PSV 2005

Coach: Guus Hiddink

Guus Hiddink's PSV Eindhoven reached the 2004-05 Champions League semi-final, eliminated by eventual runners-up Milan on away goals after an extraordinarily tight tie that went right down to the wire, a genuinely impressive run for a Dutch club competing against Europe's financial elite. Mark van Bommel provided combative energy in midfield, while a talented young squad — including a teenage Heurelho Gomes in goal — reflected PSV's continued strength as a producer and developer of talent that would go on to careers at bigger European clubs. Hiddink, one of the most well-travelled and respected coaches of his generation, having previously taken South Korea to the World Cup semi-final in 2002, built a well-organised and difficult-to-break-down side that troubled Milan across both legs before ultimately falling short. This run remains one of PSV's best European campaigns of the post-2000 era, a period in which Dutch football's relative financial decline compared to the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A made deep Champions League runs increasingly rare for Eredivisie clubs, adding extra shine to Hiddink's achievement.