Treble (association football)

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 contribute to a treble are the top-tier domestic league competition, domestic cup competitions, and continental tournaments; although this depends to some extent on the structure of the football pyramid in a country. Trophy competitions which consist of a single match or a two-leg match (e.g. the FA Community Shield, the Recopa Sudamericana, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup) are generally not counted as part of a treble.[1][2][nb] Nor is the now defunct UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Of the various ways of completing a treble, the more prestigious combinations include the 'continental treble'[3] (top tier league, primary domestic cup or other secondary tournament and highest level continental competition) and the 'domestic treble' (league and two domestic secondary tournaments).[4][5]

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Continental trebles

This kind of treble consists of a club winning their country's top tier league and a major secondary competition (The Double), in addition to the continental championship, all within a single season. This was first achieved in 1962 by Santos, winning the Campeonato Paulista (state league), Taça Brasil (national league) and Copa Libertadores (continental tournament). Santos remain the only South American club to have achieved a treble, with Colo-Colo and São Paulo coming remarkably close in 1991 and 1993, respectively. Most countries in the region do not have a domestic cup to enable a domestic double. Some associations' cups are recently inaugurated and/or were held sporadically in the past.

Since then, eight teams have matched the feat in Europe, while nine other clubs have also won the treble: six African clubs, one Asian club and two North American clubs. 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.[6] 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 2003, Jose Mourinho's F.C. Porto became the sixth club, and first Portuguese club, to win a European treble, adding the victorious 2003 UEFA Cup Final to the Portuguese League and Portuguese Cup conquests of the same year. In winning the 2009 Champions League final, Barcelona became the seventh club, and first Spanish club, to win a European treble, having already won the La Liga title and Copa del Rey in 2008–09.[7] After winning the 2010 Champions League final, Internazionale Milano became the eighth club in Europe, and first Italian club, to win a European treble, having already won the Serie A title and Coppa Italia in the same season. This achievement gave Jose Mourinho the unique distinction of being the first manager to win two European Trebles. It was the second consecutive season that a European treble was achieved. Samuel Eto'o played in the third Champions League final of his career, and with Internazionale's triumph over Bayern Munich became the first player to win two consecutive trebles in consecutive seasons. In 2011, Portugal's F.C. Porto became the first club to win two continental trebles.

Club Country Confederation Year(s) Titles won
Santos Brazil CONMEBOL 1962[a] Campeonato Paulista, Taça Brasil, Copa Libertadores
Internacional Brazil 2006[c] Copa Libertadores, FIFA Club World Cup, Recopa Sudamericana
Universidad de Chile Chile 2011 2011 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2011 Copa Sudamericana
Celtic Scotland UEFA 1966–67[b] Scottish Football League, Scottish Cup, European Cup
Ajax Netherlands 1971–72 Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, European Cup
Liverpool England 1983–84 First Division, League Cup, European Cup
PSV Eindhoven Netherlands 1987–88 Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, European Cup
Manchester United England 1998–99 FA Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League
Galatasaray Turkey 1999–2000 Süper Lig, Türkiye Kupası, UEFA Cup
F.C. Porto Portugal 2002–03 Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, UEFA Cup
Barcelona Spain 2008–09 La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League
Internazionale Italy 2009–10 Serie A, Coppa Italia, UEFA Champions League
F.C. Porto Portugal 2010–11 Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, UEFA Europa League
Cruz Azul Mexico CONCACAF 1969 Primera División de México, Copa México, CONCACAF Champions Cup
Defence Force Trinidad and Tobago 1985 TT Pro League, Trinidad and Tobago Cup, CONCACAF Champions Cup
Thai Farmers Bank Thailand AFC 1995 Thai League, Queen's Cup, Asian Club Championship
Englebert Democratic Republic of the Congo CAF 1967 Linafoot, Coupe du Congo, African Cup of Champions
Vita Club Zaire 1973 Linafoot, Coupe du Congo, African Cup of Champions
MC Algiers Algeria 1976 Algerian Championnat National, Algerian Cup, African Cup of Champions
Hearts of Oak Ghana 2000 Ghana Premier League, Ghanaian FA Cup, CAF Champions League
Al-Ahly Egypt 2006 Egyptian League, Egyptian Soccer Cup, CAF Champions League
Espérance Tunisia 2011 Tunisian League, Tunisian President Cup, CAF Champions League

CIS Treble

Comparable to some extent, to a contiental treble, the CIS Cup is contested amongst clubs mostly from the former Soviet Union. It therefore stradles two continents and brings together clubs from both UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation. It should be noted that many clubs will field a weakened team of youth and/or reserve players. The fact that three former Soviet clubs have recently won the UEFA Europa League and that they and others have often got to the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League has caused some Russian and Ukrainian clubs to view the CIS Cup as a trophy not worthy of best effort. Nevertheless, there have been five occasions when a club has won its domestic double and the CIS Cup; Dinamo Kiev are the only club to repeat the achievement, and Pakhtakor Tashkent are the only Asian club to complete this treble.

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 secondary competitions, all during one season. Many countries do not have a second domestic (league cup) competition, so achieving a domestic treble is impossible. Brazil has an unofficial "Triple Crown", a name given to a team that wins the national league, the national cup, and their state league.

