Champions League curse continues... Barcelona's defeat by Atletico Madrid means 23 teams have failed to make a successful defence of their European crown
The curse of the Champions League... no, not the latest Pirates of the Caribbean sequel but one of the most famous trends in world football.
Since the European Cup was revamped in early 1990s, no team has made a successful defence of their continental crown, and Barcelona can now be added to the list after their quarter-final defeat by Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Some have dared to get close to lifting the famous trophy in successive years - Ajax were a penalty shootout away in 1996 and three other sides have reached the final before being beaten - but the fact remains that of 23 defending champions, none have emerged triumphant.
Atletico Madrid's players celebrate their Champions League quarter-final victory over Barcelona
Gerard Pique(left) and Lionel Messi leave the pitch at the Vicente Calderon following their 2-0 defeat by Atletico
Barcelona have become the 23rd side out of 23 to fail to defend their Champions League title
While the Galacticos era at Real Madrid, Barcelona's tiki-taka darlings, the Ajax of the mid-nineties and Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United have all been widely celebrated, the prize of back-to-back Champions Leagues has eluded them all.
Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and AC Milan fans - as supporters of the only teams to have won Europe's premier club competition in successive years in the past four decades - will hark back to their own sides' historic successes to prove it can be done.
But, since the turn of the millennium, domination of an entire continent has become harder and harder to achieve. In that period, only one side has reached the final a year after winning the tournament - United in 2009 - while nine of the past 15 winners did not even make it as far as the semi-finals the next time around.
Borussia Dortmund won the Champions League in 1997 but were knocked out in the semi-finals the next year
AC Milan beat Liverpool in the 2007 final but their title defence was cut short by Arsenal the next season
Manchester United secured a famous victory over Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999
With money being thrown around with reckless abandon across Europe, and Middle Eastern and American investors pumping cash into their respective clubs in pursuit of Champions League glory, the balance of power can change on a whim from season to season.
Paris Saint-Germain - who won Ligue 1 in March and have barely been troubled all season - were beaten by a Manchester City side who trail Leicester by 15 points in the Premier League.
Until a fortnight ago, Barcelona were hotly tipped to complete the treble but the best team in the world were out-thought by Diego Simeone and out-fought by his Atleti players over two legs.
At the elite level, the margins between success and failure have become microscopically fine.
A single refereeing mistake, a moment of individual brilliance, good fortune or bad luck can swing the competition into one team's favour from another.
Only a truly dominant team can win the Champions League in consecutive seasons. Evidently, that dominance doesn't currently exist.
Liverpool were beaten home and away by Benfica in the last 16 a matter of months after their Istanbul triumph
Fernando Hierro lifts the Champions League trophy for Real Madrid at Hampden Park in 2002
Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan to glory in 2010 - they were thrashed by Schalke in the last eight the next season
Having won a surprise title in 2004, Porto could not even reach the knockout stages a season later
The curse of the Champions League - year by year
1993-94: Defending champions - Marseille
The French club won the first instalment of the newly rebranded Champions League but didn't even feature in the second edition of the competition following allegations of match-fixing in Ligue 1.
1994-95: AC Milan
The Rossoneri romped past Barcelona 4-0 to lift the title in 1994 and they came close to retaining their crown only for an 84th-minute goal from 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert in Vienna to make Ajax the new champs.
Patrick Kluivert lifts the European Cup after his goal for Ajax beat defending champions AC Milan in 1994
Karl -Heinz Riedle celebrates one of his two goals as Borussia Dortmund beat Juventus in the 1997 final
1995-96: Ajax
The Dutch side were a penalty shootout away from a successful defence in 1996, after their final against Juventus went the distance at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
Edgar Davids and Sonny Silooy missed from 12 yards to hand the Old Lady the title.
1996-97: Juventus
The trend of defending champions falling at the last continued in 1997, as Karl-Heinz Riedle scored twice for Borussia Dortmund in a 3-1 victory in Munich.
1997-98: Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund got out of a group including Sparta Prague, Galatasary and Parma before beating Bayern Munich in their quarter-final.
However, their adventure was ended by eventual winners Real Madrid in the last four.
1998-99: Real Madrid
Madrid squeezed through their group with defeats by Spartak Moscow and Inter Milan before they were surprisingly beaten in the quarter-finals by the Dynamo Kiev team which included Andriy Shevchenko .
Andriy Shevchenko played a starring role as Dynamo Kiev knocked out Real Madrid in the last eight in 1999
1999-00: Manchester United
Another last-eight exit for the defending champions.
This time it was the turn of Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils, who couldn't make up for a 3-2 first-leg defeat by Real Madrid at Old Trafford and were knocked out after a goalless draw at the Bernabeu.
