Europe’s Elite: Which clubs have won the Treble?
Have a look at all the glorious teams to win the treble
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Manchester city withe their first UCL (credits: Manchester City website)
Manchester city had a night to remember in Istanbul. The cityzens defeated inter milan to clinch the UEFA Champions league. A fantastic strike from city midfielder Rodri sealed the win. The win meant that Manchester city had officially completed the treble.
The treble is an elusive feat that only a selected number of clubs have claimed in the history of football. An intercontinental treble comprises of the league, domestic cup and the top European prize and is completed by winning all three in the same season. Pep Guardiola’s city outfit became the latest entrant in the list of historic clubs to win the treble.
Three’s the magic number as they say. And for a team to win three iconic trophies in a year is a grand achievement. Below are the teams that have completed the treble feat and have etched their names in history-
Celtic 1966-67
The first treble in history was actually a quadruple. Celtic won the league, the Scottish Cup, and the Scottish League Cup before becoming the very first British club to win the European Cup. The Celtic outfit was led by the legendary manager Jock Stein.
Celtic finished ahead of bitter rivals Rangers to claim the league by a margin of three points. They also got the better of Rangers in the League Cup final and beat them 1-0. A 2-0 win against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final won a domestic treble before heading to Lisbon for the club’s most historic night. A 2-1 win against Inter in the finals with goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers earned the iconic treble for the Celtic and the squad was fittingly nicknamed as ‘Lisbon Lions’
Ajax 1971-72
Stefan Kovacs had big boots to fill after previous manager Rinus Michels left the Ajax outfit. Michels had just guided the Dutch giants to European glory before leaving for Barcelona. The Amsterdam club still had a great squad with Johan Cruyff being their crown jewel. Kovacs guided them to the Eredivisie title with ease. They then beat FC Den Haag 3-2 in the KNVB Cup final.
The club then faced another European final against the Italian heavyweights, Inter. Ajax had plenty of support as the final was scheduled in the Netherlands at Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium. It was a brilliant brace from Johan Cruyff that sealed the treble for Ajax. This team also went to have a hattrick of European championships, by winning it again the next year.
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PSV Eindhoven 1987-88
PSV achieved the treble under the tutelage of Guus Hiddink. They beat rivals Ajax to the league title by 9 points and scored a mammoth 117 goals in 34 league games. The KNVB Cup was clinched by them following a 3-2 win against Roda JC.
PSV finished both the quarter-finals and finals with an aggregate score of 1-1 against Bordeaux and Real Madrid respectively. They won the rounds on away goals rule. The showpiece finale was against Benfica. The in Stuttgart went all the way to a penalty shoot-out after the game finished at nil-nil, with the Dutch side winning 6-5.
Manchester United 1998-99
Sir Alex Ferguson established Manchester United as a dominant force in the Premier League. The Red Devils won the league by just one point over the second-placed Arsenal. United beat Arsenal in the semis of the FA Cup before securing the trophy with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United.
The attacking partnership of Andrew Cole and Dwight Yorke had been outstanding all season, but it was stoppage-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that transformed a 1-0 disadvantage against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou into a last-minute 2-1 triumph.
Barcelona 2008-09
Pep Guardiola established his genius when he won the treble with a star-studded Barcelona squad. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi all starred for Barcelona. Barca earned their first trophy by winning La Liga ahead of Real Madrid by nine points, after a humiliating 1-0 defeat at Numancia in their opening game. The Blaugrana’s 4-1 demolition of Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey final placed them on pace for their first treble.
After negotiating with Chelsea in a controversial encounter at Stamford Bridge, Barca proceeded to Rome to face Manchester United. Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o scored for Barca in a 2-0 win. This secured the treble for Guardiola and his boys.
Inter 2009-10
The immediate year after Barca’s glory. Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan to the history books. Inter beat Roma to the title and secured the Scudetto by 2 points. The proceeded to claim a 1-0 victory against Roma again to win the Coppa Italia.
Inter finished second in their Champions’ League group, but they were able to get through Chelsea and CSKA Moscow before meeting Barcelona in the semis. A masterpiece from Jose Mourinho saw them deny Guardiola’s men at Camp Nou in the second leg, although losing 1-0, to progress 3-2 on aggregate, before two goals from Milito in the decisive match against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu clutched Inter’s first European Cup/Champions League title since 1965.
Bayern Munich 2012-13
Bayern Munich broke many Bundesliga records during Jupp Heynckes’ tenure as manager. The crowning achievement, though, was winning the treble. FC Bayern won the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, and DFB Pokal in 2012-13, making them the first German team to achieve it. Bayern finished with 91 points, 25 ahead of second-placed Dortmund to absolutely dominate the Bundesliga.
They clinched the European title at Wembley against this same Dortmund side. A back-and-forth final saw llkay Gündoan‘s penalty equalize Mario Mandžukić opening goal before Arjen Robben’s 89th-minute strike won it for Bayern. A week later, they defeated Stuttgart 3-2 in the DFB-Pokal final to complete the treble
Barcelona 2014-15
Barca made history this season by becoming the first team to clinch two trebles. It was Luis Enrique’s first season at Barcelona. He had help from the iconic trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar jr., and Luis Suarez- who scored 122 goals amongst themselves that season. They won the league title by finishing above Real Madrid. They comfortably won the Copa del Ray with a 3-1 win against Athletic Club.
For the Champions League final, Barca locked horns with Italian club Juventus. It was a tense encounter but Ivan Rakitić gave them an early lead against the Old Lady. Álvaro Morata equalised for Juve in the 55th minute. However, Luis Suárez restored the lead and Neymar scored another goal deep into stoppage time for Barcelona to win at Berlin and complete a second treble.
Bayern Munich 2019-20
Bayern sacked Niko Kovač as their manager in November. That proved an inspired move as his replacement, Hansi Flick, improved the squad immensely and guided them to a treble. This treble however came in a year where all campaigns were marred by COVID-19 and had no fans in the stadiums. Bayern won the league comfortably. They rounded up the DFB-Pokal after beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in the final.
The team then set out to Portugal to finish the Champions League. Bayern humiliated Barcelona 8-2 in the quarter-finals on their way to the final. They faced the Parisian PSG, where Kingsley Coman scored the winner to make Bayern the Champions League winners and made them the second team to have two trebles.
Manchester City 2022-23
Manchester City were second-placed in the league for the majority of the season. They eventually came back to win the league over Arsenal. The Noisy Neighbors defeated Manchester United 2-1 to win the FA Cup.
City then got their chance to secure a champions league which had eluded them till now. They faced tough competition from Inter Milan. A 1-0 victory in Istanbul over Inter Milan secured the treble for De Bruyne and co. City’s manager Pep Guardiola became the only manager to secure two trebles after this emphatic win.
FAQs-
How many teams have won the treble?
8 different teams have won the treble.
How many teams have won the treble twice?
2- Barcelona and Bayern Munich have won the trebles twice
Which manager has won the most trebles?
Pep Guardiola has won the treble most times as a manager- twice.
How many Trebles have Barcelona won?
Barcelona has won two trebles.
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Arpan Ghosh
(1403 Articles Published)