Can Juventus lift the UEFA Champions League?

Since last winning the competition in 1996, few clubs have endured Champions League heartbreak quite like Juventus.

Juventus will be hoping that Cristiano Ronaldo will take the team one step further
Juventus will be hoping that Cristiano Ronaldo will take the team one step further

In the two years after that penalty shootout victory against Ajax, The Old Lady went on to lose successive finals against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Its luck hasn't changed in the intervening two decades, losing three further finals (2003, 2015, 2017) to reach an unwanted tally of five consecutive final defeats.

The run has left Juventus fans wondering if they'll ever see their team lift that famous trophy again, while the feeling persists that the Bianconeri have underachieved in Europe's top competition.

Now, the pressure of trying to break this wretched run has seemingly fallen almost entirely on the shoulders of Juve's new superstar: Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese forward last season helped Real Madrid to an unprecedented third consecutive Champions League win, taking his total tally to five.

If there is one player with the big-game experience and match-winning ability to take an already star-studded Juve side one step further, it's Ronaldo.

The 33-year-old directly contributed to half of Real Madrid's Champions League goals between 2009-10 and 2017-18, coming top of the goalscorer charts in each of the last six seasons.