How difficult is it for non-five league teams to enter the semi-finals of the Champions League? Only 6 teams did it after the reform, and Porto was on the list

The Champions League has always been a competition for the top five leagues, especially after the knockout stage. The stronger teams can often successfully advance to the quarterfinals, the semi-finals, and even the finals. For some teams in the five major leagues, the top 16 of the Champions League is their threshold, and it is difficult for the team to surpass their first round of the knockout match and often stop at the top 16 of the Champions League. However, there are always exceptions in everything. Even after the reform of the Champions League, there are still 6 non-five league teams, becoming dark horses in the Champions League and reaching the semi-finals. Two teams even reached the final and successfully won the championship. So let’s take a look at which six teams have achieved such success.

Swedish Super League: Gothenburg

1992-93 season coincided with the first season after the reform of the Champions League. The Swedish team Gothenburg became the biggest dark horse in the Champions League. They won the second place in the group stage and successfully advanced to the knockout round. Among them, they defeated Porto in the group stage and doubled Eindhoven, reflecting the team's overall strength. In that year's Champions League, only 8 teams participated in the competition, so Gothenburg, who successfully qualified in the group, successfully became the Champions League semi-final team. However, in the Champions League semi-finals, dark horse Gothenburg lost to AC Milan, which was at its peak at the time, and missed the final. However, the results of the Champions League semi-finals are already the best results of this Swedish team in the Champions League.

Greece Super League: Panasinaikos

In the 1995-96 Champions League, the Greek team Panasinaikos became the biggest dark horse in the game. After successfully passing the group stage, they advanced to the Champions League knockout round as they wished. In the quarterfinals, Panathinaikos faced Polish team Legia Warsaw. After two rounds, Panathinaikos defeated his opponent 3-0 and advanced to the Champions League semi-finals. In the subsequent Champions League semi-finals, Panasinaikos lost to Ajax and unfortunately stopped in the Champions League semi-finals. However, Panasinaikos' outstanding performance in the Champions League is still impressive.

Ukrainian Super League: Dynamo Kiev

In the 1998-99 Champions League match, Ukrainian team Dynamo Kiev successfully reached the semi-finals of the Champions League under the leadership of head coach Lobanovsky, becoming the biggest dark horse in that Champions League match. During the group stage, Dynamo Kiev was in the death group, but the team successfully passed the group stage test and entered the Champions League knockout round. In the first round of the knockout round, Dynamo Kiev faced the defending champion Real Madrid, but he was not afraid of Real Madrid. They defeated their opponents 2-0 in the first leg and became unpopular. In the second leg, Dynamo Kiev faced Real Madrid's bombardment, tenaciously defended the fruits of victory and advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Although she lost to Bayern in the semi-finals and missed the final, Shevchenko led Dynamo Kiev, which still shocked European football. As the strongest player in Dynamo Kiev, Shevchenko also won the Golden Globe Award in the future.

Netherlands: Eindhoven

The biggest dark horse in the Champions League in 2004-05 was the Eredivisie team Eindhoven. They successfully broke through from the group in the Champions League match that season and advanced to the Champions League knockout round. In the first round of the knockout round, facing Monaco, the runner-up of the Champions League last season, Eindhoven defeated his opponent 3-0 in two rounds and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. In the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Eindhoven faced the Ligue 1 team again, and Lyon, who once won seven consecutive Ligue 1, became Eindhoven's opponent. The two teams drew in two rounds, and Eindhoven won the penalty shootout, and after many years, the Champions League semi-finals were again. In the subsequent Champions League semi-finals, Eindhoven almost overturned Milan. They fought with Milan 3-3 in two rounds, and were eventually eliminated by their opponents with a away goal disadvantage, and unfortunately missed the Champions League final. However, the record of the Champions League semi-finals is already surprising enough.

Portu Super League: Porto's giant Porto won the Champions League twice. After the reform of the Champions League, the team also reached the semi-finals twice and won the Champions League championship in the 2003-04 season. In the 1993-94 Champions League match, Porto successfully advanced to the semi-finals, and later lost to Barcelona in the semi-finals and missed the final. In the 2003-04 season, Porto successfully qualified in the group with Real Madrid and Marseille, and Porto eliminated Manchester United 3-2 in two rounds in the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Lyon 4-2 and entered the Champions League semi-finals. After eliminating La Coruña in the semi-finals, Mourinho led Porto to the Champions League final and defeated Monaco 3-0 in the final, winning the second Champions League championship in team history.

Netherlands: Ajax has won the Champions League four times in the history of the team, and is the strongest non-five league teams in the history of the Champions League. In addition, after the reform of the Champions League, Jia's family made it to the top four in the Champions League four times, and even defeated the arrogant Milan in the 1994-95 season to win the team's fourth Champions League championship. In the 1994-95 season, Ajax successfully reached the Champions League final under the leadership of Cruivit and defeated Milan 1-0 in the final, winning the fourth Champions League trophy in team history. In the 1995-96 season, Ajax broke through the siege and entered the Champions League semi-finals again. Ajax successfully passed the semi-finals and faced Juventus in the final. He finally lost his opponent to defend the Champions League with a penalty kick. Ajax made a comeback in the 1996-97 season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for three consecutive seasons, but the team was eliminated by Juventus in the semi-finals and stopped in the semi-finals. In the 2018-19 season, the Ajax Youth Team defeated Real Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League knockout stage, and once again reached the Champions League semi-finals after 22 years. In the semi-finals, Ajax had hope of reaching the final again, but Tottenham's big reversal in the second leg shattered the team's dream of the Champions League final. The Eredivisie giants were eliminated in the most tragic way and stopped at the Champions League semi-finals. This is also a team that is not the top five leagues, and it has entered the Champions League semi-finals for the last time.