Cup trebles

Occurs when a team wins three knock-out competitions. This has proved to be a rare achievement, partly because so many teams are not involved in more than two knock-out competitions in the same season, and also because teams have on the whole tended to place less emphasis on their domestic cup(s) than on their domestic championship and/or European honours. In addition there is the issue of player fatigue, because of the large number of fixtures to be played in addition to the fixed number of league games.

Club Country Number
won		 Year(s) won Titles won
Rangers Scotland 7 1948–49, 1963–64, 1975–76, 1977–78,
1992–93, 1998–99, 2002–03[8]		 Scottish League, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup
South China Hong Kong 4 1987, 1988, 1991, 2007 Hong Kong League, Hong Kong Senior Shield, Hong Kong FA Cup
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland 3 1925, 1932, 1964[9] League of Ireland, FAI Cup, League of Ireland Shield[b]
Celtic Scotland 3 1966–67, 1968–69, 2000–01[10] Scottish League, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup
Bayern Munich Germany 3 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2007–08[11] Bundesliga, German Cup, DFB Ligapokal
Linfield Northern Ireland 3 1994, 2006,[c] 2008 Irish Premier League, Northern Irish Cup, Irish Football League Cup
Nissan Motors F.C. Japan 2 1988, 1989 Japan Soccer League, Emperor's Cup, JSL Cup
Kedah Malaysia 2 2007, 2008[12] Malaysian Super League, Malaysia Cup, Malaysian FA Cup
Bohemians Republic of Ireland 1 1928[13] League of Ireland, FAI Cup, League of Ireland Shield[b]
Fall River Marksmen USA 1 1930[14] American Soccer League, National Challenge Cup, Lewis Cup
Brookhattan USA 1 1945 American Soccer League, National Challenge Cup, Lewis Cup
Toronto Croatia Canada 1 1971[15] NSL Cup, NSL Regular Season Champion, NSL Playoff Champion
Mitsubishi Motors F.C. Japan 1 1978 Japan Soccer League, Emperor's Cup, JSL Cup
Servette FC Switzerland 1 1978–79 Nationalliga A, Swiss Cup, Swiss League Cup
Levski Sofia Bulgaria 1 1984[16] A PFG, Bulgarian Cup, Cup of the Soviet Army
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria 1 1989[16] A PFG, Bulgarian Cup, Cup of the Soviet Army
Derry City Republic of Ireland 1 1989[17] League of Ireland, FAI Cup, League of Ireland Cup
Kaizer Chiefs FC South Africa 1 1992 NSL champions, Bob Save Super Bowl, BP Top Eight Cup
Melbourne Knights Australia 1 1994–95[18] NSL Cup, NSL Minor Premiership, NSL Grand Final
Barry Town Wales 1 1996–97 League of Wales, Welsh Cup, Welsh League Cup
Kashima Antlers Japan 1 2000 J. League, Emperor's Cup, Yamazaki Nabisco Cup
Cruzeiro Brazil 1 2003[19] Campeonato Mineiro, Copa do Brasil, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Rhyl Wales 1 2003–04[20] Welsh Premier League, Welsh Cup, Welsh League Cup
Al-Hilal  Saudi Arabia 1 2005 Saudi Premier League, Crown Prince Cup, Federation Cup
Brøndby IF Denmark 1 2005 Danish Superliga, Danish Cup, Danish League Cup
Sun Hei Hong Kong 1 2005[d] Hong Kong League, Hong Kong Senior Shield, Hong Kong FA Cup
Al-Sadd Qatar 1 2007[21] Qatari League, Emir of Qatar Cup, Qatar Crown Prince Cup
Debreceni VSC Hungary 1 2009–10 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Magyar Kupa, Ligakupa
Orlando Pirates FC South Africa 1 2010-11 Premier Soccer League, MTN 8, Nedbank Cup
Helsingborgs IF Sweden 1 2011 Allsvenskan, Svenska Cupen, Swedish Super Cup
Club Country Confederation Year(s) Titles won
Celtic Scotland UEFA 1966-67[s] Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup, European Cup
Liverpool England UEFA 2000-01[l] FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ Raja aiming high once more. FIFA (2008-06-04). Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
  2. ^ a b Top ten successful seasons. Sky Sports (2009-03-24). Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
  3. ^ Raja aiming high once more. FIFA (2008-06-04). Retrieved on 2009-06-23 - 'continental treble' mentioned in this article.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ FIFA.com - Raja aiming high once more
  7. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Europe | Barca clinch Spanish league title
  8. ^ Records and Honours. Rangers Official club website. Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
  9. ^ Roll of Honour. Shamrock Rovers FC. Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
  10. ^ Celtic Honours. Celtic Official club website. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
  11. ^ Germany Enter Euro 2008 Campaign With Confidence. Deutsche Welle (2008-08-06). Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
  12. ^ Coach hands in resignation letter to Kedah FA
  13. ^ Role of Honour. Bohemian Football Club. Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
  14. ^ Litterer, Dave (2008-02-17). The Year in American Soccer - 1930. The USA Soccer History Archives. Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
  15. ^ Croatian National Sports Club history at a glance
  16. ^ a b "Treble in association football – theory and history", 24 Chasa newspaper, Retrieved on 2010-02-15
  17. ^ Derry City FC - A Concise History. Derry City Football Club Website (2009-02-08). Retrieved on 2009-03-31.
  18. ^ The Dynasty Begins
  19. ^ Relação Dos Títulos Oficiais Do Cruzeiro (Portuguese)
  20. ^ - Rhyl FC - Honours
  21. ^ Al-Sadd Trophies and awards

External links