Real Madrid 2003

Coach: Vicente del Bosque

Ronaldo's debut season at the Bernabéu, 2002-03, peaked with a hat-trick at Old Trafford that sealed a 6-5 aggregate quarter-final win over Manchester United — earning him a standing ovation from the home crowd as he was substituted off — before Real fell to Juventus in the semi-final. Vicente del Bosque's squad, built around the emerging Galácticos policy, already featured Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo and Raúl alongside the newly arrived Brazilian striker, whose combination of pace, close control and finishing made him an instant sensation in Spanish football even as he was still working his way back from the injuries that had disrupted the end of his Inter Milan career. The Old Trafford hat-trick — Ronaldo's third goal completing a stunning individual comeback for Real after United had led the second leg — is still remembered as one of the finest away performances in the competition's history, and the standing ovation he received from United's own supporters remains one of the most sporting moments in the club's history. The semi-final exit to Juventus denied this star-studded squad a first Galácticos-era Champions League double, but Ronaldo's individual brilliance that season firmly established him as the newest superstar of Pérez's ambitious project.