Sportco's Greatest Treble Winning Teams in Football History

The 'treble' in football is the holy trinity of trophies which includes the Champions League, domestic league, and the domestic cup. 

Every top club in Europe hopes to conquer, but there have been a handful of teams that have been able to achieve this monumental feat in football. Hence, Sportco presents you top seven treble-winning teams who got their hands on historical treble. 

Winning a treble is considered one of the highest honors in football, where only seven teams have attained it till now, and out of seven only two teams have managed to claim treble twice. 

Sportco brings you the top seven teams who created football history by winning the treble. 

1. Barcelona (2008-09) & (2014-15)

Barcelona was the first team in football history to win the treble twice, the club won their first treble in 2008 under Pep Guardiola then in 2015 during Luis Enrique’s management. 

Under Pep Guardiola Barcelona experienced one of their finest years, winning a plethora of trophies. His tiki-taka philosophy made Barcelona one of the dominant forces in Europe. 

In the 2008/2009 season, Guardiola inspired the club to astonishing six trophies. Copa del Rey, La Liga UEFA Super Cup, Champions League, and Club World Cup becoming the first Spanish team to achieve this feat. 

Six years later, Barcelona formed a devastating 'MSN' (Messi, Suarez, and Neymar) the attacking trident spearheaded the club to the second treble, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League under the guidance of Luis Enrique. 

Both the treble-winning squads of the Catalan giants could be considered as the best club football teams of all time. 

2. Bayern Munich (2012-13) & (2019-20) 

Bayern Munich was forced to be reckoned with under Jupp Heynckes, the team was unstoppable and thrashed whichever team came on their way, e.g. an 8-0 demolition of Barcelona in the semi-final.

They had already won the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal, Bayern set the date with Dortmund in UCL final where they edged out Dortmund with a 2-1 narrow victory. 

Five years later, they went all the way to claim their second treble under the tutelage of Hansi Flick. Flick implemented his nous tactics and the team played one of the attractive footballs under him and broke Barcelona's six trophy record. It was another déjà vu for Barcelona as Bayern annihilated them 8-2 in the quarter-final. 

The Bavarians went on to win Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, DFL Super Cup, UCL, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup. 

They became the first team to lift the Champions League with a 100% record, and also became the second team to win the European treble twice after Barcelona. 

3. Inter Milan (2009-2010)

Inter Milan won their historic treble in style, the club collected a total of three trophies during the time when Barcelona were by far the most dominant club in the world. 

Jose Mourinho is known for defensive tactics, as he deployed his players where they were most comfortable while playing. The Nerazzurri won their first trophy by defeating AS Roma 1-0 in the final of the Coppa Italia, before winning Serie A by a two-point margin against the same opponents. 

Inter Milan were having one of their best runs, after years of toiling Jose Mourinho was the man on a mission. They met Barcelona in the semi-final, and Mourinho implemented a more defensive strategy to keep Barcelona attackers at bay and was highly successful, as they kept Messi and Co. quiet in both the legs, as Barcelona probed in vain, being eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.

Inter encountered Bayern in the final, and Diego Milito‘s brace singlehandedly lead the club to UCL glory first time since 1965. By doing so they also won the historical treble and to date the only Italian team to win a treble.

Jose Mourinho's treble-winning squad is hailed as one the greatest and the most cohesive teams of the last two decades.

4. Manchester United (1998-99)

Manchester United accomplished the impossible in 1999, and to date, the Red Devils are the only English club to win a treble. 

Sir Alex Ferguson's side had endured a trophyless 1997-98 season. Going into the new season, it was a new and hungry Manchester United who wanted to win every trophy as they contested and defied expectations by going all the way in the three tournaments. 

We know that the Premier League has always been the hardest league to win due to stiff competition, which was proved in the 1998/99 season as Man United piped Arsene Wenger's Arsenal by a single point to win the league that year. United soon added a second trophy, the F.A Cup, as they saw off Newcastle which with a 2-0 win. 

Only one trophy was remaining to be complete the treble. It was Man United vs Bayern showdown in the final and United saved their best for last, as they overturned a 1-0 deficit in 'Fergie time' and scored twice within a span of a couple of minutes, courtesy of goals from substitutes, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to complete their treble. 

5. Ajax (1971-72)

During the 70s, Ajax was one of the most dominant clubs in Europe. Led by the one and only mythical, Johan Cruyff, during the course of 1971/1972. Ajax first achieved its mission by clinching KNVB Beker on May 11, 1972. 

Ajax then won the Dutch Eredivisie by the skin of their teeth, before seeing off Inter Milan 2-0 in the European Cup at Rotterdam. Cruyff’s brace gave the club their third consecutive European Cup and first-ever treble in their illustrious history.    

This Ajax squad of 1972 were one of the early treble-winning teams in club football.

6. Celtic (1966-67)

One of the beautiful things about football is when an underdog team manages to win against all odds. A similar thing happened in Celtic’s case. Managed by legendary Jock Stein, under Jock Stein Celtics had a never-giving-up attitude, and did the unthinkable. 

Celtic started its treble journey by winning Scottish Cup in April 1967, beating Aberdeen in the final followed by the Scottish league which was a tight race with city rivals Rangers. 

The Scottish side then pulled off a miracle by reaching in European Cup final where they came up against a highly fancied and favorite, Inter Milan managed by Helenio Herrera in Lisbon. 

Their optimistic and fearless attitude led them to complete their treble, as they dispatched Inter Milan 2-1, becoming the first British club to win the European Cup. 

During that season Celtic not only won the treble but added two more trophies to make their year even more glittering. They bagged Scottish League Cup and Glasgow Cup and scored a world record total of 196 goals in all competitions.

7. PSV Eindhoven (1987-88)

After Ajax, PSV Eindhoven was the second Dutch team to achieve this glorious feat. PSV Eindhoven achieved the impossible under the legendary coach, Guus Hiddink. Ronaldo Koeman and Edward Linskens were the stars of the team, as they helped the club collect all three fronts.

PSV commenced with winning the Dutch Eredivisie with a nine-point gap, they then defeated Roda JC 3-2 in the final of the KNVB Beker to win the Cup for the fourth time. 

En route to the European Cup final, PSV outclassed Galatasaray, Rapid Vienna, Bordeaux, and Real Madrid to set up their date with Benfica in Stuttgart. 

It was one of the most intense games as both the teams had to settle for a draw until 120 minutes. The game proceeded to penalties to determine the winner, The Dutch side prevailed 6-5 in the shootout and saw their dream turning into a reality, since then PSV’s has not won a European Cup. 

So, which is your favourite treble-winning side out of the list of teams mentioned above? Do let us know in the comments below!