In football, a double is momentous enough – but a treble elevates an already fine team to another level. It’s a feat rarely achieved in the European game, giving any club that manages it a special place in history. To qualify for our list, the treble success had to comprise the league title, a major domestic cup and one of the two biggest UEFA trophies (the European Cup / Champions League and UEFA Cup / Europa League).
IFK Goteborg, 1981/82 One of Sweden’s most successful clubs, IFK Goteborg became the first side from a Nordic country to win a major UEFA competition. Under Sven-Goran Eriksson, IFK lifted their first of two UEFA Cups in 1982, defeating Bundesliga champions Hamburg 4-0 on aggregate in the final. They also won the 1981/82 Swedish Cup and 1982 league title.
Liverpool, 1983/84 Joe Fagan managed Liverpool for two years, and he picked up all of his silverware in his first campaign at the helm. Fagan’s Reds, starring the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, did a treble of First Division title, League Cup and European Cup – the Merseyside giants’ fourth – in 1983/84. Galatasaray, 1999/2000 Galatasaray pulled off quite the upset to complete their 1999/2000 treble, beating Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal on penalties in the final of the UEFA Cup.
Gala, whose players at the time included Gheorghe Hagi and Claudio Taffarel, had already secured a domestic double, beating Istanbul rivals Besiktas to the Turkish top-flight title and winning a 5-3 thriller against A.
