1. Ajax (1995)
The Bosman rule may not mean much to the average supporter but to fans of the famous Dutch team it meant everything. Ajax are famous for producing some of the best young talent in the world and in 95 it appeared as if they had managed to create a team equal to that of the early seventies. Edwin Van der Saar was between the sticks, the de Boer twins dominated the spine, Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids were midfield maestros, Jari Litmanen was at his peak and Marc Overmars was just starting a wonderful career. A 32-year-old Frank Rijkaard was an experienced centre back not past his prime and the substitute bench included the dangerous Patrick Kluivert (and Nwankwo Kanu). Ajax was Louis Van Gaals first managerial job and by 95 he had been in charge for four years. During his six-year tenure he took the club to three Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup in 92 and two Champions League finals one which they won and one which they did not. In 96 they fell just short against a talented Juventus team. 95 was their year. The average age of the team that lined up against Fabio Capellos AC Milan was just 23-years-old. The Rossoneri were an experienced Champions League team; having won the competition just one year before and finishing second the year before that. 85 minutes into the match the former AC player Rijkaard found Kluivert, who managed to shake off two defenders and knock the ball past Sebastiano Rossi. No dream team lasts forever and the players soon went their separate ways. Seedorf left after the win, Davids and Kanu after the next final, Kluivert and Overmars in 97, the de Boers in 98 and finally, Van der Saar and Litmanen in 99. The Bosman Ruling meant that Ajax ended up not even getting paid for some players. The major players from that team became legends at their respective clubs but that Ajax team could have become as dominant as any one of the six teams mentioned in the introduction.