(Not in order)

Bayern Neverkusen

Under the guidance of Klaus Toppmoller, Bayer Leverkusen could have shook off their 'nearly men' tags having earned that label after they surrendered their first ever Bundesliga title to relegation-threatened Unterhaching in 2000.

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness ridiculed the result saying: "Bayer will never win anything. When they play decisive games they put their nappies on."

The fact they had finished runners-up four times in six seasons added leverage to Hoeness' statement, but B04's opportunity for redemption came when they were fighting on all three fronts for the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League in the 2001-2002 campaign.

However, in the space of two weeks, what looked like an unprecedented treble turned into perennial disappointment as 'Neverkusen's' dreams were shattered once again.

They lost the Bundesliga on the last day of the season to Dortmund, then suffered a 4-2 defeat to Schalke in the Pokal final, before being on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline against Real Madrid in the Champions League final, albeit Zinedine Zidane's incredible volley deserved to win any game.

In a team which consisted of talent such as Michael Ballack, Ze Roberto, Yildiray Basturk, Dimitar Berbatov, Lucio and Oliver Neuville, it is somewhat bewildering to think that this side failed to win any major silverware.

Celtic Crumble

While Celtic's run to the Uefa Cup final will be seen as one of the landmark moments in the club's recent history, the 2002-2003 season ended up ultimately in disappointment for the Hoops.

It was a remarkable achievement for the Scottish champions to get as far as they did in Europe but a season that promised so much, in the end produced so little in terms of silverware both domestically and in Europe.

Martin O'Neill's side were on the cusp of something huge in Seville, but they come up against Jose Mourinho's Porto, who were a bit more streetwise and in the end came out on top 3-2 winners after extra-time. Hoops legend Henrik Larsson headed a double to twice get the Bhoys back on level terms as thoughts of 1967 in Lisbon came flooding back, but Derlei extinguished the Celtic supporters' hopes five minutes from the end.

Having already lost out on the League Cup final to their arch rivals Rangers as a late penalty miss from John Hartson proved costly and were eliminated from the Scottish Cup by Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the Hoops' only chance of silverware left was the league title which would go down to the very last day.

But there would be more disappointment for O'Neill's charges. Despite winning 4-0 at Kilmarnock they lost out on the SPL as Rangers put six past Dunfermline (6-1). Level on 97 points with the Ibrox outfit, it came down to one solitary goal in the whole season, but more significantly it meant Celtic had won nothing.

Real Sociedad surrender

Given the way La Liga has become a duopoly between Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent years, Real Sociedad may never have a better chance to win the Primera Division than they did back in the 2002-2003 season.

Blessed with the talented attacking combination of Darko Kovacevic and Nihat Kahveci, who netted 43 league goals between them that year, Real lit-up Spain's top flight with some impressive performances which would see them climb to the top of the pile, going 19 league games unbeaten.

But they eventually had to have a dip in form and it came in February and March, when they lost three games in a matter of weeks to fall six points behind leaders Real Madrid.

Raynald Denoueix's troops rallied though, and an April surge soon saw them claw the gap back to one after a memorable 4-2 victory over los Blancos at Anoeta where Xabi Alonso strutted his stuff.

They even retook the lead in La Liga and it was in their hands. A point ahead of Madrid with two games remaining, all they had to do was win their remaining fixtures, one of which was against Celta Vigo, who were fighting for a Champions League spot. But they couldn't and were beaten 3-2 the Galicians, effectively handing the title to Madrid.

Monaco let pole position slip

The newly-promoted Ligue 2 champions are back in the top flight of French football after a two-year absence, but it was not that long ago they could have won the Championnat and Champions League double.

Back in 2003-2004, under the guidance of coach Dider Deschamps, the Principality outfit were leading Ligue 1 after 31 games of the season, but with just seven fixtures left they seemed to run out of steam and Lyon, who finished much stronger, emerged as champions. Games that Monaco were winning previously were now draws and it cost them dearly, eventually slipping to a third-placed finish behind runners-up Paris Saint-Germain.

However, in the Champions League, Monaco were sending shockwaves around Europe having seen off the challenge of both Real Madrid and Chelsea to set-up a final encounter against Jose Mourinho's Porto. It made for an intriguing clash as both has been outsiders to reach the final. But it was to be more disappointment for les Rouge et Blanc as Porto ran out 3-0 winners.

One wonders how long before they will be at the next final in Europe's premier competition following the signings of Porto's Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez, Real Madrid's Ricardo Carvalho and Atletico's Radamel Falcao.

AZ Agony

Louis van Gaal's AZ were within touching distance of claiming their first Eredivisie title in 26 years, but bizarrely ended up blowing their chance and finishing third.

A last day's trip to basement boys Excelsior should have been a formality for AZ, but following goalkeeper Boy Waterman's sending off after 10 minutes, the visitors were shocked 3-2. PSV emphatically beat Vitesse 5-0 to become champions while Ajax's 2-0 victory over Willem II ensured they would finish second leaving the Alkmaar outfit in third.

