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WW Lynchpin
Clough won the title with Derby too. The guy has quite the list of achievements to be fair.What Clough did with Forest in the league was incredible and then he won two European Cups
Clough won the title with Derby too. The guy has quite the list of achievements to be fair.What Clough did with Forest in the league was incredible and then he won two European Cups
Very well could be. The last 10 games, I remember, were almost a competition between Depor and Barca on who could slip the most.Deportivo won La Liga in 2000. Wasn't it with the lowest points total ever or something?
I think all their players were from or around Auxerre, which made it even more remarkable.Isn't Auxerre itself a very small city / town with a very low population? A remarkable success story.
Even there though, I don't think that compares to Leicester's 2016 title win in terms of the surprise factor.
Auxerre were a solid top 4 club in Ligue 1 for a few years before their 1996 title win. Also around that time (and for much of its history) Ligue 1 was incredibly open and competitive with 7 different teams winning the title during the 90s. I think 6 different teams won the title in 6 consecutive years from 1994-1999.
Montpellier winning Ligue 1 in 2012 with such a small budget, beating PSG who had been taken over by QSI the previous summer and were already spending big money was a huge surprise. But even there I think that Leicester's title was still the bigger surprise, as Montpellier had finished 5th and qualified for the Europa League a couple of seasons earlier, and in the period between Lyon's domination during the 00s and PSG's domination starting from the next season, again Ligue 1 was very open and competitive. That was in sharp contrast to the Premier League from 1996-2015 which was anything but.
The term "thin skinned" comes to mind with this commentNot might but will. Being one of the top two teams in league history throws your little silly dig out the window.
I would however put united in 92/93 as a non elite team. At the time you had 7 leagues but not since 67. You were relegated and sat 11 leagues off the top elite team.
FC Thun in the Swiss league in 2009-2010. Now, i have neither a clue about this league, apart from 3 teams, nor about the context of this campaign. But it was the first time i ve heard them, and it was the first time they became champions.
You are right, I m sorry. I don't know why in my head they were championsThey won the second division that season, they were never champions
Another poster pointed out too. I was completely sure and obviously wrong and i m sorry.FC Basel became Swiss Champions in 2010. Where did you get this wrong Information from and why didn't you check it?
They certaintly weren't nothing but the 5 seasons before that they were 13th, 9th , 7th , 7th and 6th so hardly enjoying their best period in German football. You are right on the second point as he joined them in 2008 but what I meant was he hadn't completely established the team/ style he wanted , for example after that year they were 5th, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd. Not trying to take anything away from Wolfsburg as it's a fantastic achievement but nothing wrong with a bit of further analysis into how it happened1. you make it sound like Dortmund were nothing without Klopp
2. It wasn’t pre-Klopp
There is literally nothing surprising about that oneSevilla won the Uefa Cup in 2006-2007
Wow I honestly hadn’t realised Klopp made such a dramatic impact on them. I remember Dortmund being a force in the late 90s and they even won a European Cup, but I hadn’t realised they had dropped off the pace so much.They certaintly weren't nothing but the 5 seasons before that they were 13th, 9th , 7th , 7th and 6th so hardly enjoying their best period in German football. You are right on the second point as he joined them in 2008 but what I meant was he hadn't completely established the team/ style he wanted , for example after that year they were 5th, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd. Not trying to take anything away from Wolfsburg as it's a fantastic achievement but nothing wrong with a bit of further analysis into how it happened
From memory they had a pretty good team in the early 00s. Rosicky was very influential in number 10 role and they had Koller and Marcio Amouso scoring hatfuls upfrontWow I honestly hadn’t realised Klopp made such a dramatic impact on them. I remember Dortmund being a force in the late 90s and they even won a European Cup, but I hadn’t realised they had dropped off the pace so much.
I guess you are slightly more right than I previously gave you credit for!
Worth mentioning that in that season refs were assigned randomly to the games.Two big Série A ones.
First was Verona in 1985, against stacked teams. Maradona at Napoli, Platini at Juventus, Falcão at Roma, Zico at Udinese etc...
I didn’t remember that part. It’s interesting though, and intriguing. It’s probably more worrying than anything else!Worth mentioning that in that season refs were assigned randomly to the games.
Not only the winner was a surprise. Also the top 4 or top 5 in that season were quite unexpected.
Worth mentioning that it was also the last season of random referee selection.
Might be a stupid question, but how are refs usually assigned to games in Seria A?Worth mentioning that in that season refs were assigned randomly to the games.
Not only the winner was a surprise. Also the top 4 or top 5 in that season were quite unexpected.
Worth mentioning that it was also the last season of random referee selection.
I think that one is my favourite. What happened to them the season after? Sold their best players?Over here in Denmark it was a major shock when Herfølge BK won the 99/00 championship out of nowhere
They finished the 33 games with 56points and a +3 goal difference
They were relegated the following season dissapeared into obscurity before merging with some neighboring clubs.
Also Silkeborg winning the 94 league title was a major upset
Were these great performances by the eventual champions or a combination of subpar seasons by the bigger clubs, ala Leicester 15-16?Two big Série A ones.
First was Verona in 1985, against stacked teams. Maradona at Napoli, Platini at Juventus, Falcão at Roma, Zico at Udinese etc...
They were in Série B a few years prior and it’s their sole Série A title.
Elkjaer and Briegel probably the two big stars in that team.
Sampdoria also only have one Scudetto win but that story is a bit different. It is still an incredible feat because by 90/91, Série A was approaching it’s very peak, but they had never finished above 4th place in their history.
This was more a story of a team with serious quality though, Pagliuca, Lombardo, Vialli, Mancini, Vierchowod coming together at the right time for a fairytale finish.
