The term
treble or
Treble is used
in
association football to
refer to a team winning three trophies in a single season. Honours
usually considered to constitute a treble are the top tier domestic
league competition, domestic cup competitions, and continental
tournaments. Trophies which consist of a single match or two-leg
competition (e.g. the
FA Community
Shield and
UEFA Super Cup) are
generally not counted as part of a treble.
There are various ways of completing a treble - the more
prestigious are sometimes referred to as the 'continental treble'.
(top tier league, primary domestic cup and highest level
continental competition) and the 'domestic treble' (league and two
domestic cups).
Continental trebles
This kind of treble consists of a club winning their country's top
tier league and major domestic cup competition (
The Double), in addition to the continental
championship, all within a single season. The achievement was first
completed in 1967 by
Celtic, winning the
Scottish Premier League,
Scottish Cup and
European Cup, as well as the
Scottish League Cup. Since then, four
teams have matched the feat in Europe, while four African, two
Asian and one North American club have also won the treble.
Raja Casablanca's 1999 season has
also been called a "continental treble", as they won the CAF
Champions League, the CAF Super Cup and the Afro-Asian Club
Championship.
Egyptian club
Al-Ahly are the only side to
have won this kind of treble more than once, and they did so in
consecutive seasons, completing the feat in 2005 and 2006. Of the
European sides,
AFC Ajax have come the
closest to defending all three titles, retaining the
Dutch Eredivisie and European Cup in 1973, but
failing to win the
KNVB Cup.
In winning the
2009
UEFA Champions League Final,
Barcelona became the fifth club, and first
Spanish club, to win a European treble, having already won the
La Liga title and
Copa del Rey in 2008-09.
| Club |
Country |
Confederation |
Year |
Titles won |
| Celtic |
Scotland |
UEFA |
1967 |
Scottish Football
League, Scottish Cup, European Cup |
| Ajax |
Netherlands |
UEFA |
1972 |
Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, European
Cup |
| PSV Eindhoven |
Netherlands |
UEFA |
1988 |
Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, European
Cup |
| Manchester United |
England |
UEFA |
1999 |
English Premier League,
FA Cup, UEFA
Champions League |
| Barcelona |
Spain |
UEFA |
2009 |
La Liga, Copa
del Rey, UEFA Champions
League |
| Defence Force |
Trinidad and Tobago |
CONCACAF |
1985 |
TT Pro
League, Trinidad and Tobago
Cup, CONCACAF Champions
Cup |
| Al-Sadd |
Qatar |
AFC |
1988 |
Qatari League,
Emir of Qatar Cup, Asian Clubs Cup |
| Thai Farmers Bank |
Thailand |
AFC |
1995 |
Thai League, Queen's Cup, Asian Clubs Cup |
| Englebert |
Democratic Republic of the
Congo |
CAF |
1967 |
Linafoot, Coupe du Congo, African Cup of Champions |
| Vita Club |
Zaire |
CAF |
1973 |
Linafoot, Coupe du Congo, African Cup of Champions |
|
| Hearts of
Oak |
Ghana |
CAF |
2000 |
Ghana Premier
League, Ghanaian FA Cup,
CAF Champions League |
| Al-Ahly |
Egypt |
CAF |
2005 |
Egyptian League, Egyptian Soccer Cup, CAF Champions League |
| Al-Ahly |
Egypt |
CAF |
2006 |
Egyptian League, Egyptian Soccer Cup, CAF Champions League |
|
Domestic trebles
This type of treble consists of a club winning their country's top
tier league as well as the two most highly regarded domestic cup
competitions, all during one season.
| Club |
Country |
Number
won
|
Year(s) won |
Titles won |
| Rangers |
Scotland |
7 |
1949, 1964, 1976, 1978,
1993, 1999, 2003
|
Scottish League,
Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup |
| Celtic |
Scotland |
3 |
1967, 1969, 2001 |
Scottish League,
Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup |
| Bayern München |
Germany |
3 |
2000, 2005, 2008 |
Bundesliga, German Cup, DFB
Ligapokal |
| Linfield |
Northern Ireland |
3 |
1994, 2006, 2008 |
Irish Premier League,
Northern Irish Cup, Irish Football League Cup |
| Shamrock Rovers |
Republic of Ireland |
3 |
1925, 1932, 1964 |
League of Ireland, FAI Cup, League
of Ireland Shield |
South China |
Hong
Kong |
3 |
1988, 1991, 2007 |
Hong Kong
League, Hong Kong Senior
Shield, Hong Kong FA Cup |
| Nissan Motors F.C. |
Japan |
2 |
1988, 1989 |
Japan Soccer League,
Emperor's Cup, JSL
Cup |
| Kedah |
Malaysia |
2 |
2007, 2008 |
Malaysian Super League,
Malaysia Cup, Malaysian FA Cup |
| Al-Sadd |
Qatar |
1 |
2007 |
Qatari League, Emir of Qatar Cup, Qatar Crown Prince Cup |
| Mitsubishi Motors F.C. |
Japan |
1 |
1978 |
Japan Soccer League,
Emperor's Cup, JSL
Cup |
| Bohemians |
Republic of Ireland |
1 |
1928 |
League of Ireland, FAI Cup, League
of Ireland Shield |
| Brookhattan |
USA |
1 |
1945 |
American Soccer
League, U.S. Open Cup, Lewis
Cup |
Cruzeiro |
Brazil |
1 |
2003 |
Campeonato Mineiro, Copa do Brasil, Campeonato Brasileiro Série
A |
