What do Madrid, Juventus, Milan and Chelsea have in common?

Apr

2008

What do Madrid, Juventus, Milan and Chelsea have in common?

Apparently, these clubs have (or have had) players with the most Champions League semifinal appearances.

Before you go through the list, try guessing who’d be on this list. Several Italians, of course, which is where Juve / Milan come in, and then there is the Madrid - Chelsea connection (bonus points if you can think of the 2nd player before peeking at the list), and there’s a record-breaking Champions League winner and a couple of underachieving continental strikers to round off the list.

Here’s the list:

Players reaching most Champions League semifinals

#	Name	Nation	Clubs (seasons)
8	Claude Makélélé	FRA	FC Nantes (1995/1996), Real Madrid (2000/2001, 2001/2002, 2002/2003), Chelsea (2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2006/2007, 2007/2008)
6	Fernando Morientes	ESP	Real Madrid (1997/1998, 1999/2000, 2000/2001, 2001/2002, 2002/2003), AS Monaco (2003/2004)
6	Alessio Tacchinardi	ITA	Juventus (1995/1996, 1996/1997, 1997/1998, 1998/1999, 2002/2003), Villarreal CF (2005/2006)
6	Gérémi Njitap	CMR	Real Madrid (1999/2000, 2000/2001, 2001/2002), Chelsea (2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2006/2007)
6	Clarence Seedorf	NED	Ajax (1994/1995), Real Madrid (1997/1998), AC Milan (2002/2003, 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007)
6	Paolo Maldini	ITA	AC Milan (1993/1994, 1994/1995, 2002/2003, 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007)
6	Alessandro Costacurta	ITA	AC Milan (1993/1994, 1994/1995, 2002/2003, 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007)
6	Filippo Inzaghi	ITA	Juventus (1997/1998, 1998/1999), AC Milan (2002/2003, 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007)
6	Andri Shevchenko	UKR	Dynamo Kyiv (1998/1999), AC Milan (2002/2003), AC Milan (2004/2005), AC Milan (2005/2006), Chelsea (2006/2007, 2007/2008)

Should we call them the best players in Europe has seen because their teams progressed so far so frequently, sometimes without their help? Or should we stop being so cynical and celebrate the longevity of these players?

What’s telling is that none of these players look likely to add to their records next season (age, position at club and position of club all taken into account), so in another 10 years it should be interesting to revisit this list and see if Gerrard and Ronaldo have made it or not.

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