5 teams who bucked the odds and went on to win the Champions League

#2 FC Porto, 2004

Mourinho masterminded Porto's dream run to win the Champions League

The beginning of Jose Mourinho is also one of the greatest underdog moments in Champions League history. The Portuguese took FC Porto, a team outside Europe’s top four leagues, to win Europe’s biggest crown against all odds in 2004. The Primeira Liga side became a dominant force in Portugal under Mourinho, however, it is his European success that truly elevated him.

Porto got through a group consisting of Real Madrid, FK Partizan, and Olympique Marseille to encounter Ferguson’s highly-successful Manchester United in the round of 16. In a classic David vs Goliath encounter, Mourinho’s defense led by the likes Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho held strong as his side beat United 2-0 in Portugal before drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford. Mourinho’s wild celebrations after knocking out the English side still reverberate around the stadium.

Afer announcing themselves on Europe’s biggest stage, Porto beat Olympique Lyon 4-2 on aggregate in the quarters to continue their dream run. In the semi-finals, their defense once again was unbreachable as they saw off Deportivo La Coruna, who had scripted a superb comeback against AC Milan to reach the semis.

In the final, they faced a resurgent AS Monaco, and led by star playmaker Deco, they annihilated the Ligue 1 side by scoring three goals without reply to complete one of the greatest underdog stories in European history. After all, every other team on this list comes from a top-ranked league except Porto, emphasizing the magnitude of their achievement.