Juventus 2003

Coach: Marcello Lippi

Marcello Lippi's Juventus reached the 2003 Champions League final against fellow Italians Milan, a repeat of the all-Italian dynamic that had characterised much of the competition throughout the early 2000s, and lost on penalties at Old Trafford after a goalless 120 minutes in a notoriously cautious, low-event final. The squad featured Gianluigi Buffon, already established as one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation, alongside Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedvěd — the latter suspended for the final itself after picking up a booking in the semi-final against Real Madrid, a significant blow to Juventus's creative threat on the night. David Trezeguet missed the decisive penalty in the shootout, having also scored Juventus's opener in a memorable semi-final second-leg comeback against Real Madrid's Galácticos. Domestically this Juventus side won Serie A that season too, continuing the club's period of sustained dominance in Italian football through the early 2000s, even as the final defeat to Milan added to a growing list of near-misses in Europe's premier competition for a club many considered the strongest squad on paper season after season.