FC Barcelona made their second appearance in the UEFA Europa League yesterday, drawing 1-1 at the Camp Nou Stadium against an Italian Seria A team, Napoli.

For some reason, it seemed strange to watch FC Barcelona, the Spanish Laliga behemoth, compete in the UEFA Europa League after an 18-year absence. Most youngsters born in 2005 and after would be unaware or unconvinced that Barcelona previously competed in the Europa League.

Barcelona, the Spanish Laliga heavyweights, competed in the Europa League in 2003/2004 and won the title despite being debutantes that year.

There were numerous surreal (unforgettable) occurrences that occurred during the 2003/2004 season (the last season in which Barcelona competed in the UEFA Europa League), and we will learn about them in this article.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal lost to Greece in the Euros final.

Portugal entered the Euro 2004 final as heavy favorites to win it, but one of the biggest surprises in football occurred that night, when powerful Portugal fell 1-0 to Greece in front of their home crowd.

The UEFA Euro 2004 Final was the concluding match of Euro 2004, the 12th European Championship, a football tournament organized by UEFA for its member associations' senior men's national teams.

The event took place on 4 July 2004 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, and was contested between hosts Portugal and Greece, who were competing in their second European Championship.

2. Arsene Wenger's Arsenal became "the invincibles".

In 2003/2004, the north London team accomplished an unthinkable feat in English Premier League history by completing the whole season without losing a single match.

According to reports, Arsene Wenger predicted that occurrence and no one thought he could pull off the spectacular achievement. Since Arsene Wenger's Arsenal established the record, no English Premier League team has been able to break it.

In football, the term "The Invincibles" refers to both the Preston North End club managed by William Sudell in 1888–89 and the Arsenal team coached by Arsène Wenger in 2003–04.

3. Jose Mourinho helped FC Porto to win the UEFA Champions League.

It seemed unthinkable to see a Portuguese team, Porto, reach the UEFA Champions League final and win it, but Jose Mourinho's methods assisted the Portuguese club in accomplishing that achievement.

The 2004 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match held on 26 May 2004 to determine the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League champion. AS Monaco, a Monaco-based team representing the French Football Federation, squared off against Porto in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, at the Arena Auf Schalke.

The Portuguese team won the match 3-0, and Deco (Porto's talisman) was named man of the match after an excellent performance.

4. Wayne Rooney joined Manchester United.

Wayne Rooney's acquisition was one of the finest decisions made by Manchester United, as the then-youngster went on to become a club icon, assisting the club in winning several major championships.

Wayne Rooney joined Manchester United from Everton in 2004 as an 18-year-old rising star for a £20 million initial transfer price plus an extra £7 million in contingency payments, which was a record cost at the time for a player under the age of 20.