Barcelona and Juventus will contest the 60th Champions League final this weekend in what is expected to be a true clash of the titans in Berlin.
Both sides have had their high points and low points prior to this stage, including group-stage setbacks and narrow knockout wins.
As the days tick down towards the showpiece final, Sports Mole takes a look at how the two teams got this far.
Juventus - Group A (W3 D1 L2)
Matchday 1: Juventus 2-0 Malmo The Old Lady were up and running in Europe thanks to a Carlos Tevez brace at home to Malmo on the opening matchday. Tension was beginning to build among home supporters after Juve failed to break down their opponents, but up stepped their leading marksman for his first goals in this competition since April 2009.
Matchday 2: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Juventus However, the champions of Italy were no match for the champions of Spain as Atletico Madrid claimed victory a fortnight later to leave the group wide open. It was the first time the Bianconeri had tasted defeat all season, but hopes still remained high of progression into the knockout stages.
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Matchday 3: Olympiacos 1-0 Juventus A second narrow loss on the bounce in Europe left Juventus down in third place at the midway stage, with Olympicaos now joining Atletico as the frontrunners to advance from the tricky group. Former Fulham midfielder Pajtim Kasami scored the only goal 10 minutes before half time, while Alvaro Morata came closest to levelling things up for his side late on.
Matchday 4: Juventus 3-2 Olympicaos Massimiliano Allegri's men were just about back on track in Europe's showpiece competition, courtesy of a battling 3-2 victory over the side that shocked them two weeks beforehand. Trailing 2-1 at one stage, it took two goals in as many minutes from Paul Pogba on the hour mark to rescue the Turin club.
Matchday 5: Malmo 0-2 Juventus That home win over Olympicos left the two sides level on points in pursuit of Atletico, meaning that it was very much all to play for at the business end of things. Malmo themselves still had slim hopes of progressing, but second-half goals from Tevez and Fernando Llorente put Juve in command, on the same night that their Greek rivals slipped to a heavy reverse against Diego Simeone's charges.
Matchday 6: Juventus 0-0 Atletico Madrid It all meant that, heading into the final round of group-stage fixtures, the two-time winners of this competition required just a single point against an Atleti side who were already home and dry. The draw may have ended the Spanish side's five-match winning run, but it was enough to see them go through as group winners at the expense of Juventus, who were more than happy to settle for second place.
Knockout stages
Last-16 first leg: Juventus 2-1 Borussia Dortmund Jurgen Klopp's men may have been struggling domestically, but they were a different beast entirely on the European stage. Four wins from four and 14 goals racked up in the process left the 2013 finalists in strong stead, although having stuttered in their final two group games their momentum was slowly fading away.
A gripping first leg of the eagerly-anticipated tie saw all three goals scored in an explosive first half, although it was to be Juventus who would take a slender advantage into the return leg courtesy of goals from forward duo Tevez and Morata. Marco Reus's goal in between those two strikes, which came about after a defensive mix-up at the back, ensured that all was not lost for Dortmund as they would take a valuable away goal back to Germany for the return leg.
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Last-16 second leg: Borussia Dortmund 0-3 Juventus Many were expecting a tight and tense affair at the Westfalenstadion, but a 30-yard blockbuster from Tevez - his fifth Euro goal of the campaign - put the visitors in control just three minutes in.
Morata then added to his first-leg goal by tapping home after Tevez unselfishly laid him off just a few yards out. The Argentina international rounded off a fine individual display by racking up goal number three soon after to inflict a heaviest ever Champions League defeat on a sorry BVB.
Quarter-final first leg: Juventus 1-0 Monaco This was the dream final-eight tie for Allegri, who avoided the true big boys still remaining in the competition. Monaco may have impressively overcome Arsenal in the previous round, but it was Juventus who came into this match as overwhelming favourites to advance through their first quarter-final appearance since 2006.
It was far tighter than expected, though, against a well-drilled Monaco outfit boasting one of the best defensive records around. In the end, Arturo Vidal's 57th-minute penalty proved to be the difference on the night - and indeed over the two legs - as Ricardo Carvalho's trip on Morata provided the game's pivotal moment.
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Quarter-final second leg: Monaco 0-0 Juventus In 219 previous knockout stage fixtures, only 11 had finished with a 1-0 aggregate scoreline. That proved to be the case this time around to the joy of Juve's travelling supporters, as their side held out for the slenderest of victories to advance into the semis.
Patrice Evra had to stop an effort on the line as Monaco threw all they had at their opponents, while up the other end Andrea Pirlo almost curled home one of his trademark free kicks at the death to put a further positive spin on things, only to see the ball come crashing back off the crossbar in a game of very few chances.
Semi-final first leg: Juventus 2-1 Real Madrid The Old Lady's toughest test yet, up against holders Real Madrid for a place in the final. Former Los Blancos player Morata came back to haunt the Spaniards by opening the scoring just eight minutes in.
A headed equaliser from Cristiano Ronaldo failed to provide Carlo Ancelotti's charges with the platform to push on, however, and it was left to Tevez to tuck home a spot kick just short of the hour to give Juve first-leg bragging rights.
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Semi-final second leg: Real Madrid 1-1 Juventus Despite taking a narrow advantage into the reverse tie, Madrid were still considered favourites by many to get the job done on their home turf. Thousand of expectant fans lined the streets beforehand to welcome their heroes, and Ronaldo appeared to have read the script when converting a 23rd-minute penalty to level up.
