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Top 7 invincible teams in European football

Top 7 invincible teams in European football

Top 7 invincible teams in European football: Winning the league title is the ultimate crowning moment in the season for any team. The league title represents victory and is a testament of the tem being the best side in the division. This means the champions ought to have dropped the fewest points in the division and have gone down fewer times than the other teams.

However, there have been a few sides in Europe that have completed the season unbeaten. European football has witnessed a total of 119 teams that have gone unbeaten in the season. The below given list consists of those iconic sides. This list only includes entries of sides that have gone invincible in the top tier league of European nations. We will also take a closer look at the most impressive and top invincible teams among them.

Season Nation Club Matches
1 1888–89 England Preston North End 22
2 1897–98 Scotland Celtic 18
3 1898–99 Scotland Rangers 18
4 1905–06 Belgium

Union SG

 18
5 1907–08 Belgium Racing Club de Bruxelles 18
6 1908–09 Belgium Union SG 22
7 1912–13 Austria Rapid Wien 18
8 1912–13 Italy Pro Vercelli 21
9 1913–14 Hungary MTK 18
10 1917–18 Hungary MTK 22
11 1918–19 Netherlands

Ajax

 30
12 1922–23 Italy Genoa 28
13 1924–25 Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 18
14 1926–27 Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 18
15 1926–27 Northern Ireland Belfast Celtic 22
16 1928–29 Northern Ireland Belfast Celtic 26
17 1929–30 Spain Athletic Bilbao 18
18 1931–32 Spain Real Madrid 18
19 1931–32 Hungary Ferencváros 22
20 1933–34 Belgium Union SG 26
21 1934–35 Austria Rapid Wien 22
22 1935–36 Hungary MTK 26
23 1937 Albania Tirana 18
24 1939–40 Luxembourg Stade Dudelange 18
25 1939–40 Switzerland Servette 22
26 1942–43 Germany Dresdner SC 23
27 1943–44 Bohemia and Moravia Sparta Prague 26
28 1948–49 Bulgaria

Levski Sofia

 18
29 1949–50 Sweden

Malmö

 22
30 1950 Yugoslavia Hajduk Split 18
31 1951 Albania Dinamo Tirana 26
32 1951 Bulgaria Spartak Sofia 22
33 1952 Hungary Honvéd 26
34 1953–54 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 22
35 1954 Albania Partizani 22
36 1955 Albania Dinamo Tirana 30
37 1957–58 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 22
38 1958–59 Austria Wiener Sport-Club 26
39 1962–63 Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 22
40 1963–64 Greece Panathinaikos 30
41 1963–64 Albania Partizani 22
42 1966 Hungary Vasas 26
43 1970–71 Luxembourg Union Luxembourg 22
44 1972–73 Portugal Benfica 30
45 1976–77 Malta Floriana 18
46 1977–78 Portugal Benfica 30
47 1978 Iceland Valur 18
48 1978–79 Italy Perugia 30
49 1980–81 Northern Ireland Glentoran 22
50 1982–83 East Germany Berliner FC Dynamo 26
51 1984–85 Cyprus Omonia 26
52 1985–86 Turkey Galatasaray 36
53 1986–87 Romania Steaua București 34
54 1987–88 Romania

Steaua București

 34
55 1988–89 Romania Steaua București 34
56 1991–92 Romania Dinamo București 34
57 1991–92 Italy AC Milan 34
58 1991–92 Malta Valletta F.C. 22
59 1991–92 Turkey Beşiktaş 30
60 1992–93 Macedonia Vardar 34
61 1992–93 Estonia Norma 22
62 1993 Armenia Ararat Yerevan 28
63 1993–94 Israel Maccabi Haifa 39
64 1994 Armenia Shirak 28
65 1994 Latvia Skonto 22
66 1994–95 Netherlands Ajax 34
67 1994–95 Macedonia Vardar 30
68 1994–95 Estonia Flora 24
69 1995 Latvia Skonto 18
70 1995–96 Armenia Pyunik 22
71 1995–96 Macedonia Sileks 28
72 1995–96 Cyprus APOEL 26
73 1995–96 Poland Widzew Łódź 34
74 1996–97 Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 22
75 1997 Latvia Skonto 24
76 1997–98 Andorra Principat 20
77 1997–98 Azerbaijan Kapaz 26
78 1997–98 Wales Barry Town 38
79 1998–99 FR Yugoslavia Partizan 24
80 Obilić 24
81 1998–99 Andorra Principat 22
82 1998–99 Lithuania Žalgiris Vilnius 23
83 2000 Estonia Levadia 28
84 2001–02 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 26
85 2003 Armenia Pyunik 28
86 2003 Estonia Flora 28
87 2003–04 England Arsenal 38
88 2004–05 Serbia and Montenegro Partizan 30
89 2005–06 Cyprus Apollon Limassol 26
90 2006–07 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 30
91 2006–07 Moldova