2000-01: Real Madrid
This was the year that Real and Leeds United reached the same stage of the competition.
While Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell et al were being beaten by Valencia in the semi-finals, Madrid were busy losing 3-1 on aggregate to Bayern Munich.
2001-02: Bayern Munich
Bayern dropped points against Sparta Prague and Feyenoord in the first group stage, drew with Manchester United and Boavista in the second group stage and then lost 3-2 on aggregate to Real in the quarter-finals during a low-key campaign.
Pavel Nedved scores for Juventus against Real in a 2003 semi-final victory over the reigning champions
Walter Pandiani was among the scorers as Deportivo overcame a 4-1 deficit to beat Milan in 2004
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard reacts to his side limping out of the 2005-06 competition at the last-16 stage following home and away defeats by Benfica
2002-03: Real Madrid
A dramatic 6-5 last-eight win over Manchester United landed the Galacticos with a semi-final tie against Juventus.
After winning the first leg 2-1, however, Madrid were toppled by Alessandro del Piero, Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet goals in the rematch in Turin.
2003-04: AC Milan
Milan seemed on course for a place in the semi-finals when they went 4-1 up on aggregate against Deportivo la Coruna.
It all went wrong for the Italians in the second leg, though, as Walter Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valeron, Albert Luque and Fran found the net in Deportivo's remarkable 4-0 victory.
2004-05: Porto
The Portuguese club were unable to recreate the magic they enjoyed under Jose Mourinho the previous year, as their old boss helped Chelsea qualify out of Group H in front of them. Porto couldn't even reach the knockout stage.
2005-06: Liverpool
In the ultimate anti-climax after the drama of Istanbul, Liverpool limped out of the competition after being beaten home and away by Benfica in the last 16.
2006-07: Barcelona
Barca suffered the ignominy of being dumped out of the tournament by a Craig Bellamy goal, as Liverpool's 2-1 victory in the Nou Camp in the first leg of the last-16 encounter paved the way for the Reds' away-goals win.
Craig Bellamy dives in at the back post to score a crucial goal for Liverpool in the Nou Camp in 2007
Bellamy's strike helped the Reds see off the reigning champions on away goals in the last 16
Jose Mourinho celebrates defeating Barcelona with his Inter Milan team in 2010
2007-08: AC Milan
For the fifth season in a row, the defending champions failed to make it as far as the semi-finals, as Milan were beaten 2-0 at home by Arsenal in the last 16. Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor scored the goals.
2008-09: Manchester United
United ended the run of meek title defences by reaching the final, thanks to a 4-2 aggregate victory over Arsenal in the last four. However, they could not get past Barcelona in Rome, as Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi found the net.
2009-10: Barcelona
Having annihilated Arsenal in the quarter-finals, the Catalans seemed set to break the mould and become the first club to keep hold of their crown. But Jose Mourinho had other ideas. His Inter Milan outfit booked their place in the final with a 3-2 aggregate win.
2010-11: Inter Milan
The Nerazurri endured a nightmare last-eight encounter with Schalke. The Germans hammered them 5-2 in the first leg and then won 2-1 at the San Siro to send their opponents crashing out with their tails well and truly lodged between their legs.
2011-12: Barcelona
Barca eased into the semi-finals and were hotly fancied to see off Chelsea in the last four. The Blues proved hard to budge, however, and after Didier Drogba gave them a 1-0 lead after the first leg, Ramires and Fernando Torres scored in a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp to see the London side through.
Fernando Torres scores in second-half stoppage time as Chelsea beat Barcelona in the 2012 semi-finals
Chelsea played an hour of their second-leg clash at the Nou Camp with 10 men but still prevailed
Arturo Vidal celebrates his goal in the group stage defeat of Chelsea in the 2013 edition of the competition
2012-13: Chelsea
Defeats by Shakhtar Donestk and Juventus saw Chelsea's reign cut short. They did at least enjoy victory in the Europa League as some form of consolation.
2013-14: Bayern Munich
The Bavarian side eased past Manchester United in the quarter-finals but were utterly outclassed by Madrid in the semis. Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored twice in Real's 4-0 second-leg triumph at the Allianz Arena.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores one of Madrid's four goals in a semi-final victory over champions Bayern in 2014
2014-15: Real Madrid
Real reached the last four but found their path blocked by Juventus, who won 2-1 in Turin thanks to goals from Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata and then secured safe passage with a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu.
2015-16: Barcelona
On April 1, the world's best team seemed destined for a treble. Fast forward two weeks and their lead in La Liga has been cut to three points and they've been shown the Champions League door by Atletico Madrid.
Antoine Griezmann is the latest man to put the title holders to the sword. The Frenchman scored both goals for Atletico in their 2-0 second-leg win against Barca on Wednesday
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