Because football is a team game in which not every player can be the star, there are names that surprise on the list of those to have achieved the ultimate goal in the club game: winning the Champions League.
Fans of their clubs might remember them as cult heroes, and many will disagree with the selection, but this is an XI featuring some of the least likely -- and least celebrated -- European champions.
Vitor Baia (Porto 2004)
Can a bad goalkeeper win the Champions League? Not really, in truth. Baia was distinguished and played 80 times for Portugal and so his place here is through deduction, since he was not quite in the class of Manuel Neuer, Edwin Van Der Sar or Iker Casillas. Further, unlike Liverpool's Jerzy Dudek in 2005, Baia did not make a telling contribution to victory.
Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea 2012)
Chelsea fans recall him in song as a hero of Munich 2012 when the Blues clung on for dear life before beating Bayern on penalties in the German's own stadium. However, that was his final game for the club and he was subsequently released as a player who had never been worth the £16 million paid to Porto in 2008.
Filippo Galli (AC Milan 1994)
Galli had been part of one of history's greatest defences when Milan dominated Serie A and the European Cup but, by 1994, was an aging, injury-wracked reserve. Still, he was available in an emergency and, when central defenders Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta were suspended, Galli mastered Barcelona's Romario and Hristo Stoichkov as Milan romped to a 4-0 win.
Ivan Campo (Real Madrid 2000)
Another player who benefited from the absence of a club legend, Campo started after Madrid captain Fernando Hierro suffered a thigh injury that stopped him playing for all but the last five minutes. By then, Campo had an easy night of it in Paris as Valencia froze and Real ran out 3-0 winners.
Djimi Traore (Liverpool 2005)
It is perhaps cruel, but Traore is usually named first in discussions of the worst player to win the European Cup. Just four months before Liverpool's remarkable victory, he had scored a truly special own goal at Burnley in the FA Cup and looked bewildered in Istanbul during the period in which Milan stormed into a 3-0 lead. Still, Traore completed all 120 minutes to take his place in history.
Jesper Blomqvist (Manchester United 1999)
The Swedish winger's last game for United was in Barcelona's Nou Camp, where he failed to impose himself in an eventual 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich. Suspensions to Paul Scholes and Roy Keane necessitated David Beckham playing centrally with Ryan Giggs shunted right. Blomqvist was subbed off for eventual scorer Teddy Sheringham with United losing 1-0.
John Obi Mikel (Chelsea 2012)
There are plenty of admirers for Chelsea's long-serving Nigerian defensive midfielder, but plenty of detractors, too. In Munich, Chelsea only rarely had control of the midfield battle against Bayern and were hanging on until Didier Drogba's late equaliser. Mikel's loose passing did not help matters much, but he did play his part in taking the match to penalties.
Edmilson (Barcelona 2006)
He was a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002 and four years later became a European champion with Barcelona. With Xavi recovering from a knee injury, Edmilson was converted from central defender to midfielder but struggled in Paris against a 10-man Arsenal side who took the lead through Sol Campbell. Edmilson's replacement, Andres Iniesta, was the key to Barca's recovery.
Harry Kewell (Liverpool 2005)
In his first season as Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez was the great gambler whose team selections repeatedly confused yet ultimately delivered the Champions League. Selecting Kewell in the final, though, was a disaster. The injury-prone Australian succumbed to a muscle injury after 23 minutes, by which time a confused, disorganised Liverpool were already losing 1-0 and subsequently went three down before their great comeback.
Milan Baros (Liverpool 2005)
A player who failed to meet his pedigree, Baros won the Golden Boot at Euro 2004 when playing for the Czech Republic but never became the striker he was expected to be. Istanbul saw him struggle to impose himself on a chaotic game and, with the score at 3-3, was replaced by Djibril Cisse while Liverpool hung on as Milan dominated possession.
Carlos Alberto (FC Porto 2004)
He was the star of 2004's exceptionally one-sided final when Porto brushed aside Monaco with ease to win Jose Mourinho his first Champions League title and the eye of Chelsea. The Brazilian Alberto, then just 19, scored the first but never again hit those heights. He has played for more than 10 clubs since leaving Porto in 2005.