FC Sheriff

 36
92 2007–08 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 33
93 2007–08 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia 30
94 2007–08 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta 32
95 2009–10 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 30
96 2009–10 Serbia Partizan 30
97 2009–10 Andorra FC Santa Coloma 20
98 2009–10 Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps 18
99 2010 Norway Rosenborg 30
100

2010–11

 Portugal Porto 30
101 2010–11 Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps 20
102 2010–11 Malta Valletta 28
103 2011–12 Italy

Juventus

 38
104 2011–12 Hungary Debrecen 30
105 2011–12 Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps 20
106 2012–13 Portugal Porto 30
107 2014 Iceland Stjarnan 22
108 2014–15 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 36
109 2014–15 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 26
110 2016–17 Scotland Celtic 38
111 2018 Estonia Nõmme Kalju 36
112 2018–19 Greece PAOK 30
113 2020 Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 18
114 2020–21 Scotland Rangers 38
115 2020–21 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 38
116 2020–21 Czech Republic Slavia Prague 34
117 2021–22 Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps 20
118 2022 Faroe Islands KÍ Klaksvík 27
119 2022–23 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 37

7. Preston North End – 1888–89 Football League (England)

We start things off with the 1st ever team that went unbeaten over the course of the season. The 1888–89 Football League was the first edition of a professional league not just in England but anywhere in the world. Hence, this side deserves more than a worthy mention in this list.

Preston North End registered 18 wins in the season and just 4 games ended in a draw. They comfortably finished 11 points clear of Aston Villa. The Lilywhites also won the FA cup that season to complete the double.

6. Dresdner SC – 1943 German football championship

While winning the league title without suffering a defeat is an extremely rare feat that only few teams have achieved, even fewer sides have done it without dropping any points. One of the first sides to achieve this unfathomable task was Dresdner SC.

While the world was going through the most brutal war in history, professional football in Germany continued. Dresdner SC first won the regional 1942–43 Gauliga with a perfect record. They would then go on to compete and win every game in the 1943 German football championship.

5. S.L. Benfica – 1977–78 Primeira Divisão (Portugal)

Remember in the starting of this article I mentioned winning the league as invincibles is the greatest achievement for a club domestically. Surprisingly, being invincible does not guarantee you the league title. Benfica learnt that the hard way in 1978. While there have been a few more examples across Europe of this rare case, this features due to the finest of margins involved.

Benfica, having won the previous three titles were favourites to make it a 4th consecutive league. However, the sides 21 wins and 9 draws was not enough. This is because Porto, despite losing a game, managed 22 wins and seven draws. Only goal difference was able to separate the team who both had 51 points each.

4. AC Milan – 1991–92 Serie A

AC Milan was undoubtedly the most dominant team in the world in the 1990s. However, it is this season that truly separated Milan from the rest. The club registered 22 wins and 12 draws in the 34 season game. This was enough for the side to win the title, while having a eight points lead over Juventus. A stat worth mentioning is that the club had dropped six points already in their first five matches. This included a three match winless run.

3. AFC Ajax – 1994–95 Eredivisie

Perhaps, this Ajax side is the greatest team to have ever played club football in Europe. The club won the title, being seven points clear of runner up Roda JC. They registered 27 wins and seven draws in that season. However, the factor that set this team apart from others top invincible teams in thai list is their performance in the champions League. They ended up lifting that trophy as well without suffering a defeat there.

2. Arsenal – 2003–04 FA Premier League

Perhaps the most infamous side among the top invincible teams in Europe, Arsenal were awarded a gold trophy for this feat. They registered 26 wins and 12 draws in a highly competitive league. With 9 points, they finished, eleven points clear of 2nd place Chelsea. This would turn out to be the only trophy the team lifted that season. However, they are only the 2nd team and the most recent to have achieved this feat in the top division in England.

1. Rangers F.C. – 2020–21 Scottish Premiership

The Scottish Premiership is a division that has witnessed a number of invincible teams before. Celtics had achieved the feat just a few years earlier along with securing the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup. However, this side in my opinion deserves a mention ahead of those formations due to it being against all odds.

Rangers in the 2010s suffered a down period for the club and went down from the 1st division. They were unsuccessful even after a return under a number of managers. Stepped in an inexperienced Steven Gerrard to give the side their first league title in nearly a decade.

Gers finished with 32 wins and just 6 draws. They finished a whooping 25 points ahead of arch-rivals Celtics, with 102 points as centurions. This also remains the last Premiership the team has won.

With the current level competitiveness and financial might of clubs, invincible clubs will prove rarer and rarer as the sport progresses with time. However, we are certain to see a number of clubs being added to this list against all odds.

Rohan Premkumar
Rohan Premkumar
A lifelong football fan, brought into this industry by the love of football and the passion for analytics. I strive to provide my readers with insightful and engaging coverage of the beautiful game.