At that stage, it was the hosts who would be booking their tickets to Berlin thanks to the virtue of their away goal, but they struggled to build on a dominant first-half showing. Then, in one of the standout moments of the competition to date, Morata - a player deemed surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu less than 12 month ago - tucked home what would prove to be the winning goal 33 minutes from time. The 22-year-old may not have celebrated, yet deep inside he knew that he had just scored the goal which sent the Italian giants to their first European final in 12 years.
Barcelona - Group F (W5 D0 L1)
Matchday 1: Barcelona 1-0 APOEL Not quite the high-scoring affair many had expected, as Gerard Pique's first-half header proved to be the difference. Urko Pardo, who spent five years playing for Barcelona's B side, was largely to thank for the underwhelming scoreline due to a number of crucial stops.
Matchday 2: Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 Barcelona Barca's stuttering start continued in matchday 2, with PSG - a side they would get to know well over the next few months - recording a crucial win in the French capital. A five-goal thriller ended with the Parisians taking maximum points, ensuring that the Catalan club were trailing their opponents in the early standings.
Matchday 3: Barcelona 3-1 Ajax This was something closer to Barcelona at their best, claiming a comfortable win over fellow giants of the European game Ajax to get their campaign firmly back on track. Lionel Messi proved to be the key man on the night, scoring once and playing a crucial part elsewhere to brush aside the visitors.
Matchday 4: Ajax 0-2 Barcelona Messi again proved to be the standout performer in the reverse fixture a fortnight later, scoring either side of half time to equal Raul's goalscoring record in the competition and, more importantly, book his side's place in the last 16 with games to spare.
Matchday 5: APOEL 0-4 Barcelona A thumping 4-0 win away at APOEL, once more inspired by hat-trick hero Messi, left the four-time winners hot on the heels of PSG, who themselves looked imperious at this stage. It was also a special occasion for summer purchase Luis Suarez, who finally got off the mark for his new club following a high-profile suspension.
Matchday 6: Barcelona 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain Both sides may have been comfortably through to the knockout stages, but there was still the small matter of top spot to decide in this straight shootout between the pair. Former player Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring for the French champs early on, although superstar forward trio Neymar, Messi and Suarez turned the game on its head to send Barca through as group winners.
Knockout stages
Last-16 first leg: Manchester City 1-2 Barcelona Familiar foes Man City provided Barcelona's first test of the knockout rounds, and it was former Liverpool striker Suarez who proved the difference in a game which the recently-crowned Spanish champions truly dominated.
His double inside the opening half hour put Barca on course, but Sergio Aguero's consolation strike, combined with Joe Hart's penalty save late on, gave the Citizens just a glimmer of hope.
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Last-16 second leg: Barcelona 1-0 Manchester City That hope was disintegrated 31 minutes into the reverse meeting at the Camp Nou when unsung hero Ivan Rakitic opened his Champions League account.
Only some superb goalkeeping by Hart kept the scoreline down, but Barcelona's place in the quarter-finals for a record eighth successive season was never truly in doubt.
Quarter-final first leg: Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 Barcelona That win paved the way for another tricky test against Laurent Blanc's PSG, yet there was to be no repeat of their group-stage defeat at the Parc des Princes. The French outfit had boasted a mighty impressive home record prior to this meeting, which saw the Blaugrana race into a three-goal lead.
A Jeremy Mathieu own goal ensured that the tie was not completely over heading into the second leg, but a first home defeat of the season, plus a growing list of injury and suspension problems, meant that it was certainly Barcelona's to lose at this stage.
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Quarter-final second leg: Barcelona 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain If the visitors were to have any chance of overcoming the favourites, they simply needed to get off to a positive start. One down inside 15 minutes put paid to any hopes of a comeback, though, as Neymar turned on the style.
Having opened the scoring, the Brazilian sensation bagged a second before the interval to completely kill off the tie, while at the same time setting up a seventh semi-final in eight years for Luis Enrique's men. Barcelona were also in the midst of an impressive unbeaten run, which would eventually lead to them claiming domestic success with a La Liga and Copa del Rey double.
Semi-final first leg: Barcelona 3-0 Bayern Munich Arguably the most highly-anticipated match of the entire competition, Pep Guardiola's homecoming was ruined by the man he dubbed the best in the world in the build-up to the game. An unorthodox formation from the Bavarian giants created an open feel to the contest, but Barcelona just could not find a way through.
They eventually did so 13 minutes from time when Messi's quickfire strikes - the second a contender for goal of the competition - put Barca in control. Pushing for an away goal that would keep the tie alive, Bayern were caught out at the back as Neymar clattered home a third.
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Semi-final second leg: Bayern Munich 3-2 Barcelona For the first time since taking over at the Allianz Arena, serious questions had been asked of Guardiola following the first-leg rout. He needed a response from his side, and he looked to have got it when Medhi Benatia gave the hosts an early lead.
Neymar once again stuck a dagger right through the hearts of Bayern supporters, however, finding the net twice before the 30-minute mark to end the match as a contest. Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller tried to make something of it, but Enrique's side comfortably held out for the remainder to secure their place in the final.
Daniel Lewis
