Champions League: The ultimate XI which never won the CL

Central Midfield: Michael Ballack 

Michael Ballack was a supremely talented player in the midfield department. The German International played for the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Bayer Leverkusen, but failed to lift the European tournament even once. The midfielder orchestrator started the final against Manchester United in 2008, but missed out on the trophy after getting edged on penalties by the Red Devils.

Central midfielder – Lothar Matthäus

World Cup winner, German Footballer of Year, European Footballer of the Year, World Player of the Year, seven-time Bundesliga winner, Germany’s most-capped player of all time. Lothar Matthaus has just about done it all. There’s something that is missing on his CV, as you’ve already guessed it, it’s the Champions League. He came incredibly close in 1999 before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham netted goals in the stoppage time to drift the game away from the Bavarians.

Central Midfielder: Pavel Nedved

Pavel Nedved, considered one of the best midfielders in the modern era, never featured in a Champions League final. The Czech International would have featured in 2003 final had he not accumulated too many yellow cards in previous games. With Lazio and Sparta Prague, he failed to claim the ultimate glory as well. If he had played that game, several Juventus legends wouldn’t have featured in this list, perhaps..