The 50s made Real Madrid the King of the European Cup, the club then chaired by Santiago Bernabeu winning the first five titles; something that, 60 years later, no one has been able to match.
That manita of titles was followed by the sixth in 66, with Paco Gento at one with Alfredo di Stefano.
Madrid's domination could not be matched by those teams with extended periods of success - Bayern and Ajax added three consecutive titles each - but there would be a passage of 32 years in which Los Blancos wouldn't sit atop the European pile again.
In fact, by 1994, Milan came to within one cup win of toppling Real from the summit.
The team that had ruled since 56 was more threatened than ever, by the aforementioned Milan, with five titles, and Liverpool and Ajax, with four European Cups each.The 90s arrived and so did the new format of the tournament, now under the denomination 'Champions League'.
And so it was that the European greatness of Real returned. Amsterdam Arena.
Taking on Juventus, led by a Zinedine Zidane who ruled the core of a team that came as a big favourite, Madrid, on that May 20, began to write its modern day history.
The eighth arrived against Valencia in 2000 and the ninth, two years later, against Bayer Leverkusen.
The goal, that unforgettable volley rescued from the sky in Glasgow, was scored by the same player who suffered the rebirth of Los Blancos in the competition four years earlier.
La Decima and La Undecima have already been conquered in the recent past and the fight for the twelfth will rage in Wales on June 3.
A race to be the King of Europe in the modern era.
A race in which Barcelona is immersed, first with Johan Cruyff on the bench and later with Lionel Messi on the pitch, has reached five titles.
Despite its current bad situation, it's also a race that Milan has always been in.
Fifteen of the last 30 titles have been shared by Milan, Barcelona and Madrid.
The other teams have moved well into the background, even Bayern Munich and Manchester United have added just two.
Other champions since 1987 have not repeated the feat.With this scenario, Madrid will head to Cardiff looking for a 12th title that would give them total dominance over their rivals, as they had in the 50s.
A sixth title in the modern era to take them ahead of everyone else.
