Treble (association football)
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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.[1][2][nb]
There are various ways of completing a treble - the more prestigious are sometimes referred to as the the 'continental treble'.[3] (top tier league, primary domestic cup and highest level continental competition) and the 'domestic treble'[4][5] (league and two cups)
The Quadruple is sometimes used if a club wins their continental championship and three main domestic trophies in the same season. This has been achieved only once—by Celtic in 1967.
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[edit] 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.[6]
South American countries, with the exception of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil, have no domestic cup and thus the achievement is not possible. Since 2001, teams playing in the Copa Libertadores have not been allowed to participate in the Copa do Brasil in the same year due to time constraints, making the achievement also impossible for Brazilian clubs. To date, no Oceanian club has completed a continental treble.
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.[7]
- a Celtic F.C. also won the Scottish League Cup that season, completing a quadruple.
[edit] 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.
- c - The League of Ireland Shield was the forerunner to the FAI League Cup.
- d - Sun Hei's treble was part of a domestic quadruple. That season they also won the Hong Kong League Cup.
[edit] Other trebles
It is possible to win three different trophies in a single season, notably in Europe due to the presence of the lower level UEFA Cup (and formerly, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) and two domestic cup competitions in some countries (e.g. in England, the FA Cup and League Cup).
| Club | Country | Year(s) won | Titles won |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFK Göteborg |  Sweden |
1982[e] | Swedish Championship, Svenska Cupen, UEFA Cup |
| Liverpool |  England |
1984[f] | Football League First Division, League Cup, European Cup |
| Galatasaray |  Turkey |
2000 | Turkish Premier Super League, Turkish Football Cup, UEFA Cup |
| Liverpool | England |
2001 | FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup - dubbed the plastic treble[20] |
| FC Bayern |  Germany |
2001 | German Bundesliga, DFB Ligapokal, UEFA Champions League |
| FC Porto |  Portugal |
2003 | Portuguese SuperLiga, Cup of Portugal, UEFA Cup |
| CSKA Moscow |  Russia |
2005[h] | Russian Premier League, Russian Cup, UEFA Cup |
| C.F. Pachuca |  Mexico |
2007[i] | Copa Sudamericana, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Mexican Clausura |
| Manchester United F.C. | England |
2008-2009 | English Premier League, League Cup, FIFA Club World Cup |
[edit] International treble
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2009) |
This kind of treble is impossible to achieve in a single season, and consist of a continental championship, the World Cup and the Confederations Cup. Winners of this treble become the holders of all three championships at the same time.
| Country | Year completed | Titles won |
|---|---|---|
 Brazil |
1997[j] | 1994 FIFA World Cup, Copa America 1997, 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup |
 France |
2001 | 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| Brazil |
2005 | 2002 FIFA World Cup, Copa America 2004, 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup |
- j Although Brazil held the three trophies simultaneously, they did not win them consecutively (having lost the Copa America 1995 to Uruguay). Up to the 1997 tournament, the Copa America was biennial with 2 held between each World Cup.
[edit] Near trebles
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2009) |
There have been several instances of teams narrowly missing out on winning 3 trophies.
| Key: | |
|---|---|
| Competition winner | |
| Competition runner-up | |
[edit] Near continental trebles
- k Celtic also won the Scottish League Cup that year.
- l Milan's European Cup victory was the last time the competition was successfully defended.
- m Bayern Munich also won the German League Cup that year.
- n 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.[citation needed]
[edit] Near domestic trebles
- o This also meant that Rangers missed out on back-to-back domestic trebles, having already completed a domestic treble in 1993.
- p Rangers also lost 2–0 to Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup Final that season.
[edit] Other near trebles
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- nb 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.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Raja aiming high once more. FIFA (2008-06-04). Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
- ^ a b Top ten successful seasons. Sky Sports (2009-03-24). 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
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5732125/Michael-Owen-career-highs-and-lows.html
