Every UEFA Champions League Final Ranked From Worst To Best

3. AC Milan 4 - 0 Barcelona (1994)

The dismantling of a dynasty. Johan Cruyff had presided over European Cup success and four straight La Liga titles as Barcelona manager going into this showpiece final at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

This was the Barca “Dream Team” featuring the sensational strike pairing of Romario and Hristo Stoichkov. The Catalan ranks overflowed with so much talent, Cruyff could afford to leave Michael Laudrup out of his squad entirely. He would live to regret it.

Milan might not have been the Rossoneri side of Arrigo Sacchi but, in Fabio Capello, they had a manager with the tactical acumen to win. Cruyff assumed just by turning up, Barcelona had enough to beat Milan. The Italians thought otherwise.

Plenty of players deserve praise, not least the largely unheralded Daniele Massaro. Often overlooked in discussions about the best Italian forwards of the 1990s, Massaro scored both Milan’s goals in the first-half to put them 2-0 at the break.

Yet his efforts might have been in vain were it not for the brilliance of players like Roberto Donadoni and Dejan Savićević and their marauding runs. Savićević was the standout star, setting up Massaro for one goal and scoring Milan’s third after the break with an inspired lob.

That just left Marcel Desailly, Milan’s defensive midfield enforcer, to put the icing on the cake with a fourth.

A one-sided victory, but one of the finest all-round team displays in the history of the tournament.

Contributor

Former Loaded magazine staff writer with additional credits for FourFourTwo, ScreenRant, Planet Football and Den of Geek. A man with an unhealthy interest in the film career of Hulk Hogan.