As the Champions League made it’s long awaited return last night. We thought we’d have a look in the archives at some players you may not know won the competition.
Kwankwo Kanu - The former Arsenal and Portsmouth striker started his European club career at Ajax and was a 53rd minute substitute during their 1-0 win over AC Milan in the 1995 Champions League final, which took place in Vienna.
Davor Šuker - The Croatian legend spent three seasons with Real Madrid from 1996-99. Šuker came on in the 89th minute of the 1998 final where the Spanish giants overcame Juventus 1-0 thanks to a goal from Pedrag Mijatović.
We have this 1997/98 Real Madrid shirt, tap the image to shop!
Jonathan Greening - After signing from York City in March 1998, Greening was an unused substitute during the ‘99 Final. Two late goals in injury time saw Manchester United complete a historic treble in the most dramatic ending to a final we have ever seen.
We have this 1998/99 Man United shirt, tap the image to shop!
Roque Santa Cruz - In his second season for Bayern Munich the Paraguayan striker suffered an injury hit campaign in which he scored 6 goals in 28 appearances. Santa Cruz was an unused sub as Bayern beat Valencia on penalties in the 2001 final at the San Siro.
Roque Junior - From one Roque to another. In 2003 The Brazilian centre back watched from the bench as Milan triumphed at Old Trafford over Serie A rivals Juventus in what is described as the most boring Champions League final ever.
Nuno Espirito Santo - The former Wolves and Spurs manager played under Jose Mourinho at Porto and was on the bench as the backup goalkeeper as ‘The Special One’ overcame Monaco 3-0 in the 2004 final.
Scott Carson - Another back up goalkeeper you may not know won the Champions League is quintessential journeyman Scott Carson. The current third choice Manchester City keeper was in the squad for Liverpool as they came back from 3-0 to Milan in 2005 to win on penalties.
Eidur Gudjohnsen - After successful spells with both Bolton and Chelsea, the Icelandic striker was part of the all conquering Pep Guardiola Barcelona team. They defeated Manchester United 2-0 in what was thought to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last game for the club in the 2009 final in Rome.
Sulley Muntari - Another Jose Mourinho team and another player you might not have known was a Champions League winner. Muntari played 66 times for Inter and played his part in the final as the Italian giants completed a treble for the 2009/10 season.
Ryan Bertrand - Making his European debut for Chelsea in the 2012 final against Bayern at the Allianz Arena, Bertrand played 73 mins before making way for Florent Malouda. Thanks to Didier Drogba’s winning penalty it was a successful first game in the Champions League for the left back.
We have this 2011/12 Chelsea shirt, tap the image to shop!
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If you have that winning feeling, head to our website where we list 1000’s of new and retro football shirts from Champions League winners….and losers.
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