To compound matters for Van Gaal's men, they lost the KNVB Beker final in May to Ajax on penalties despite hitting the bar in extra time, Ryan Donk seeing his spot kick saved by Maarten Stekelenburg at 7-7 in the shootout and Edgar Davids tucked away the winner.

Their end-of-season collapse was complete when they lost out again to Ajax in the Champions League playoff. Although they took a 2-1 lead from the first leg to the Amsterdam ArenA, a 3-0 reverse in the capital thanks to Johnny Heitinga's opener (pictured), Donk own goal and Gabri ensured they would have nothing to show for their efforts.

Urawa left red faced

In terms of end-of-season collapses in Japan in recent times, it is hard to look beyond Urawa Reds as a shining example. Despite winning the AFC Champions League following victory over Sepahan in the final (3-1 on aggregate), the Japanese outfit should have wrapped up the J-League too, but fell away dismally towards the end of the campaign.

Whether it was down to fatigue from the Champions League or nerves playing their part as the prize in front of them became closer, the Reds faltered.

Although they held a seven-point lead heading into the last four rounds of fixtures, they failed to win any of their remaining games, including defeats to fierce rivals Kashima Antlers and a final day loss to relegated side Yokohama, consequently allowing the Antlers to steal their first of three consecutive titles.

Huracan heartbreak

A frantic last day of the season finale in Argentina's Clausura championship saw Huracan, who were targeting their first league title since 1973, travel to second-placed Velez Sarsfield, knowing that if they avoided defeat they would be crowned champions.

Angel Cappa's side consisted of a mixture of young and old, plucking the talent from the lower levels of Argentine football including Javier Pastore, now a star at Paris Saint-Germain.

They had won the plaudits of many with their attractive style of play that year, but it was ugly scenes which marred the final game between the top-of-the-table contenders with a mass brawl breaking out as tempers boiled over. The match had everything: a disallowed goal, a saved penalty and even golf ball-sized hail stones which caused the encounter to be suspended.

However, Huracan hearts were eventually broken with six minutes left to play as Velez scored, albeit in controversial circumstances. Striker Joaquin Larrivey recklessly lunged in on goalkeeper Gaston Monzon, but no action was taken and Maxi Moralez finished off the rebound. The Huracan dream was over.

Arsenal's quadruple hopes dashed

It has been eight years since Arsenal last won a trophy of any significance, but Arsene Wenger's men could have put an end to the hurt when they contested in all four major competitions in 2011.

After a 2-1 victory against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League in February, Wenger believed the Gunners could land the quadruple, having reached the League Cup final, were four points behind leaders Manchester United in the Premier League and were still in the FA Cup and Europe.

He said: "We are hungry for success. Every time we go out we just want to win the next game. I personally believe we go for every single competition to the end. We have the hunger and the talent and are committed."

It would be words that would comeback to the haunt the Frenchman as the club's season began to unravel quickly. At the end of February, Arsenal lost the League Cup final 2-1 to Birmingham City thanks to an 89th-minute strike for Obafemi Martins.

They were then eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona (4-3 on aggregate) and Manchester United in the FA Cup within the space of four days in March. April was not much better for Wenger's side as a solitary win at Blackpool was all they could muster ensuring they slipped out of contention for the title and, for a sixth year running, Arsenal remained trophyless.

Bayern bomb

Bayern Munich will be looking to record an unprecedented treble when they play Stuttgart on Saturday in the Pokal final, having already secured the Bundesliga in record quick time and emerged victorious in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund.

However, it was only last year that Jupp Heynckes' men collapsed in spectacular fashion as they again looked on course for a clean sweep of silverware. On April 11, and sitting three points behind Dortmund in the Bundesliga, the two geared up to face each other at Signal Iduna Park in front of a 80,720 sell out crowd. Robert Lewandowski's 77th-minute winner separated the two sides and further extended the Schwarzgelben's lead to six points from four games remaining and BVB sealed the title soon after.

May 12 would be the date that the two Bundesliga giants would once again come face-to-face this time in the DFB Pokal final. Redemption for Bayern? Not a chance. Jurgen Klopp's men thrashed their Bavarian counterparts 5-2.

A week later and Bayern were heavy favourites to beat Chelsea in the Champions League final. In their own backyard and a Thomas Muller 83rd-minute strike to the good, it looked as though die Roten would finally grab their fifth European Cup, but a Didier Drogba header with minutes remaining ensured the game would go to penalties which the Blues won 4-3 thanks to their Ivorian hero.

tl;dr version: Life is not fair.

Source: Goal.com

Arsenal have more of these...BUT no need to open old wounds

Neverkusen ??

after the team loose vs Birmingham City, team morale went down and players performances just went down and down. I believe if we've won the game against Birmingham we would get another trophy for sure.

I think the worst two are Benfica's and Az's