The Treble
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The Treble is a term in association football that generally refers to a club winning their country's top tier league, primary domestic cup and continental level cup competition in the same season. In general, these may be referred to as the European Treble (often referred to as The Treble) - for a UEFA confederation team winning their domestic league, primary domestic cup and European Cup (UEFA Champions League since 1992) in the same season, the Continental Treble - the equivalent of the European Treble for a different confederation and often over a calendar year and the Domestic Treble - consisting of domestic league and two domestic cup wins.
The FA Community Shield (or other similar minor trophies), UEFA Super Cup (or Super Cups from other confederations), Intercontinental Cup, or FIFA Club World Cup are rarely counted as part of The Treble.
It should be noted that it is possible to win more than three top tier trophies in a single season - in most countries, the maximum possible is four or The Quadruple. This has been achieved only once - by Celtic in 1967, and is considered a superior achievement to The Treble.
A distinct Treble is the International Treble, consisting of major international level continental cup (for UEFA, the European Championships), the FIFA World Cup and the Confederations Cup. It differs from other trebles in that it is impossible to win in a single season or calendar year; a nation achieving the International treble is considered to be the holder of all three trophies at the same time.
It is possible, 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 (in England, the FA Cup and League Cup), to win three other trophies in a single season. This has led to a large amount of controversy, particularly in English football with regards to the use of the term 'The Treble' or 'Treble' as a proper noun. The naming controversy has primarily arisen due to the rivalry between Manchester United FC, winners of the European Treble in 1999, and Liverpool FC winners of UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup in 2001, described by fans and club as 'The Treble'[1] despite the relative lower standard of the League Cup and UEFA Cup. This has led to opposing fans (and later some Liverpool fans, in criticism of former manager Gerard Houllier[2]) to dub the combination as the Mickey Mouse Treble.
In general, a consensus view within English football is that winning three trophies in a season is sometimes referred to as a treble or treble as a common noun, with The Treble or Treble as a proper noun referring to the more prestigious European Treble, or in some cases the Continental, Domestic and International Treble variants.
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[edit] The European Treble - 'The Treble'
The most high profile type of treble is the European Treble called simply The Treble. It consists of a club winning their country's top tier league, the country's major domestic cup competition, and the continental championship, the European Cup/Champions League, all within a single season.
Only four teams have achieved this rare distinction:
| Club | Nation | Year Won | Titles won for the treble |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic F.C. |  Scotland |
1967 | Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup, European Cup |
| AFC Ajax |  Netherlands |
1972 | Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, European Cup |
| PSV Eindhoven | Netherlands |
1988 | Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, European Cup |
| Manchester United F.C. |  England |
1999 | English Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League |
- ¹ - Celtic F.C. achieved their Treble as part of their Quadruple.
Due to the difficulty of this amazing achievement, the European Treble is yet to be defended. PSV Eindhoven completed The Double in the 1988-89 season, yet lost to Real Madrid in the quarter finals of the European Cup. Manchester United chose, under pressure from the English FA, not to enter the FA Cup in 1999-00, instead contesting the FIFA World Club Championships. Celtic FC were knocked out in the first round of the 1967-68 European cup by FC Dynamo Kyiv. AFC Ajax have come the closest, retaining the Dutch Eredivisie and European Cup in 1973, but failing to win the KNVB Cup.
[edit] The Continental Treble
Continental trebles have the same definition as the European Treble but are for teams from other continents. While perhaps not as prestigious as the European Treble, they are sometimes harder to accomplish as some continental championships run during a calendar year while domestic play runs an autumn-to-spring season, or vice versa. To date, no treble has been won by a South American or Oceania club. South American countries, with the exception of Brazil, have no domestic cup. From 2001 onwards, due to the busy schedule in the first semester in Brazil, teams playing in the Copa Libertadores have not been allowed to participate in the Copa do Brasil in the same year.
[edit] The Domestic Treble
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.
- ¹ - The League of Ireland Shield was the forerunner to the FAI League Cup.
- ² - Sun Hei's treble was part of a domestic quadruple. That season they also won the Hong Kong League Cup.
[edit] The International Treble
This section lists National Teams who have been holders of three trophies at the same time. These Trebles are impossible to achieve in a single season, and generally consist of a team's continental championship, the World Cup and the Confederations Cup.
- Brazil - In 1997 the Brazilian National Team completed a Treble of 1994 FIFA World Cup, the Copa America 1997 and the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. This was the first Treble achieved by a national team.
- France - In 2001 the French National Team completed a similar Treble of 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2000 UEFA European Football Championship and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.
- Brazil - In 2005 the Brazilian National Team completed another Treble of 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Copa America 2004 and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
[edit] Career Treble
A career treble can be used to refer to a player or manager having achieved a Treble - winning the national trophies and continental cup making up a Continental Treble or The Treble in their career rather than a single season, either at club level or as an International Treble. Notably, Johan Cruyff has achieved a career treble at club level as both a player for Ajax - consisting of the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup and European Cup, and manager of FC Barcelona winning the Copa del Rey, La Liga and European Cup
[edit] Other
It is possible in many countries to win three other trophies in a single season, or in a calendar year. These are generally not referred to in the same manner as any of The Treble variants, consisting of a trophy or trophies not considered the top tier competition domestically or on a continental level. Most commonly, the three consist of a domestic cup, a second domestic cup or league title and the UEFA Cup although examples exist for other confederations.
