6 managers who have won the treble in the UEFA Champions League era
In the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League final, two teams fought it out for the right to be called Champions of Europe, and also to complete a treble for the season.
Both Bayern Munich and Paris St. Germain went into the final having won their domestic league and the domestic cup. In PSG's 50th year, a commemoration with a treble would have been momentous for their Qatari owners, for whom the holy grail has been success in Europe's premier club competition.
For Bayern on the other hand, a treble was surely beyond the wildest of their dreams when Niko Kovac was sacked and Hansi Flick was appointed as the caretaker coach in November after a 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. Bayern were six points off the Bundesliga summit then, but they haven't looked back since.
Bayern's treble winners from the 2019-20 season, though, are not the first of their kind. There have been more five other teams that have won the league, the domestic cup and the UEFA Champions League since the competition was renamed and rebranded in 1992.
Jock Stein's Celtic in 1966, a Johan Cruyff-inspired Ajax in 1972 and Guus Hiddink's PSV Eindhoven in 1988 have all achieved the feat in the pre-Champions League era.
Here's a look at the six teams to have achieved a treble since 1992.
#6 Sir Alex Ferguson - Manchester United | 1998-99
The 1998-99 season was one of the pinnacles for Manchester United in the great reign of Sir Alex Ferguson as the head coach of the club.
The final of the UEFA Champions League, which rounded it all off, was the perfect way to put the icing on top of an already very sweet cake.
At the Nou Camp, Manchester United were trailing 1-0 to Bayern Munich as the game headed into injury time. However, in one of the greatest Champions League comebacks ever, Manchester United turned things around with an equaliser from Teddy Sheringham, before current Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored a sensational late winner to break Bayern hearts.
Even the Premier League title in the 1998-99 season was a close-run affair, with Manchester United needing until the final day to wrap up the title. They needed a win on the final day against Tottenham Hotspur, but found themselves behind to an early Les Ferdinand goal.
However, goals from David Beckham and Andy Cole either side of half-time gave Manchester United the win they needed to secure the title.
The FA Cup final, though, was a much more comfortable affair for Manchester United, with Ferguson's side winning 2-0, thanks to goals from Sheringham and Paul Scholes.
#5 Pep Guardiola - FC Barcelona | 2008-09
In Pep Guardiola's first season in charge of the Barcelona first team, he created history by leading the Blaugrana to the first treble in their fabled history. The Champions League final in Rome confirmed that team's place in history.
Barcelona went into that final against Manchester United, with the odds being pretty even for both sides, as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo faced off for only the third time in their careers, at that point.
United started the final well, but Samuel Eto'o broke the early Red Devils momentum with a goal against the run of play. Midway through the second half, Messi rose highest to head home a Xavi cross, and confirm what was Barcelona's third UEFA Champions League title at the time.
Barcelona were utterly dominant in La Liga as well, as they won the league with 87 pounts from 38 games, nine points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid. Guardiola's men scored 105 goals in the league that season, inspired by the sensational front three of Messi, Eto'o and Thierry Henry, with Xavi and Andres Iniesta chipping in with some great work as well.
In the final of the Copa Del Rey, Barcelona ran out comfortable 4-1 winners against Athletic Club de Bilbao.
#4 Jose Mourinho - Inter Milan | 2009-10
In typical Jose Mourinho style, Inter Milan's 2009-10 season was hardly flashy, but finished with the three biggest trophies. Inter Milan were a fiendishly difficult side to play against that season, with Mourinho getting them organised, compact and also good enough to provide their goal-scorers with enough chances.
A front three of Samuel Eto'o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev might have been a little underwhelming in paper at the start of that season, but Mourinho made it one of the more frightening attacks in Europe, with Wesley Sneijder behind them providing the creativity.
In the Champions League final that year, Inter Milan defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu after a brace from Diego Milito. That Champions League run for Inter also included a famous victory against Barcelona in the semifinal, which was followed by Mourinho's now-famous sprint of "honour" around the Camp Nou after the second leg.
They only managed to wrap up the Serie A title on the final day, though, with AS Roma having pushed them all the way. Inter finished with 82 points from 38 games, just two ahead of Roma.
The Serie A's top two sides also met in the final of the Coppa Italia that year, with Milito again doing the star turn for Inter, scoring the winner in the 39th minute.
Alongwith completing a historic treble for Inter Milan, Mourinho also became only the third coach to win the Champions League with two different clubs. He had already won it with Porto in 2004.