Some find success sweet but fleeting, others spend years building to the pinnacle, and then there are those whose lasting glory evolves into a dynasty. Paris St-Germain begin their Champions League campaign on Wednesday hoping to enter that bracket, attempting to become continental champions for a third successive season. To mark this, we're looking at how the Parisians compare to those clubs who have enjoyed the most dominant eras in European competition.
Some will point out that football existed before the European Champion Clubs' Cup began in 1955 - so apologies to Stan Cullis' 'world-champion' Wolves outfit and the Mitropa Cup's early Vienna heavyweights. However, this top 10 debate is centred around winning European football's grandest prize. OK, straight in with the current champions, because this is a dynasty in the making.
PSG have had a lacklustre start to the season - they always do this, don't they? However, you wouldn't bet against Luis Enrique's slick side adding a third successive European crown come next summer. The Parisians have been France's most dominant force since the arrival of Qatar Sports Investments 15 years ago, but it took a change of approach for the holy grail of continental success to arrive.
"It's the end of the glitter," professed president Nasser Al-Khelaifi after years of lavish spending, ushering out the "flashy, bling-bling" era. Instead, Enrique arrived in 2023 intent on building a coherent team. There was still significant investment, but on younger players who could be moulded by his philosophy and discipline while given room to flourish.
The result was two scintillating Champions League triumphs. Helenio Herrera, the Argentine-born defender reared in Casablanca and Paris, had already traversed the dugouts of Atletico Madrid, Malaga, Deportivo and Barcelona before landing in Milan in 1960. Herrera set about implementing his tactical brand of catenaccio at San Siro - one he insisted is misremembered as being more defensive than it actually was - and developing a ruthless counter-attacking team known as 'Grande Inter'.
Winning the Scudetto in 1962-63, Herrera's outfit became the first to lift the European Cup without losing a game the following season as Sandro Mazzola netted twice against Real Madrid in the final. The Italians defended their crown the following year, despite losing their semi-final first leg at Anfield, edging Benfica in the final. It was the Portuguese giants' second final defeat in three seasons.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
