Champions League quarters: A breakdown of eight teams battling for European glory

Among the key aspects that separate glory from despair, experience is one of the most striking. While it is ultimately the players and managers who decide a team's fate, indeed, the weight of history can sometimes be decisive at crucial moments in matches.

In this regard, we find a balance of both experience and inexperience in these quarter-finals, with some teams bringing an air of veteran prowess while others are more recent competitors at this stage.

With a preview from BeSoccer Pro, we take a look at the history of the eight teams remaining in Europe's top competition as they face off in these quarter-finals. Three of the teams—Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona—have a history at this stage that comes as no surprise.

Legacy triumphers Real Madrid and veterans Bayern Munich

When looking at these match-ups through the lens of history, Real Madrid take the top spot as they are the team with the most quarter-final appearances in the entire history of the tournament.

Including the European Cup, Los Blancos have played 79 matches in this round, with a record of 40 wins, 15 draws, and 24 losses. If we focus on the Champions League era (since the 1992/93 season), the Madrid side have played 40 matches, with 22 victories, seven draws, and 11 defeats.

In this regard, Bayern Munich also make a strong case as they have the most quarter-final appearances since 1992. The Bavarians have played 43 quarter-finals in the Champions League (73 in total including the European Cup), with 19 victories (33 in total), 12 draws (16), and 12 losses (18).

However, no one can claim more wins than Real Madrid, with a global win percentage of 50.63% (40 out of 79) and 55% in the Champions League (22 out of 40).

After the two teams that have historically dominated European football, Barcelona follow closely. With 45 quarter-final appearances in total, the Catalans have been a prominent force in the Champions League era, having played 37 of these ties, recording 17 wins, ten draws and as many defeats.

Interestingly, despite their greater number of appearances in this phase over time, Barcelona boast their best numbers in the old European Cup, with six wins and two draws from their eight quarter-final matches.

Seasoned sides meet European returnees

Moving away from the usual suspects, we find a quartet of teams whose experience in the Champions League era is almost identical: Arsenal, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

The English side have played 14 quarter-finals (three wins, six draws and five losses), the same number as the Italians (five wins, two draws and seven defeats).

PSG have played 15 quarter-finals (all in the Champions League era, with five wins, four draws and six losses), while Borussia Dortmund have played 16 (six wins, two draws and eight losses). On the global stage, including the European Cup, Inter Milan have a more extensive history, with 26 quarter-final appearances.

Despite having a considerably smaller history than the top teams, these clubs can still boast more experience compared to Aston Villa, who are almost newcomers to this stage.

The Birmingham side, champions of Europe in 1982, will face their first Champions League quarter-final under Unai Emery this week, having played just four matches at this stage across both the old European Cup and the current competition, with one win, one draw and two losses.