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The Best Champions League Debutant Teams from European Top Five

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Only a small number of debutante sides from the European major league managed to progress to the latter stage in the UCL history.

Competing in the Champions League has always been the target for all teams in the continent. Let alone the top sides, which is a definite aim for each and every season. No wonder that it is never easy for the elite clubs in the top major leagues to secure one berth in UCL. 

However, such is not impossible. This season, three unlikely teams are making their Champions League debut. Bologna, Stade Brestois, and Girona are set to make one of the biggest steps in their history this week. They have eight games to prove whether they deserve to be in this most prestigious continental tournament. 

In UCL history, only three teams have been able to reach further stages in the competition in their first appearance. One of them was even able to progress to the final four. Here are those three notable debutantes in UEFA’s number one club championship. Interestingly, two of them were guided by the very same gaffer and from Spanish La Liga.


Malaga (2012/13)

The Spanish side was one of the teams with dramatic rises and falls. Malaga’s rise began under the Middle East entity owned by Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani. The Chilean boss, Manuel Pellegrini, was the man behind their improving form. After replacing Jesualdo Ferreira in November 2010, he led them to finish on the midtable in 2011, before climbing to fourth place in 2012 and securing one spot in the UCL qualifying round.

Pellegrini’s men managed to thump Panathinaikos by a 2-0 win on aggregate in the playoff round before they were seeded with AC Milan, Anderlecht, and Zenit St. Petersburg. Surprisingly, Isco and Co. were able to topple the group stage with an unbeaten record. Their most notable result was beating Rossonerri 1-0 at home and snatching a 1-1 draw on the road. In the round of 16, Malaga crushed FC Porto 2-1 on aggregate before facing off Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinal.

In the first leg at La Rosaleda, both sides shared spoils in a stalemate. Yet, in the reverse fixture, Pellegrini’s side was able to stun Die Borussen. Malaga even led 2-1 while entering stoppage time. Unfortunately, Marco Reus and Felipe Santana scored in less than three minutes to make a comeback win and send them home.

That was the beginning of their end, as they were banned from European competition due to their mounting debts despite earning a place in the Europa League for sitting sixth on the table. Manuel Pellegrini evenutually left the post whereas Isco, Joaquin, and Jeremy Toulalan were sold to Real Madrid, Fiorentina, and Monaco, respectively. Malaga then relegated to the Segunda Division in 2018 and even slipped to the third tier in 2023.

Results in UCL

(Final round)

(the home game mentioned first)

vs Zenit St.Petersburg (3-0;2-2) – Group stage

vs Anderlecht (2-2;3-0)

vs AC Milan (1-0; 1-1)

vs FC Porto (0-1; 2-0) – round of 16

vs Borussia Dortmund (0-0;2-3) – ¼ final

Notable key men

Willy Caballero  47 games - 19 clean sheet

Roque Santa Cruz 45 games – 12 goals (3 assist)

Javier Saviola 36 – 9(4)

Martin Demichelis 45 – 5(0)

Isco 47 -12 (6)

Joaquin 45 – 8(10)

Jeremy Toulalan  29 -0(0)

 

Atalanta (2019/20)

La Dea was another team that stunned the world in their season debut in the Champions League 2020. Gian Gasperini’s men finished third in Serie A 2018/19. They automatically sealed one spot at the UCL group stage. 

Atalanta began their UCL campaign unconvincingly. In the preliminary round, they were hapless in away games against Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, and Manchester City. Papu Gomez and Co’s only notable result was a 1-1 tie while playing host to The Cityzens. Fortunately, they managed to pick up a win in the remaining two games at home to go through the round of 16. 

At this stage, La Dea suddenly turned lethal while taking on Valencia. They eliminated Los Ches 8-4 on aggregate, with two triumphant wins in both fixtures, 4-1 and 4-3. Unfortunately, their campaign ended in the round of 8. Gian Gasperini's men slumped to a 3-0 defeat. 

Atalanta still qualified to UCL in the following two seasons. Yet, their form and progress declined as they were unable to replicate their 2020 success. On the contrary, their campaign in the Europa League has been improving. In fact, La Dea managed to clinch their firstcontinental trophy after dismantling the favourite, Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, inthe 2024 final.

Results in UCL

(Final round)

(the home game mentioned first)

vs Shakhtar Donetsk (1-2;3-0) – Group stage

vs Manchester City (1-1;1-5)

vs Dinamo Zagreb (2-0; 0-4)

vs Valencia (4-1; 4-3) – round of 16

vs PSG (0-3) – ¼ final

Notable key men

Josip Illicic 34-21(9)

Papu Gomez 46 - 8(18)

Duvan Zapata 33 - 19(9)

Lui Muriel 41 - 19(1)

Mario Pasalic 45 - 12(7)

 

Villareal (2005/06)

The only debutant who was able to reach the furthest in UCL history is Villareal in the 2005/06 season. They shocked the world as they cruised to the semifinal only to stumble against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in a narrow 1-0 defeat on aggregate. 

The Yellow Submarine was a typical dark horse side with the so-called washed-up stars in the squad. There were Uruguayan forwards Diego Forlan, Argentine talisman Roman Riquelme, and the versatile Juan Sorin who had dismal stints in the big teams. Forlan had a disappointing run with Manchester United, whereas his two Argentine teammates failed to thrive in Barcelona previously. The team was led by the unknown gaffer from Chile at that time, Manuel Pellegrini. in 2005

Their UCL campaign began in the playoffs when they knocked out Everton. At the group stage, Riquelme and Co surprisingly sat on top above more established teams such as Benfica and Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. Their most notable result was an away 1-0 victory over Benfica and holding the Red Devils twice in both fixtures.

In the knockout stages, Villareal struggled to see off Glasgow Rangers and Inter Milan by relying on away goal rule. They went through only with a 3-3 and 2-2 aggregate. Their dream to hold the all-Spanish final against Barcelona did not materialise after suffering a 1-0 loss to Arsenal. In fact, their playmaker, Riquelme, was also deemed responsible for their elimination. He failed to convert the penalty, which could lead the match into extra time. Villareal’s Cinderella story had to end. Sadly, Pellegrini's men had to wait for two seasons to return to UCL, as they only sat seventh in the final standings in the  same season. 

 

Results in UCL

(Final round)

(the home game mentioned first)

vs Manchester United (0-0;0-0) – Group stage

vs Lille (1-0;0-0)

vs Benfica (1-1; 0-1)

vs Glasgow Rangers (1-1; 2-2) – round of 16

vs Inter Milan (1-0;1-2) – ¼ final

vs Arsenal (0-0; 0-1) - semifinal

Notable key men

Juan Riquelme 38 – 14(3)

Diego Forlan 47 – 13 (1)

Marcos Senna 44 – 4 (0)

Juan Sorin  33 – 4 (2)

Santi Cazorla 25 – 0 (1)

 

 

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