Wednesday 14 September 2016 19:02, UK
Leicester are preparing to make their Champions League debut but how have previous competition newcomers fared?
Claudio Ranieri's side, among the top seeds after storming to the Premier League title last term, start their campaign against Club Brugge on Wednesday night, with group clashes against Porto and FC Copenhagen to come.
Captain Wes Morgan has warned rivals to underestimate his team-mates at their peril, while Jamie Vardy insists the Foxes will not merely make up the numbers in Europe's elite club competition.
But can Ranieri's men draw inspiration from previous new boys? From Bayer Leverkusen to Tottenham, here are five who impressed in their first seasons in the competition...
Founded by employees of pharmaceutical company Bayer in 1904, Leverkusen are nevertheless a relatively new force in Germany, not reaching the Bundesliga until 1979. However, they have made quite an impression since and remain Champions League regulars.
So often the Bundesliga bridesmaids (they have finished second five times and never won the competition), the club is perhaps most famous for its extraordinary 2001/02 season under Klaus Toppmoller when they came second in the league, cup and Champions League.
But their first foray into Europe's premier club competition also went well. Leverkusen qualified for the quarter-finals as the best runner-up in the group stage and it took a second-leg defeat to eventual winners Real Madrid to bring their debut campaign to an end.
Sven-Goran Eriksson was Lazio's manager when they embarked on their first season in the Champions League with a star-studded squad containing Roberto Mancini, Diego Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron and Alessandro Nesta.
They went through the first group stage unbeaten against Dynamo Kiev, Bayer Leverkusen and Maribor, and they were similarly impressive in the second group stage, finishing above Chelsea, Feyenoord and Marseille to reach the quarter-finals.
The journey ended with a 5-3 aggregate defeat to Valencia, although they did go on to clinch their first Serie A title since the 1970s a few weeks later. Since their first appearance in the Champions League, they have qualified on four further occasions.
Deportivo spent 18 years out of the Spanish top flight between 1973 and 1991 but bounced back to come within a whisker of doing the double in 1995. Indeed, the Galician club were one of the finest sides in Europe in the early years of the 21st century.
Having won an historic La Liga title in 2000, their first crack at the Champions League was an impressive one and the team that included stars such as Roy Makaay and Djalminha saw off Juventus in the first group stage and AC Milan in the second - topping the table both times.
However, their run came to an end in the quarter-finals as Leeds United cruised past Javier Irureta's side 3-0 in the first leg at Elland Road. Although Depor pulled two goals back in the Riazor, there was no great comeback - but they did go on to reach the last four in 2004.
Only a Jens Lehmann penalty save prevented Villarreal from reaching the Champions League final in their first season in the competition. Juan Riquelme's stoppage-time spot kick would have forced extra-time at the Madrigal after Arsenal's 1-0 win in the first leg, but the German kept it out to send the Gunners into the final.
To reach the last four was still a fantastic achievement for Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine, managed by Manuel Pellegrini, had only won promotion to La Liga for the first time in their history eight years previously.
Villarreal are now an established top-flight outfit in Spain, and they have made two further appearances in the Champions League - including a run to the quarter-finals in 2008/09.
Tottenham's first season in the Champions League ended with a bitterly disappointing 5-0 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, but it holds plenty of happy memories for supporters too.
Gareth Bale announced himself on the European stage with a stunning hat-trick in a 4-3 defeat to Inter Milan at the San Siro, and Spurs produced a scintillating 3-1 win in the return game against the Italian giants at White Hart Lane.
Harry Redknapp's men finished top of their group, setting up a last-16 meeting with AC Milan. Spurs clinched a famous 1-0 win over Massimiliano Allegri's side in the first leg, and they held firm at White Hart Lane to take their place in the last eight. The semis proved a bridge too far, but Spurs had already exceeded expectations. After a five-year absence, they are back in the competition this year.
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