6 most unlikely triumphs in world football
Leicester City’s Premier League title win is definitely groundbreaking. In this day and age when money plays a huge role in a club’s success, the Foxes have defied the odds and turned the footballing world upside down.
However, the Foxes weren’t the first team to achieve the improbable. Several others have conquered in the footballing world following a similar pattern of results. Of course, the manner in which Leicester have achieved the feat, beating odds of 5000/1 to lift the trophy is something incredible. But again there have been others who have defied the laws of logic to become champions
Here are 6 remarkable stories of underdogs who overachieved.
6) Deportivo La Coruna – Winners of La Liga 1999/2000
Deportivo are currently a yo-yo club in Spain. They have suffered relegation twice in the last 6 years, both in 2011 and 2013, but now seemed to have settled in the Spanish top tier. The likelihood of them winning a La Liga title remains small.
But in 2000, they defied the odds to lift the most coveted trophy in Spanish football. The minnows beat the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona to claim the number one spot in La Liga. Club president Lendoiro hired manager Javier Irueta with the intention of building a squad that could compete.
Irueta did exactly that and spent money on the likes of striker Pauleta, Brazilian midfielder Emerson, and defender Joan Capdevila. The investment in the squad paid off and Depor enjoyed the most successful period in the club’s history.
They went on to win La Liga that year, beating second-placed Barcelona by a margin of 5 points. Real Madrid only managed 5th that season. But that wasn’t the end of it. The club won 3 domestic cups as well as reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, losing to eventual winners Porto.
Depor haven’t won a league title since and the club’s status has never been as high as it was then. But it will always remain in the memories of their fans.