Behind Manchester City's treble

The victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final helped Man City complete their first prestigious treble in a season. The road for Pep Guardiola's team to defend those titles is still very long and far away.

It is not uncommon for teams to win the treble in one season. There are a total of 8 clubs that have done this, including: Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Celtic, Inter, MU, PSV and most recently Man City .

Winning three titles in one season is one thing, maintaining that status over many years is another. Only Barcelona and Bayern Munich have won the treble more than once (Barcelona in 2008-2009, 2014-2015 and Bayern Munich in 2012-2013, 2019-2020). The fate of clubs after their historic treble achievement in the following season is also different.

MU in the 1998-1999 season and Barcelona (2008-2009, 2015-2016) are cases that still maintained their dominant position in the following seasons, although they could not repeat the treble achievement. MU of Sir Alex Ferguson after winning the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League in the 1998-1999 season still maintained their dominant position in the Premier League for two more seasons. Similarly, Barcelona of Pep Guardiola after winning the treble in the 2008-2009 season continued their success by winning the La Liga championship along with other titles such as the European Super Cup or the FIFA Club World Cup in the 2009-2010 season and that continued to repeat in the time of Luis Enrique in the 2015-2016 season with a double of La Liga and the King's Cup. On the other hand, there have been cases where they have failed to maintain their position after the treble, such as Inter Milan, who won the treble in 2009-2010, but the following season was a disaster. They had to change managers mid-stream when coach Rafael Benitez was replaced by Leonardo, finished second in Serie A, were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and could only collect the Italian Cup.

It was a sobering reminder of the challenge ahead for Guardiola's Man City next season. Striker Erling Haaland has expressed his desire for the Etihad side to successfully defend the treble next season. It is an ambition that will not be easy to achieve because opponents from the Premier League to the Champions League are not willing to stop. Only when Man City continue to maintain the success they have achieved this season by bringing home more titles in the following seasons will they build an empire not only in English football but also on the continent.

WOODEN SPRINGS

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