In general, any 3 trophy combination that is not the European Treble, International Treble, Continental Treble or Domestic Treble should be called 'a treble' or 'treble' using a common noun; it should not be referred as such where the term may be confused with 'The Treble' or 'Treble'.
Notable examples of clubs winning three trophies in a season include:
- IFK Göteborg - The 1982 team won the Swedish Championship, Svenska Cupen and the UEFA Cup. They also won the domestic league, Allsvenskan, which at the time did not decide the Swedish champions, but only decided which eight teams that would play the play-off for the championship. Note: the UEFA Cup and the Svenska Cupen were played in 1981-1982 (autumn-spring); the Allsvenskan and the Swedish Championship were played in 1982 (spring-autumn).
- Liverpool - The 1984 team became the first English club to win the league and two cup competitions in the same season when they won the League Championship, the League Cup and the European Cup.
- Galatasaray - The 2000 team won the Turkish Premier Super League, Turkish Football Cup, UEFA Cup.
- Liverpool - The 2001 team won three trophies; the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.
- FC Porto - The 2003 team won the Portuguese SuperLiga, Cup of Portugal, and UEFA Cup.
- CSKA Moscow - The 2005 team became the first Russian club to win a major European Competition, the UEFA Cup. They also won the Russian Premier League and the Russian Cup.
- CF Pachuca - The 2007 team won the Copa Sudamericana, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and the Mexican Clausura. They also finished the Mexican League in first place but in Mexico there is no trophy for such achievement. In winning both the Copa Sudamericana and the Champions Cup, they have become one of the only teams in the world to have ever won a continental trophy from more than one continent. In addition, the club won the 2007 Superliga in August 2007 which along with the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and the Mexican Clausura would be considered a calendar year treble.
[edit] Near Trebles
There have been several instances of teams narrowly missing out on The Treble, either having lost a top tier domestic or continental cup final or missed out on the domestic league title. Some of the more notable occurrences include,
near European Treble:
- Liverpool - The 1977 team won the English League, lost to Manchester United 1-2 in the FA Cup final, and beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 to win the European Cup.
- Olympique Marseille - The 1991 team won the Ligue 1 title, but lost in the finals of both the European Cup, to Red Star Belgrade on penalties, and the French Cup, to Monaco.
- AFC Ajax Amsterdam - The 1995 team won the European Cup and the Eredivisie, but failed to win the Dutch Cup.
- Bayern Munich - The 1999 team won the Bundesliga, but finished runner-up in the German Cup and Champions League. Having secured the league title, Bayern lost the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final to Manchester United, who ironically, by beating Bayern, completed their own treble. Bayern subsequently went on to lose the Cup final against Werder Bremen.
- FC Porto - The 2004 José Mourinho-coached team became champions of Portugal and won the UEFA Champions League, but lost to Benfica in the final of the Cup of Portugal.
near Domestic Treble:
- Manchester United - The 1994 team lost 3-1 to Aston Villa in the League Cup final and won the English Premier League and the FA Cup
- Chelsea - The 2007 team coached by José Mourinho won the FA Cup and the League Cup but missed out on a Domestic treble by finishing second in the Premier League.
In addition, there have been other instances whereby a club narrowly missed out on winning three trophies in a season:
- Everton - The 1985 team won the English League and European Cup Winners Cup, but lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup, 1-0.
- Juventus - The 1995 team won the Serie A and the Italian Cup, but lost to Parma F.C. in the Uefa Cup final.
In 1973 has won the league and finished runner-up in the Italian Cup final and the European Cup final.
In 1983 finished in the 2nd place in the Serie A, has won the Italian Cup and finished runner-up in the European Cup final.
- SC Internacional - The 2006 team won Copa Libertadores but finished second in both the Campeonato Brasileiro and the Rio Grande do Sul state championship.
- Rangers F.C. - The 2008 team won Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup, but finished runners-up to Celtic F. C. in Scottish Premier League and lost UEFA Cup final to Zenit St. Petersburg.
[edit] 'Treble Horror'
So named after Bayer Leverkusen's 2001-02 season, the term is reserved for a side that completes a 'runners-up' Treble - being losing finalists in the UEFA Champions League, domestic cup and runners-up in the domestic league[3].
So far, the 'Treble Horror' has only occurred once - to Bayer Leverkusen in 2002. In the German Bundesliga the team surrendered a five point lead at the top of the table over the last three games of the season to finish second behind Borussia Dortmund, lost the Champions League final 2-1 to Real Madrid, and lost the German domestic cup final 4-2 to Schalke 04.
A second lesser 'treble horror' occurred for Chelsea in 2007-2008. Chelsea lost the League Cup final to Tottenham Hotspur,came runners-up in the Premier League to Manchester United and lost the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final after a penalty shootout to Manchester United in Moscow on 21st May 2008. Michael Ballack who played for Chelsea in 2007-08 also played for Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ BBC SPORT | PHOTO GALLERIES | Liverpool salutes its treble heroes
- ^ soccer365.com | features | Houllier`s Trophy Highs And Horror Buys
- ^ http://www.arsenalvision.co.uk/articles.php?articleid=467
