A five-year wait will come to an end on Tuesday as Bayern Munich face Real Madrid, with cold war relations expected to switch to hot.
Peace between these two European superpowers is as foreign a concept as it was to the Montagues and Capulets. Bayern and Real have a history of enmity dating back nearly 40 years.
Such is the history of violence and mutual dislike that the rivalry feels more akin to a brutal South American clash.
Then there is Bayern manager Juup Heynckes and winger Arjen Robben to be added into an already spicy concoction.
Heynckes guided Real to the Champions League in 1997/98 - their first European Cup since 1966 - but was still sacked, having succeeded Fabio Capello who, likewise, won a trophy the previous campaign (the Primera Liga) but was also discharged.
Real Madrid's Kaka is ready:
Robben meanwhile was one of the squad casualties when Florentino Perez returned as president of Los Blancos in 2009. The Dutchman was booted out after being told he was not wanted, as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema arrived during a spend-sational summer.
Tuesday will be the clubs' fifth semi-final meeting in European Cup history, and offers Madrid the chance to pile on the misery for Die Roten, whose Bundesliga title challenge is fading.
Beating Bayern would also prevent them from playing the Champions League in their own stadium, the immaculate Allianz Arena, as the German club bids for a fifth European Cup while Madrid seek a record tenth.
Bitterness between the two clubs, who have met 18 times in the knockout stages (Bayern winning 10), dates back to the 1975/76 semi-finals, which set the tone for a now absorbing rivalry.
Madrid mullered by Gerd:
Real's Roberto Martinez broke his nose in a collision with Bayern goalkeeper Sepp Maier, while a fan known as "El Loco del Bernabeu" (The Bernabeu madman) invaded the pitch and attacked the referee and Bayern striker Gerd Mueller.
Der Bomber's double on the night saw Bayern home 3-1 on aggregate, as they went on to the win the competition for the third year in a row. So impressive is the German giants' record against Real that Madridistas have nicknamed them as "La Bestia Negra" - the Black Beast.
But the most infamous incident came in another semi-final 11 years later. Again Bayern won, but the match was dominated by Juanito stamping on Lothar Matthaus' back and head as he was lying on the turf.
Juanito stamps his authority on Matthaus:
Juanito, who died in a car crash in 1992 at the age of 37, was given a five-year European ban.
Real's Galacticos era of the 21st century saw Oliver Kahn emerge as the club's bete noire because he was Oliver Kahn. This came during a flurry of clashes which saw the teams play each other in four out of five seasons.
Bayern's Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro even boasted prior to the 2004 round-of-16: "We're going to score five goals against those clowns." Real however had the last laugh, winning 2-1 on aggregate, with Kahn feebly spilling a Roberto Carlos shot into his own net.
Bayern beat Real the last time the two teams met: