Winning a title or trophy builds a club’s ego, and a trophy drought will surely bruise that much-needed pride.
Some teams have never experienced what it is like to emerge as champions, whilst some clubs have tasted titles and glories but spend decades re-chasing that success but to no avail.
As much as winning titles is one interesting aspect and bragging rights for every sport, it’s quite shocking and surprising that some of Europe’s elite clubs have gone on a long drought since they last won any form of silverware, which has made their fans lose their bragging right.
Here are 9 of Europe’s elite clubs with active trophy drought.
- OGC Nice – (France, 23 Years) Last Title Won – (Coupe de France, 1997)
Les Aiglons, as their nickname suggests is one of the most successful football clubs in France with four national champion titles, in addition to three Coupe de France.
Nice won their fourth league title in 1959, to put an end to a terrific decade without a title for the Riviera side. Since the last time they won a Ligue 1 title, they have found it difficult to upset arguably the four biggest clubs in France, perhaps due to their financial muscles compared to Paris Saint Germain, Lyon, Marseille, and Monaco to win the league.
Having only won a league in 1959, the only silverware won by Les Aiglons that seems fresh was the Coupe de France which they won in 1997. If what was written or said about OGC Nice were anything to go by as one of the most successful clubs in France, at least they should be doing better in winning Coupe de France or Coupe de la Ligue if Ligue 1 is beyond their reach.
Unfortunately for Les Aiglons, the only title they last won is Coupe de France in 1997, perhaps they might put an end to their title drought this season. But as it stands, the waiting still continues for OGC Nice fans.
- Sporting Lisbon – (Portugal, 18 Years) Title Last Won – (Primera Liga, 2002)
Sporting Lisbon is one of the ‘Tres Grandes’ (Big Three) football clubs in Portugal alongside rivals Benfica, and Porto that has never been relegated from the top flight of Portuguese football Primera Liga since 1934.
Since the club was founded in 1906, the ‘Green and Whites‘ has won dozens of titles. Sporting is also well known for producing talented players among them are Luis Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Nani who all went on to become mega superstars for their respective clubs.
For many years now, ‘The Leoes’ has been in the shadows of their two Lisbon rivals Porto and Benfica for many years has dominated the Portuguese league and league cups which are Taca de Portugal and Taca de Liga.
The last time Sporting tasted a title was in the 2001-02 season, where they won the Primera Liga under their Romanian manager Laszlo Boloni.
With the Primera Liga in its week 7, and Sporting topping the league with 19 points, although the season is still very young. However, if things remain this way till the end of the Primera Liga campaign, they might be putting an end to their trophy drought since 2002.
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- Borussia Monchengladbach – (Germany, 12 Years) Last Title Won – (Bundesliga II, 2008)
Borussia Monchengladbach is once a dominant force in the Bundesliga with great players such as Jupp Heynckes and Berti Vogt among other great stars in the team. Die Fohlen are one of the finest team in the Bundesliga, also appearing in European competitions almost every season.
In the ’60s and ’70s, they were the best side in Germany winning three straight titles between 1975, 1977 and also got to the European Cup final, since then they’ve never won a top-flight title.
After dominating German football during those periods, things got worse for Die Fohlen financially, and in the end, they were never the same team in the league.
In the 2006-07 season, The Colts got relegated in the 31st matchday after fellow relegation struggler Arminia Bielefeld upset Werder Bremen 3-2, while Monchengladbach lost 1-0 at home to VfB Stuggart, a disappointing result that sealed their relegation story to Bundesliga II.
They got promoted back to the topflight on the 32nd match day of the 2007-08 season, after winning their match against SV Wehen to win the title, and since then winning silverware has been very hard for Die Fohlen to come by.
- Tottenham Hotspur – (England, 12 Years) Title Last Won – (Carling Cup, 2008)
Tottenham Hotspur pulled the chestnut out of the fire to defeat Chelsea at the 2008 League Cup final at the Wembley Stadium to clinch their fourth league cup title. During those periods the White North London side defeated the Blues, Chelsea were arguably one of the best team in world football and the best in English football having enjoyed astronomical investment from their rich Russian club owner Roman Abramovich.
Surprisingly, then former Tottenham boss Juande Ramos led the London side to what seems impossible due to the kind of form Chelsea were then. What made the title unique was that it was the first League Cup final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, having demolished the old Wembley, and the first League Cup final to be played in England since 2000.
Winning the League Cup under Ramos qualified the London side for European competition, UEFA Cup, now UEFA Europa League.
Since that triumphant moment against Chelsea, they’ve not been able to achieve success. The only time they came close to winning something gigantic was during the reign of Mauricio Pochettino who got them to the final of the UEFA Champions League but lost to the same English side in Liverpool as their trophy drought continues.
- Schalke 04 – (Germany, 9 Years) Title Last Won – (DFL Supercup, 2011)
For a club as rich in history, culture, and popularity as Schalke 04, it is somewhat disappointing not to have at least won a single Bundesliga title since it was rename from Oberliga format to Bundesliga.
However, ‘Die Konigsblauen‘, trophy cabinet is somewhat what they would be proud of, having won seven national titles, five DFB-Pokals, and one UEFA Cup, but not as impressive enough as that of their rivals Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund.
Schalke’s current form in the league is certainly nothing to write home about, as losses and draws has continued to be the order of the day for The Royal Blues. Playing in Europe has also been very hard to come by for the German side, for a club who once played in Europe’s competition semi-final looks quite disheartening.
Their moment of joy and triumph last came in the 2011 DFL Supercup final defeating city rival Borussia Dortmund via penalties in what was term the Revierderby DFL Supercup final. Nine years and still counting, and it doesn’t seem Die Konigsblauen would win any form of silverware soon.
- Olympique Lyon – (France, 8 Years) Title Last Won – (Trophee des Champions, 2012)
Olympique Lyonnais was once a dominant force and even had a golden era at the beginning of the millennium, winning seven consecutive league titles the longest streak in French and perhaps world football and an unprecedented feat that hasn’t been equal till now.
During those trophies-laden campaigns, they were also very competitive in European competition specifically the UEFA Champions League, competing with the big boys in the game making their ground ‘Stade Gerland’ a fortress.
To say life has been easy for Lyon since they last won the Ligue 1 is an understatement, although they’ve been able to conjure decent performances in Europe. However, since the Saint Germain Arab billionaire takeover, dominating the Ligue 1 once again has been a difficult route to navigate for ‘Les Gones’.
The last title won by Les Gones was the 2012 ‘Trophee des Champions‘, which was the 17th edition of the French Supercup against league rival and 2011-12 Ligue 1 Champions Montpellier.
The match was played at the Red Bull Arena, Harrison New Jersey far away from the four walls of France, which made it as at that time the fourth consecutive time the competition would be taken place far away from France soil.
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- Olympique De Marseille – (France, 8 Years) Title Last Won – (Coupe de la Ligue, 2012)
The last time Marseille won a trophy former France President Nicolas Sarkozy was still in power. Since winning the title, ‘Les Olympians’ had taken part in 30 domestic or international competitions, without winning a single one.
The 2015-16 French Cup final and Europa League 2017-18 finals looked like Les Olympiens would put a stop to their trophy drought, but they couldn’t as the wait for winning a title once again continue at the Orange Velodrome Stadium. A few days ago their quest in the Champions League came to an end, after dishing out disappointing performances in their group under their Portuguese manager Andreas Villas-Boas.
Crashing out of the Champions League gives credence to how poor they’ve been performing in Ligue 1, as such that further keep them away from dreaming of winning Europe’s most coveted trophy.
With Paris Saint Germain still very much dictating the pace in Ligue 1, it doesn’t look like Les Olympiens trophy drought would end soon.
- Athletic Bilbao – (Spain, 5 Years) Last Title Won – (Supercopa de Espana, 2015)
The Basque side, alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona are the only Spanish topflight side that has never been relegated from La Liga. Los Leones are the fourth most successful club side in Spain since they’re founded for over 122 years now.
The last time they won a league title was in the 1983-84 season beating Los Blancos to the title on goal difference, and also went a step ahead to win a league cup that same season.
Los Leones have been fortunate enough to play in the Europa League final against fellow league opponent Atletico Madrid in 2012 led by Marcelo Bielsa to put a stop to their trophy drought but they failed to achieve that.
Three years after playing in the final of the UEFA Europa League, the Basque side got the opportunity to play in a two-legged 2015 Supercopa de Espana, the first leg was played at the San Mames where Athletic defeated Barcelona 4-0, while in the return leg at Camp Nou they drew the match 1-1 to win their first trophy since 1984.
Perhaps, they might have the opportunity to once again add another title to their trophy cabinet in other to end their five years of trophy drought when they play fellow Basque side Real Sociedad in the final of the Copa Del Rey slated for April 4th, 2021.
- Manchester United – (England, 3 Years) Last Title Won – (UEFA Europa League, 2017)
Manchester United are no doubt one of the biggest clubs in English football, United have won a record 13 Premier League titles since the English topflight football was given a new name in 1992.
To say former manager Sir Alex Ferguson was the man who orchestrated all of United’s title triumph is an understatement because the Scottish gaffer did achieve an unprecedented success at Old Trafford.
The last time United won a trophy outside England was in 2017, which made it three years since they last won a trophy when they triumphed in the UEFA Europa League under the supervision of Jose Mourinho defeating a former European powerhouse Ajax Amsterdam in the final, while the Premier League has lasted a total drought of seven years and still counting.
To think that a club as big as Manchester United, is currently going through a trophy drought in the domestic league for seven years, while European competition has lasted three years is a testament to how poor the club has been since the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.
However as it stands it doesn’t look like the current United team under Ole Gunner Solsjkaer would win a trophy soon, but then we can never say never because it’s football.
Conclusion
Trust me, all of these club’s sides ain’t only Europe’s team going through a trophy drought run, there are still a lot tough. However, these sets of teams are the ones that caught our attention.
Feel free to add yours, if you know of any.
26 years for Everton and counting
THANKS SIR