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. +24 Atletico Madrid's players celebrate their Champions League quarter-final victory over Barcelona +24 Gerard Pique(left) and Lionel Messi leave the pitch at the Vicente Calderon following their 2-0 defeat by Atletico +24 Barcelona have become the 23rd side out of 23 to fail to defend their Champions Lea...