Champions League 2012-13: Before the final, Part I

Before the final match will decide the most successful team of the Champions League 2012-13, let’s take a look at the 30 participants beaten on the road to the final in Wembley and see where they ended up after being eliminated at various stages of the tournament.

Ajax, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Ajax won the third consecutive Eredivisie this season. The most important match was won on the 14^th of April, when the champions defeated their main competitors PSV at Eindhoven. After leaving the Champions League Ajax had appeared in the Europa League. The team got unexpectedly eliminated in the stage of last 32 after losing to Steaua on penalties. A couple of days later they lost to AZ Alkmaar in the semifinal of the Dutch Cup.  

BATE, Borisov, Belarus: The Belarusian League normally starts in spring and ends in autumn. The champions BATE had defended their title while still being involved in the Champions League. As Ajax, BATE was also transferred to Europa League and eliminated right away. The cup run was not meant to be successful either, as they were already eliminated in the earlier stages.

Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium: The Belgian champions managed to defend their title only in the last match of the league, where they had to earn a point against the followers Zulte Waregem. The visitors were close to win the crucial match, but Anderlecht didn’t concede the vital goal despite being a man down. The cup run was less successful as the team lost to the eventual champions Genk in the semifinal stage.

Dinamo, Zagreb, Croatia: This is another team having the chance to show up again next year. Dinamo easily won the domestic league long time before its climax. The team had been eliminated from the national cup already in October.

Chelsea, London, England: Not having a successor on the Champions League throne yet, the team managed to climb up on top of another continental tournament, the Europa League. Despite the negative atmosphere at the Stamford Bridge, Rafa Benitez did a great job, also winning a place in the next Champions League edition, securing the third place in the Premier League. Both the FA Cup and the League Cup runs ended in the semifinals, while the Club World Championship was lost in the final.

Manchester City, England: After the second dreadful Champions League campaign the team needed to win the Premier League again as a consolation for the fans, but the neighbors from Manchester United were determined to return the title and did so confidently long before the last match of the tournament. When City lost in the final of the FA Cup, the manager Roberto Mancini had no excuses any more. Now the next manager knows that two silver medals in one season are not enough to satisfy the board.

Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal: Everything was going in the right direction for Benfica until the two possible gold medals turned into silver in two disastrous matches. First they lost to Porto in the second last match of the league, conceding on the 93^rd minute and thus handing the title in to the winners, and then the same happened 4 days later, when the team lost its 7^th consecutive European final, conceding deep inside the injury time and leaving the Europa League trophy to Chelsea. The fans hope that the third final will not turn into yet another third place on Sunday, the 26^th of May, when Benfica plays against Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese cup final. 

Sporting Braga, Portugal: The team made it to the Portuguese League Cup final and won it thanks to Alan’s penalty in the last minute of the first half. The rest of the season doesn’t impress much, as the team lost the third vital position to Pacos de Ferreira and will not be a part of the Champions League next season.