Treble winning clubs are part of an elite group. Winning a trophy is one of the hardest things to do in football so winning three of them in one season is almost miraculous. Here are the most successful treble winning teams.
Inter Milan – 2009/10
The greatest season in Inter Milan’s history, Jose Mourinho led the black and blue half of Milan to an incredible treble win. The Coppa Italia, Serie A and Champions League trophies all made their way to the San Siro, all in one season for the first time in history.
When it comes to successful transfer windows, Inter Milan’s summer of 2009 must be one of the best. Having lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona, in came Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Wesley Sneijder, Thiago Motta and Lucio, just to name a few. Each and every one of these players would become important parts of the treble winning side.
Mourinho is famous for his cautious style of football but if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The best example of his tactical prowess came in the Champions League, knocking out Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona side in the semi-finals. Inter won the first leg 3-1 at the San Siro but wary of Barcelona’s attacking power, he shut up shop for the second game, losing 1-0 but progressing to the final.
Not only did they pip Roma to the league title by 2 points, winning the Serie A with 82 points, but they also beat the club from the capital 1-0 in the Coppa Italia final, ensuring no silverware went to the Eternal City.
Celtic – multiple seasons
From 2016 to 2019, Celtic did something no other club has ever done, winning the treble three seasons in a row. Take nothing away from the Scots, this was a truly ridiculous achievement. Most impressively the club won the European cup in Lisbon in 1967.
The 2016/17 season was probably the best, as Celtic went the entire domestic season unbeaten. Brendan Roger’s lads drew just four games out of their 47 competitive games in Scotland. They beat Aberdeen in both cup finals with Tom Rogic scoring a last-gasp winner in the Scottish Cup final.
The following season, Celtic managed to replicate this incredible feat, beating bitter rivals Rangers 5-0 to secure the league title in the process. This time around, they faced Motherwell in both cup finals, coming out on top emphatically on both occasions.
Brendan Roger’s left halfway through the third season, joining Premier League side Leicester. In came Neil Lennon, making his return to Celtic Park. Nothing changed for the hoops and they were treble winners yet again, seeing off Hibernian and Aberdeen in the cup finals.
PSV 1987/88
For many, Ajax are the prominent club side in Dutch football, but PSV aren’t far behind them. This treble may not be as famous as some of the others on this list but that doesn’t mean it was any less impressive.
Coached by the great Guus Hiddink and with players such as Ronald Koeman and Edward Linskens, this was undeniably one of the greatest sides to come out of the Netherlands. Not only did they win the Eredivisie by 9 points, they scored 117 goals in the process.
Their European Cup campaign is where they really made a name for themselves. Coming up against and beating Galatasaray, Rapid Vienna, Bordeaux and the mighty Real Madrid saw them face Benfica in the final.
120 minutes of football went by and not a single goal was scored so it went to penalties. The Dutch side went on to win the shootout 6-5 with Anton Janssen scoring the winning spot-kick, cementing their place in history.
Bayern Munich 2012/13
Losing the Champions League final to Chelsea in 2012 may have been the best thing to ever happen to Bayern Munich. The following season changed everything and helped turn them into arguably the most dominant club in world football.
Jupp Heynckes went one better than all the other clubs on this list by winning an incredible 4 trophies, his Bayern Munich team were a different animal. It was a busy transfer window for the Bavarians most notably bringing in Mario Mandzukic and Javi Martinez with the former ending the season their top league goal scorer.
In the league, Bayern Munich would have gone unbeaten if it wasn’t for an 86th minute penalty that gave Bayer Leverkusen the victory in October. Despite that single loss, they managed to win the league with an amazing 91 point, 25 points above second place Dortmund.
Their Champions League campaign was just as stereotypically efficient as the league. Beating Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona before setting up a meeting with Jurgen Klopp and Dortmund in the final. Bayern won the game with an 89th minute goal from Arjen Robben.
Barcelona 2014/15
We had a few options to pick from for Barcelona but none of the other seasons had the famous Messi, Neymar and Suarez front three and that’s more than enough reason to focus on their insane 2014/15 season.
Their first season since 1998/99 without club captain Carles Puyol, losing his leadership qualities could have been detrimental but Barcelona continued like nothing happened, helped in large part by 58 goals from Lionel Messi.
Despite their incredible front three, Barcelona had to wait until the last day of the season before being crowned champions, with bitter rivals Real Madrid finishing just two points behind them on 92 points. The Copa del Rey was sewn up with an impressive 3-1 win against Atheltic Bilbao in the final.
In the Champions League, they had to beat the best of the best. Barcelona overcame Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich before facing Juventus in the final. The Italians didn’t have a chance. 3-1 was a flattering score line for Juventus, it could have been so much more, but Barca didn’t care, they lifted the trophy.
Manchester United 1998/99
Arguably the greatest achievement in English football, Manchester United’s treble winning season was the club’s finest moment. Sir Alex Ferguson and his lads dominated in a way never before seen in England and this team is still considered amongst the very best to this day.
In the Premier League, Arsenal pushed them all the way. The Ferguson/Wenger rivalry was one of the best managerial rivalries ever, they hated each other and it made for top class entertainment. In the end, Sir Alex Ferguson came out on top, winning the league by a single point.
Cup competitions are a big deal in England and none are bigger than the FA cup, most teams would be happy if they won that alone. In this season, Manchester United won the FA cup the hard way, getting past Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal before beating Newcastle 2-0 in the final.
This whole season could have been about the Champions League final about Bayern Munich, it’s that famous. 1-0 down heading into added time, Teddy Sheringham equalised in the 91st minute. Then, up steps super sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to secure the win with a close-range goal. If you haven’t watched this game already check it out, those last few minutes are crazy.