the-odds journeys that nobody saw coming.

Here at Football Park, we are bringing you our 10 best performances from teams that have produced the unexpected. Let’s rank them.

10. APOEL Nicosia 2011/12

A club from Cyprus reaching the quarter-finals felt like fiction. APOEL topped a group containing Porto, Zenit and Shakhtar Donetsk, which already made people take notice. Then they knocked out Lyon on penalties in the Round of 16. They did not play glamorous football. They defended for their lives and believed. That belief carried them further than anyone expected before Real Madrid eventually ended the dream.

For a Cypriot side, this was monumental.

9. Schalke 2009/10

Schalke were not expected to go deep in 2010/11, especially not with giants dominating Europe at the time. Yet they powered their way to the semifinals, dismantling Inter 7-3 on aggregate in one of the most shocking quarterfinal ties in history. Raul rolled back the years. Manuel Neuer was immense. It was fearless and it was fun. Manchester United stopped them in the semis, but that run was unforgettable.

Schalke reached the semi finals of the 2010/2011 UEFA Champions League and won the DFB Pokal in the 2010/2011 season.

Fast forward to now, they are fighting in 15th place in second division of the Bundesliga.

Schalke’s fall off has been crazy 🥲 pic.twitter.com/IyThBPCGzE

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) November 7, 2023

8. Roma 2017/18

Nobody gave Roma a prayer against Barcelona in the quarter-finals after losing 4-1 at the Camp Nou. What followed in Rome was one of the greatest nights the competition has ever seen. A 3-0 win. Kostas Manolas rising to score. Absolute bedlam.

They had already navigated a tough group and eliminated Shakhtar. Reaching the semi-finals felt surreal for a side that had not been considered European heavyweights for years. Mohamed Salah did what he did best in that spectacular first season at Liverpool, but nothing can be taken away from Roma's emphatic Champions League run that season. They almost brought back a big deficit vs Liverpool as well!

🏆 UEFA Champions League ⚽️ La Roma l'a fait ! ⚡️⚡️
🤜 AS Roma 3-0 FC Barcelone#RomaBarca pic.twitter.com/EBbctTEVCn

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) April 10, 2018

7. Villarreal 2021/22

Unai Emery’s Villarreal were written off repeatedly. They beat Juventus convincingly. Then they stunned Bayern Munich over two legs with composure and intelligence. Reaching the semi-finals on organisation and discipline alone was refreshing in an era dominated by superstar squads. They nearly took Liverpool with them before fading late on.

It was proper underdog football done right. Yet again Liverpool was the team to stop a side from reaching glory; Liverpool really are a force to be reckoned with in Europe.

Bayern Munich are OUT! ❌

Villarreal produce a stunning upset to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich! pic.twitter.com/q2OkRIRz0d

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 12, 2022

6. Ajax 2018/19

This one had romance written all over it. A young Ajax side knocked out Real Madrid at the Bernabeu with fearless attacking football. Then they eliminated Juventus in Turin. De Ligt, De Jong, Ziyech. Tadic is playing the football of his life. They had such a strong squad full of some great talents; they all had the perfect connection in such a fluid system.

They were seconds away from the final before Tottenham’s dramatic comeback. It hurt, but that run reintroduced Ajax to the modern football world. Lucas Moura – this was his moment; everyone knows him from this insane hat-trick.

Ajax away from home in the Champions League knockout stages:

Real Madrid 1-4 Ajax ✅
Juventus 1-2 Ajax ✅
Spurs 0-1 Ajax ✅

This side fears absolutely no one. pic.twitter.com/re7BquiPTx

— Coral (@Coral) April 30, 2019

5. Monaco 2003/04

Monaco was not expected to reach the final. Not in an era full of Galacticos and elite Italian sides. They knocked out Real Madrid despite losing the first leg. They then beat Chelsea in the semi-finals. Fernando Morientes haunted his parent club. Ludovic Giuly was electric.

They eventually lost to Porto in the final, but getting there was a genuine shock at the time.

On this day 2004 Jose Mourinho's FC Porto won the Champions League pic.twitter.com/C6kKjh4cx3

— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) May 26, 2020

4. Deportivo La Coruna 2003/04

Yes, the same season. Deportivo’s comeback against AC Milan is still one of the most ridiculous turnarounds ever seen. 4-1 down from the first leg. They won 4-0 at home. This in itself is one of the greatest Champions League comebacks of all time, especially against the insanely strong AC Milan side that they faced off against. We all know what happened in Istanbul the next year with AC Milan...

They reached the semi-finals that year despite operating nowhere near the financial level of Europe’s elite. That Milan comeback alone earns them a place high on this list.

El 7 de abril de 2004 el Deportivo de La Coruña le ganó 4 a 0 al Milan en Riazor con goles de Pandiani, Valerón, Luque y Fran y se clasificó por primera y única vez en su historia a unas semifinales de Champions League. Había perdido 4 a 1 en San Siro. pic.twitter.com/YYjtvvUoab

— David Mosquera (@renaldinhos) April 7, 2020

3. Tottenham Hotspur 2018/19

Tottenham barely survived the group stage. They needed late goals just to get through. Then came the chaos. They beat Borussia Dortmund comfortably. Survived Manchester City in one of the wildest quarter-finals ever played. Then Lucas Moura’s hat trick in Amsterdam sent them to a Champions League final.

No huge squad depth. No Galactico signings. Just resilience and madness. Yet again Liverpool are the team to stop an underdog team from achieving greatness... They really do ruin so many exciting runs from the unexpected teams!

Tottenham Hotspur Champions League 18/19

The Downfall and Rise of This Season✨

Simply Amazing pic.twitter.com/VNcsJu6pbc

— MV (@VamosYids) May 11, 2019

2. Porto 2003/04

Before Jose Mourinho became the special one, this was his statement. What a statement it was! Porto knocked out Manchester United in dramatic fashion. They eliminated Lyon and Deportivo. Then they dominated Monaco in the final. This was not a fluke run. It was tactically brilliant, organised and ruthless. A Portuguese side lifting the trophy in that era was a genuine earthquake in European football.

#throwback É nossa! O FC Porto levanta o troféu de vencedor da Taça UEFA 2003.#sevilha15anos #fcporto #nascidosparavencer pic.twitter.com/IQTocVwWWS

— FC Porto (@FCPorto) May 21, 2018

1. Borussia Dortmund 1996/97

Dortmund were not favourites in a competition dominated by Italian and Spanish powerhouses. They beat Atletico Madrid in the group stage, edged past Auxerre, and then defeated Manchester United in the semi-finals. In the final they faced Juventus, the holders and overwhelming favourites. They won 3-1.

Lars Ricken scoring with his first touch after coming on summed it up perfectly. It was bold. It was fearless. It was everything an underdog story should be. This match had everything... including a worldy bicycle kick.

Borussia Dortmund - AJ Auxerre en quart de finale de la Ligue des Champions 1996-97. Le but d'une vie injustement refusé à Lilian Laslandes pic.twitter.com/BmuyDgNfjM

— Perdants magnifiques (@TousPoulidor) November 12, 2024