With the English Premier League drawing to a dramatic close, Liverpool’s dream of winning the quadruple came crashing down to earth with Manchester City Pep-ing them to the title with an exhilarating come back against Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa.
Whilst Liverpool supporters only ever talked about the quadruple being technically possible, ultimately it would always take an incredible amount of luck to pull-off given the stiff competition across both the Premier League and Champions League.
History was also firmly against the scousers, with only one team ever considered to win 4 x trophies in one season. They were the legendary Lisbon Lions, The Celtic team of 1966/67 who defeated Inter Milan 2-1 in Portugal’s Estadio Nacional.
The iconic Celtic side were the first British club to win the European Cup, and indeed still the only Scottish club to participate in the final. Note: We are referring to the equivalent of the Champions League, after all, Rangers faced Frankfurt in the Europa League final.
Overall the odds of winning the treble are incredibly low, let alone winning four trophies. With everything all to play for next weekend, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team have every chance of carving their own history.
Whilst they face a very formidable foe in Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid and they incredible track record in the Champions League, Liverpool certainly have the momentum and it would be no surprise to anyone if they win the trophy in France.
In fact, history is kind to Liverpool in the sense of the informal treble. Sometimes derided as the “mickey mouse treble”, Liverpool famously lifted the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup in 2001. If Liverpool do lift the Champions League, it will be difficult to suggest this is an inferior haul of trophies.
Manchester United may have famously lifted the treble under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999, however they were also criticised for celebrating in 2016-2017 when they won the FA Community Shield, League Cup and UEFA Europa League.
All jokes and banter aside, fans of any club will gladly welcome a trophy whether major or minor. After all trophies are the life blood of the game, and if your team lifts one, the chances are they will be achieve football immortality.
Here is a definitive list of treble winning sides to answer the question: How many football teams have won the treble?
- Celtic – 1966/67*
- Ajax – 1971/72
- PSV Eindhoven – 1987/88
- Man United – 1998/99
- FC Barcelona – 2008/09
- Inter Milan – 2009/10
- Bayern München – 2012/13
- FC Barcelona – 2014/15
- Bayern München – 2019/20
*Quadruple winners, having also lifted the Scottish League Cup.
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