Juventus 2015

Coach: Massimiliano Allegri

Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus reached the 2015 Champions League final in his very first season in charge, having taken over a squad that had just completed a fourth consecutive Serie A title but was still searching for a way to translate domestic dominance into European success. Built around Andrea Pirlo, playing out the final peak years of his career as a deep-lying playmaker, alongside Paul Pogba's box-to-box energy in midfield and Carlos Tevez leading the attack, this Juventus side eliminated Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Real Madrid en route to the final in Berlin, a genuinely impressive run against elite continental opposition. The final itself was lost 3-1 to a rampant Barcelona side in the middle of their own treble-winning campaign, with Álvaro Morata scoring for Juventus but Messi, Suárez and Neymar ultimately proving too much to contain. Allegri's rapid transformation of the squad's continental ambitions in his debut season set the tone for what became a remarkable run of consecutive Champions League final and semi-final appearances for Juventus across the following years, even as the trophy itself continued to elude the club.