Another fun aspect of that game was Felix Magath (whose previous job was the Bayern post) substituting keepers in the dying minutes of the game for no apparent reason.Regarding Wolfsburg's title win in 2009, I'll never forget this goal from Grafite during their 5-1 win over Bayern:
I remember it so well. We had to beat them to all but secure the league and the Sky commentator mentioned they hadn’t scored a home goal all year long when about a minute later they got a penalty. Thankfully Edwin saved it and United won 1-0 and were champions the next day.5 years before City won their title in 2012, they scored just 10 home league goals in 2006/2007 under Pearce, including 0 after New Year's Eve. That was even fewer than Derby in 2007/2008 or Sunderland in 2002/2003 or 2005/2006.
They truly won the lottery when the Sheikh bought them up.5 years before City won their title in 2012, they scored just 10 home league goals in 2006/2007 under Pearce, including 0 after New Year's Eve. That was even fewer than Derby in 2007/2008 or Sunderland in 2002/2003 or 2005/2006.
I remember one my teachers at school at the time was a season ticket holder, and had to miss the game in which they scored 3 goals (I think against Fulham) due to illness. So he went to 18 home league games that season, only saw them score 7 goals, and saw them fail to score in 13 of those games. Must have been pretty grim.
I remember 2001 well. Schalke game had already finished and they all went onto the pitch at their old ground to celebrate. Bayern scored from a free kick inside the box didn't they, I assume for a back pass so perhaps the Hamburg keeper was in on things....Hamburg had actually scored in 89th minute so guess that's the Bayern equivalent of 2012.Another fun aspect of that game was Felix Magath (whose previous job was the Bayern post) substituting keepers in the dying minutes of the game for no apparent reason.
Bundesliga was a different competition though before say 2013, in the 00s Dortmund, Bremen, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg won it. Schalke and Leverkusen came extremely close, too. So Wolfsburg's win, while suprising and impressive, wasn't nearly as big an upset as some of the other cases in this thread.
Schalke and Leverkusen especially botched their titles in exquisite fashion:
https://betting.betfair.com/footbal...-the-four-minute-championship-200515-723.html
Another one in 2007 when they traveled to Dortmund with the promise to win the title at their rival's ground and get them relegated in the process only to collapse in the most pathetic fashion.
Or Leverkusen dropping the title on the last matchday by losing 0-2 in Munich suburb Unterhaching, courtesy of a Ballack own goal and two years later dropping a 5 point lead in the final three games.
Agreed. Even my team Blackburn were better than City before that takeover (finishing above them in 5 out of the previous 6 seasons). They didn't overtake the likes of Villa and Everton until the 2nd season post-takeover, notably after their huge spending spree during the summer of 2009 including the acrimonious pursuit of Lescott when Hughes called Everton a small club.They truly won the lottery when the Sheikh bought them up.
Yes Schalke were champions for 4 minutes in 2001 and then for 8 minutes in 2007 (albeit earlier in the day and not after their game had ended like in 2001) before Patrik Andersson and Thomas Hitzlsperger respectively spoilt their dreams.Another fun aspect of that game was Felix Magath (whose previous job was the Bayern post) substituting keepers in the dying minutes of the game for no apparent reason.
Bundesliga was a different competition though before say 2013, in the 00s Dortmund, Bremen, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg won it. Schalke and Leverkusen came extremely close, too. So Wolfsburg's win, while suprising and impressive, wasn't nearly as big an upset as some of the other cases in this thread.
Schalke and Leverkusen especially botched their titles in exquisite fashion:
https://betting.betfair.com/footbal...-the-four-minute-championship-200515-723.html
Another one in 2007 when they traveled to Dortmund with the promise to win the title at their rival's ground and get them relegated in the process only to collapse in the most pathetic fashion.
Or Leverkusen dropping the title on the last matchday by losing 0-2 in Munich suburb Unterhaching, courtesy of a Ballack own goal and two years later dropping a 5 point lead in the final three games.
Michael Ball stamped on Ronaldo's stomach during that game didn't he.I remember it so well. We had to beat them to all but secure the league and the Sky commentator mentioned they hadn’t scored a home goal all year long when about a minute later they got a penalty. Thankfully Edwin saved it and United won 1-0 and were champions the next day.
Considering the guy was loaned out from Schalke and a local academy player of theirs that that would be a truly exceptional twist. The whole four minutes were complete madness, someone told people at Schalke the other game was over, fans were all over the pitch, everyone celebrating and suddenly the feed from the Bayern game appears on the info screens...I remember 2001 well. Schalke game had already finished and they all went onto the pitch at their old ground to celebrate. Bayern scored from a free kick inside the box didn't they, I assume for a back pass so perhaps the Hamburg keeper was in on things....Hamburg had actually scored in 89th minute so guess that's the Bayern equivalent of 2012.
Came here to post this. What's more impressive is that they won it in 1998 - the season between BVB's CL win and Bayern's CL final appearanceKaiserslautern won the Bundesliga right after getting promoted
It was just a back pass from his defender, picking it up must have been a brain fart under pressure. Schalke fans smelled a rat, because supposedly these things never never got sanctioned in the real world and because Merk had indicated 3 minutes of stoppage time and the kick had been taken in the 90th+5th minute - missing that this was caused by two minutes passing between the free kick being awarded and its execution.O.k didn't know the background. Will watch the highlights later on to see what happened (can remember Andersson still hammering in the FK despite all the players on the line). Must've been a very obvious one for Merk to award it considering it was practically the last kick of the game.
Wanna count Monaco in this from a few years ago. They had some quality players, topped PSG, and went to the Semi(?) of the CL.
Most of their side especially midfield and attack went on to some big teams too.