Top 5 greatest UEFA Champions League giant-killing runs

2. Valencia (1999-00 season)

Having just finished one point ahead of Celta Vigo in the 1998-99 La Liga season, a Valencia team bereft of big names just about managed to make the Champions League for the following season.

This was at a time when the Champions League had two group stages, and Valencia topped Group F in the first stage, ahead of Bayern Munich, who came in second. In the second group stages, they were close on the heels of defending champions Manchester United, but finished 3 points behind them to reach the quarter finals.

In the quarters, they faced Lazio, who at the time were Italy’s strongest team, with players like Juan Sebastian Veron, Pavel Nedved, Roberto Mancini, Alessandro Nesta, Diego Simeone and Marcelo Salas in their roster. However, the underdogs managed to win the tie 5-3, thanks to a massive 5-2 win at the Mestalla.

In the semis, they faced another strong Barcelona side that had the likes of Luis Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Rivaldo, and Pep Guardiola, but were again able to beat them 5-3 on aggregate to reach the first-ever all-Spanish final in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

Their luck ran out in the final as Real beat them 3-0, but by then they had enhanced their reputation with a fairytale run in the competition. They followed up this success the following year as well, reaching the final of the Champions League again, only to end up on the losing end against Bayern Munich.