10 Players We Still Can't Believe Won The Champions League

By Michael Ramsay /

8. Paulo Ferreira

Another member of the alumni from the class of Porto '04, Paulo Ferreira was regarded as the hottest young right-back in the world €“ for about three weeks. An ever-present in the Porto side, Ferreira was calm and composed on the right-flank, overlapping with marauding runs, and floating in dangerous crosses for the likes of Derlei and McCarthy. He had cemented a place in the Portugal side, preparing himself for a Euro 2004 competition on home soil, and the money-spinning likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea were quietly enquiring about his services. If ever there was one pivotal turning point in a player€™s career, it occurred three weeks after the glorious 3-0 Champions League final triumph over Monaco. A £13.2 million transfer to Chelsea was being finalised, when Ferreira sloppily surrendered possession to Georgious Karagaounis, who fired Greece into a shock lead. Portugal lost their opening game in front of a shocked Estadio da Luz, Ferreira was ousted from the starting XI and Mourinho clearly began to have second thoughts about the player. It was a blow to the weak fragility of the player€™s confidence, and one which he seemingly never recovered from. Amassing a paltry total of 141 league appearances from nine full seasons, it€™s even more incredible that Ferreira was actually still on the books of the Londoners when it was their turn to lift the trophy eight years later.