5 superclubs you didn't know existed
The mention of the word “superclubs” brings forth a huge list of names ranging from Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Germany to Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in England.
The list, in fact, goes on, but most of the names on the list obviously belong to the top leagues in the world.
Also read: 5 famous football clubs that do not exist anymore
However, there is a select set of clubs, whose trophy cabinets and domestic records trump even that of the European elite and almost all of them are non-European clubs. Here, we delve into five such superclubs whose existence is barely known and yet their exploits on the football pitch are worthy of a mention.
#5 Al Ahly, Egypt
Al Ahly, meaning “the national”, are the most successful club in the history of Egyptian football and have never been relegated since their inception in 1907. Further, they have won a whopping 38 league titles and 35 national cups, along with a record eight African Champions Leagues. This has led to the Egyptian giants being named the African Club of the Century by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Nicknamed “The Red Devils”, similar to the title held by Manchester United in England, Al Ahly are joint-second in terms of the number of international titles won – 20 – along with Barcelona and trail Real Madrid by a solitary title.
Playing in the 75000 capacity Cairo International Stadium, Al Ahly went an entire season unbeaten in 2005 (46 games) and won five of the six available trophies as well. Now, that is a tremendous achievement in any league, and Al Ahly are definitely a superclub irrespective of their global popularity.