Tottenham 2019

Coach: Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham reached their first-ever Champions League final in 2019 via one of the most dramatic semi-final comebacks the competition has produced: trailing Ajax 3-0 on aggregate deep into the second leg in Amsterdam, Lucas Moura scored a stoppage-time hat-trick goal to complete the turnaround and send Spurs through on away goals, sparking scenes of pure disbelief among the travelling supporters. Harry Kane, despite missing large parts of the campaign through injury, remained the squad's talismanic focal point, while Son Heung-min's pace and finishing had become an increasingly vital attacking outlet, and Christian Eriksen supplied creativity from midfield throughout the run. The final itself, an all-English affair against Liverpool in Madrid, was settled by an early Mohamed Salah penalty and a late Divock Origi strike, denying Tottenham the trophy in what remains, as of the mid-2020s, the club's only Champions League final appearance. Pochettino's five-year project at the club, built on developing young talent and a possession-based pressing style, reached its absolute European peak with this run, even as the club's long wait for a major trophy continued beyond this heartbreaking near-miss.