Actually yeah, he wasn't that great during the World Cup. Guess that was a bad example then.
Diouf to Liverpool is a better example. (I think he signed after the WC, though I also think it might have been before. )
You just know that when one of those amazing no-chance in hell things are looking dead set at going in after 11 of 12 matches are done, Newcastle will be the one to fuck it up just to shove it in your face that life hates you eliminating your club from a cup at the same time as fucking you up the ass.
UEFA didn't have a rule regarding teams being able to defend their title even if they didn't qualify through the league when Liverpool won it. They changed it after so now if a team wins the CL but doesn't qualify they will get the right to defend their title but it would count towards the total number of CL spots their nations FA have at disposal.
No idea if it's already been mentioned in the discussion, didn't bother reading all the posts.