History beckons for Real Madrid and Juventus in Cardiff on Saturday evening with both teams able to break new ground by claiming the Champions League crown.

For Juventus, a first treble in their 120-year history can be completed while Real Madrid will be looking to break a 24-year curse by becoming the first team to retain the European crown in its reformatted version.

The Spanish champions will be the fifth reigning champion to contest the final since its revamp in 1992 but all that have come before them have left it defeated.

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to inspire Real Madrid to a third Champions League title in four years

Real could become the first side to retain the Champions League since its 1992 rebranding

Real beat city rivals Atletico on penalties in 2016 and have their eyes on a 12th European cup

The Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus will be held in Cardiff

Los Blancos beat city rivals Atletico in the 2016 final on penalties, and so could become the first team to lift the trophy two years in a row under its current guise.

Ajax were a penalty shootout away in 1996 and three other sides have reached the final before being beaten, but Zinedine Zidane's men, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line, could be the first.

The last team to manage the feat was AC Milan, who won the European Cup back to back in 1989 and 1990.

Who has tried - and failed - since then? Sportsmail have provided the full run-down, look below to find out...

Dortmund won the Champions League in 1997 but were knocked out in the semis next year

AC Milan beat Liverpool in the 2007 final but their title defence was cut short by Arsenal

Liverpool were beaten home and away by Benfica in the last 16 after winning in Istanbul

Fernando Hierro lifts the Champions League trophy for Real Madrid at Hampden Park in 2002

Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan to glory in 2010 - they were thrashed by Schalke the next season

Having won a shock title in 2004, Porto could not even reach the knockout stages next season

The curse of the Champions League - year by year

1993-94: Defending champions - Marseille

The French club won the first instalment of the newly rebranded Champions League but didn't even feature in the second edition of the competition following allegations of match-fixing in Ligue 1.

1994-95: AC Milan

The Rossoneri romped past Barcelona 4-0 to lift the title in 1994 and they came close to retaining their crown only for an 84th-minute goal from 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert in Vienna to make Ajax the new champs.

Patrick Kluivert lifts the European Cup after his goal for Ajax beat defending champions Milan

1995-96: Ajax

The Dutch side were a penalty shootout away from a successful defence in 1996, after their final against Juventus went the distance at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

Edgar Davids and Sonny Silooy missed from 12 yards to hand the Old Lady the title.

1996-97: Juventus

The trend of defending champions falling at the last continued in 1997, as Karl-Heinz Riedle scored twice for Borussia Dortmund in a 3-1 victory in Munich.

1997-98: Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund got out of a group including Sparta Prague, Galatasaray and Parma before beating Bayern Munich in their quarter-final.

However, their adventure was ended by eventual winners Real Madrid in the last four.

1998-99: Real Madrid

Madrid squeezed through their group with defeats by Spartak Moscow and Inter Milan before they were surprisingly beaten in the quarter-finals by the Dynamo Kiev team which included Andriy Shevchenko .

Andriy Shevchenko played a starring role as Dynamo Kiev knocked out Real Madrid in 1999

WHO HAS DEFENDED THE EUROPEAN CUP? While no side has ever won back-to-back Champions League titles, several clubs managed successful defences of the competition when it was known as the European Cup. They include: Real Madrid (1956-1960) Benfica (1961-1962) Inter Milan (1964-1965) Ajax (1971-1973) Bayern Munich (1974-1976) Liverpool (1977-1978) Nottingham Forest (1979-1980) AC Milan (1989-1990) Advertisement

1999-00: Manchester United

Another last-eight exit for the defending champions.

This time it was the turn of Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils, who couldn't make up for a 3-2 first-leg defeat by Real Madrid at Old Trafford and were knocked out after a goalless draw at the Bernabeu.

2000-01: Real Madrid

This was the year that Real and Leeds United reached the same stage of the competition.

While Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell et al were being beaten by Valencia in the semi-finals, Madrid were busy losing 3-1 on aggregate to Bayern Munich.

