Winston Aldworth on the wonder goals, epic comebacks and giant egos that have marked Europe's biggest cup competition down the years.
1 Wynton's wonder
Werder Bremen v Anderlecht 1994
Belgian champions Anderlecht thought they had their German foes in the bag after one hour, leading 3-0 and generally running Werder Bremen ragged. Enter Wynton Rufer, who found the back of the net twice, triggering an unlikely comeback.
The consonent-heavy Bernd
Hobsch and Rune Bratseth whacked in a couple more for Werder Bremen to finish the match 4-3.
They were great days for Rufer: the year before, his goals and successful strike partnership with Klaus Allofs were the key to Werder's Bundesliga title. He went on to finish the 1993-94 Champions League as joint top-scorer.
2 Fergie's Time
Manchester United 1999
With just 11 minutes gone in the second leg of United's semifinal against Juventus, the much-sought treble looked a long way off. The Red Devils had shipped two goals to Filippo Inzaghi before the liniment had even kicked in.
As Alex Ferguson's rage-hued face reached levels of redness never before seen by the naked eye, Roy Keane began the fightback. The Irishman headed home a David Beckham corner after 24 minutes and Dwight Yorke got the equaliser in the 34th. From there, the script was pre-ordained, Andy Cole bagging the winner with six minutes left on the clock to put United into the final.
3 Fergie Time
Manchester United 1999
Once again, Fergie was left to ponder how his team could begin such a big match half asleep. Mario Basler found the net in the sixth minute and from there, Bayern Munich seemed to cruise. Enter Teddy Sheringham who equalised with the clock reading 91 minutes. The stunned Germans were still scratching their backsides and wondering what had gone wrong when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bopped in the winner for United in the 94th to round off the most dramatic Champions League comeback of them all.
4 The Miracle of Istanbul
Liverpool v AC Milan 2005
When jurassic centreback Paolo Maldini hit the back of the net in the first minute of the 2005 final, things looked grim for Liverpool.
Surely it was goodnight nurse when Hernan Crespo banged in two more goals. No one told Steven Gerrard.
The Scouse hero got the red machine rolling, with Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso levelling the scores.
But the ultimate hero was goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, whose wobbly-leg routine, an homage to former Liverpool keeper Bruce Grobbelaar, was a decisive factor in the penalty shoot-out as he saved a shot from Andriy Shevchenko.
5 Zinedine Zidane
Real Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen 2002
Perhaps the greatest Champions League goal of all time came from one of the competition's greatest artists. On the stroke of half-time, Zinedine Zidane, standing at the edge of the penalty box, swung his left foot to connect sweetly with a Roberto Carlos cross. The volley went straight into the top corner, sending Latin television commentators around the world into rapturous calls of "GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL", some of which continue to this day.
6 The Special One
Porto v AS Monaco 2004
Jose Mourinho announced his arrival in the stratosphere of galactic egos with a 3-0 waltz to the victors' podium against Monaco.
Never one to kiss the badge unduly, Mourinho chucked his winner's medal into the crowd, gave them a cursory wave then strutted off to Chelsea.
7 The team naming
Chelsea v Barcelona 2005
"Do you want to know my team?" asked the Special One of the reporters gathered for his, er, team announcement. "I can say my team and Barcelona team."
Jose Mourinho then named his line-up and went on to name Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona starting XI.
Helpfully, he also announced who would be the match officials.
He picked the Barcelona team perfectly, pouring the heat on his old pals at Camp Nou.
Rijkaard, in a bind, fielded Mourinho's line-up.
8 The Knee Slide
Barcelona v Chelsea 2006
There's bad blood between the Special One and Barcelona. The sport's biggest ego has never gotten over the fact that at Camp Nou he's known as "El Tradutor", or "The Translator": the role Jose Mourinho filled when employed by the club as assistant to Bobby Robson.
There's no need for a translator to interpret Mourinho's special message to Carlos Puyol in the tunnel before the match. What did the five fingers say to the face? Slap.
The Barcelona centreback - caught on YouTube - was too stunned to react to the whack about the chops.
Still bearing a grudge against the smug Barcelona types, Mourinho celebrated in style when Didier Drogba knocked in a late equaliser. Wearing an immaculate suit, launched into an extended turf slide, angering the locals and his tailor.
9 Dirty laundry
Chelsea v Bayern Munich 2005
The lowest moment in Mourinho's time at Stamford Bridge came when he accused Swedish referee Anders Frisk of meeting Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard at half-time in their 2-1 away defeat. Some of Chelsea's long-term supporters, picking up on Mourinho's unsubstantiated claim, took it upon themselves to threaten poor old Frisk's life. Which saw the Special One branded an "enemy of football" and banned from the dressing-room for the quarter-final against Bayern Munich. Legend has it Mourinho had himself smuggled into the dressing-room in the dirty laundry basket to deliver the team talk. And Rui Faria, ostensibly running the team from the sidelines, wore a thick winter hat that covered his ears, sparking rumours he had an earphone in place to receive orders from Mourinho.
10 Poor John Terry
Man United v Chelsea 2008
It hasn't been a great year so far for Chelsea's John Terry, with the world learning of how he got the former girlfriend of his now former best friend pregnant. He was stripped of England's captaincy and his personal life appeared to be in tatters. But none of it has brought him to tears the way his penalty miss in the 2008 final in Moscow did. After the game was drawn 1-1 after extra time, Manchester United won 6-5 on penalties, Cristiano Ronaldo missing for United and Terry and Nicolas Anelka missing for Chelsea.