Could 2023-24 be the last chance for an outsider to win the Champions League?

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Michael Cox explains why this season is a rare, maybe last, good opportunity for underdogs in European football's top club competition

This year marks two decades since an outsider won the . In May 2004, Jose Mourinho-managed Porto shocked the sport with a hugely unexpected triumph. Porto have long been a big club, of course, and had already lifted the trophy in the competition’s previous guise as the European Cup in 1987. But by that stage, a side from outside the major European leagues winning the biggest prize in club football felt unusual.

But at times, for all the focus on strategy, one player often proves the difference in the biggest games. There’s probably some level of availability bias involved here, but it’s still easier to recall classic individual displays than classic team ones. And, individually, European football is weaker than it has been for several years.

 

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