| Derry City |
Republic of Ireland |
1 |
1989 |
League of Ireland, FAI Cup, League of
Ireland Cup |
| Fall River Marksmen |
USA |
1 |
1930 |
American Soccer
League, U.S. Open Cup, Lewis
Cup |
| Melbourne Victory |
Australia |
1 |
2008–09 |
A-League
Challenge Cup, A-League Premiership,
A-League Championship |
| Melbourne Knights |
Australia |
1 |
1994-95 |
NSL Cup, NSL Minor Premiership,
NSL Grand Final |
| Kashima Antlers |
Japan |
1 |
2000 |
J. League,
Emperor's Cup, Yamazaki Nabisco Cup |
| Toronto Croatia |
Canada |
1 |
1971 |
NSL Cup,
NSL Regular Season
Champion, NSL
Playoff Champion |
| Sun Hei |
Hong
Kong |
1 |
2005 |
Hong Kong
League, Hong Kong Senior
Shield, Hong Kong FA Cup |
Other trebles
It is possible to win three different trophies in a single season
due to the presence of lower level continental competitions such as
the
Europa League, lower level
domestic competitions such as the English
League Cup, and intercontinental
competitions such as the
FIFA Club
World Cup and its
predecessor.
| Club |
Country |
Season won |
Titles won |
| IFK Göteborg |
|
1981-82 |
Swedish Championship,
Svenska Cupen, UEFA Cup |
| Liverpool |
|
1983-84 |
Football League First
Division, League Cup,
European Cup |
| Galatasaray |
|
1999-2000 |
Turkish Premier Super
League, Turkish Football
Cup, UEFA Cup |
| Liverpool |
|
2000-01 |
FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA
Cup |
| Bayern Munich |
|
2000-01 |
Bundesliga, DFB-Ligapokal, UEFA Champions League |
| FC Porto |
|
2002-03 |
Portuguese SuperLiga, Cup of Portugal, UEFA
Cup |
| CSKA Moscow |
|
2004-05 |
Russian Premier League,
Russian Cup, UEFA Cup |
| C.F. Pachuca |
|
2006-07 |
Copa Sudamericana,
CONCACAF Champions' Cup,
Mexican
Clausura |
| Manchester United |
|
2008-09 |
Premier League, League Cup, FIFA Club World Cup |
Near trebles
There have been several instances of teams narrowly missing out on
winning 3 trophies.
| Key: |
| Competition winner |
|
| Competition runner-up |
|
Near continental trebles
- Celtic also won the Scottish
League Cup that year.
- Milan's European Cup victory was the last time the competition
was successfully defended.
- Bayern Munich also won the German
League Cup that year.
- Bayer Leverkusen are the only European team to end a season as
league runners-up and finalists of the domestic cup and the UEFA
Champions League, but finish with no honours.
Near domestic trebles
- This also meant that Rangers missed out on back-to-back
domestic trebles, having already completed a domestic treble in
1993.
- Rangers also lost 2–0 to Zenit
St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup
Final that season.
Other near trebles
See also
Notes
- Note how the following source does not count Santos'
league/continental double and Intercontinental Cup win as a treble.
Similarly, the Community Shield and the European Super Cup are
separated from Liverpool's 2001 treble.
References
- Raja aiming high once more. FIFA (2008-06-04). Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
- Raja aiming high once more. FIFA (2008-06-04). Retrieved on 2009-06-23 -
'continental treble' mentioned in this article.
- Spiers, Graham (2008-01-30).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article3274019.ece
Walter Smith demands final push as Rangers target domestic treble].
The Times.
Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
- Ralston, Gary (2008-09-26). Domestic treble for Rangers will make up for
failure in Europe, says Pedro Mendes. Daily
Record. Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
-
http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/news/newsid=792626.html
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8054011.stm
- Records and Honours. Rangers Official club
website. Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
- Celtic Honours. Celtic Official club website.
Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- Germany Enter Euro 2008 Campaign With Confidence.
Deutsche
Welle (2008-08-06). Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
- Roll of Honour. Shamrock Rovers FC. Retrieved
on 2009-03-31.
- Al-Sadd Trophies and awards
- Role of Honour. Bohemian Football Club.
Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
- Relação Dos Títulos Oficiais Do Cruzeiro
(Portuguese)
- Derry City FC - A Concise History. Derry City
Football Club Website (2009-02-08). Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
- Litterer, Dave (2008-02-17). The
Year in American Soccer - 1930. The USA Soccer History
Archives. Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
- Lynch, Michael (2007-02-17). Amazing Archie's Victory march.
The Sydney Morning Herald.
Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
- The Dynasty Begins
- Croatian National Sports Club history at a glance
- Top ten successful seasons. Sky Sports (2009-03-24).
Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