2001-02: Bayern Munich

Bayern dropped points against Sparta Prague and Feyenoord in the first group stage, drew with Manchester United and Boavista in the second group stage and then lost 3-2 on aggregate to Real in the quarter-finals during a low-key campaign.

Pavel Nedved scores for Juventus against Real in a 2003 semi-final victory over the champions

Walter Pandiani scored as Deportivo overcame a 4-1 deficit to beat AC Milan in 2004

2002-03: Real Madrid

A dramatic 6-5 last-eight win over Manchester United landed the Galacticos with a semi-final tie against Juventus.

After winning the first leg 2-1, however, Madrid were toppled by Alessandro del Piero, Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet goals in the rematch in Turin.

2003-04: AC Milan

Milan seemed on course for a place in the semi-finals when they went 4-1 up on aggregate against Deportivo la Coruna.

It all went wrong for the Italians in the second leg, though, as Walter Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valeron, Albert Luque and Fran found the net in Deportivo's remarkable 4-0 victory.

2004-05: Porto

The Portuguese club were unable to recreate the magic they enjoyed under Jose Mourinho the previous year, as their old boss helped Chelsea qualify out of Group H in front of them. Porto couldn't even reach the knockout stage.

2005-06: Liverpool

In the ultimate anti-climax after the drama of Istanbul, Liverpool limped out of the competition after being beaten home and away by Benfica in the last 16.

2006-07: Barcelona

Barca suffered the ignominy of being dumped out of the tournament by a Craig Bellamy goal, as Liverpool's 2-1 victory in the Nou Camp in the first leg of the last-16 encounter paved the way for the Reds' away-goals win.

Craig Bellamy heads in at the back post to score for Liverpool in the Nou Camp in 2007

Bellamy's strike helped the Reds see off the reigning champions on away goals in the last 16

2007-08: AC Milan

For the fifth season in a row, the defending champions failed to make it as far as the semi-finals, as Milan were beaten 2-0 at home by Arsenal in the last 16. Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor scored the goals.

2008-09: Manchester United

United ended the run of meek title defences by reaching the final, thanks to a 4-2 aggregate victory over Arsenal in the last four. However, they could not get past Barcelona in Rome, as Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi found the net.

2009-10: Barcelona

Having annihilated Arsenal in the quarter-finals, the Catalans seemed set to break the mould and become the first club to keep hold of their crown. But Jose Mourinho had other ideas. His Inter Milan outfit booked their place in the final with a 3-2 aggregate win.

2010-11: Inter Milan

The Nerazurri endured a nightmare last-eight encounter with Schalke. The Germans hammered them 5-2 in the first leg and then won 2-1 at the San Siro to send their opponents crashing out with their tails well and truly lodged between their legs.

2011-12: Barcelona

Barca eased into the semi-finals and were hotly fancied to see off Chelsea in the last four. The Blues proved hard to budge, however, and after Didier Drogba gave them a 1-0 lead after the first leg, Ramires and Fernando Torres scored in a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp to see the London side through.

Fernando Torres scores in stoppage time as Chelsea beat Barcelona in the 2012 semi-finals

Chelsea played an hour of their second-leg clash at the Nou Camp with 10 men but prevailed

Arturo Vidal celebrates his goal in the group stage defeat of Chelsea in the 2013 edition

2012-13: Chelsea

Defeats by Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus saw Chelsea's reign cut short. They did at least enjoy victory in the Europa League as some form of consolation.

2013-14: Bayern Munich

The Bavarian side eased past Manchester United in the quarter-finals but were utterly outclassed by Madrid in the semis. Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored twice in Real's 4-0 second-leg triumph at the Allianz Arena.

Ronaldo scores one of Madrid's four goals in a semi-final win over champions Bayern in 2014

2014-15: Real Madrid

Real reached the last four but found their path blocked by Juventus, who won 2-1 in Turin thanks to goals from Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata and then secured safe passage with a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu.

2015-16: Barcelona

On April 1, the world's best team seemed destined for a treble. Fast forward two weeks and they were shown the Champions League door by Atletico Madrid.