As Juventus prepare to take on Novara later today, Antonio Conte’s men will be looking to extend their remarkable unbeaten league campaign to 35 games.
Add to that the fact the Bianconeri are also in the Coppa Italia final and their unbeaten streak stretches to 38 matches in all competitions this season.
As things stand, Juventus currently share the all-time Italian record with Fabio Capello’s AC Milan side of 1991-92, which completed the season – then comprising of 34 games – undefeated to claim the title.
It is an incredible feat for the Turin-based club, who remain the only unbeaten club in Europe’s top-flight leagues, but how does their effort compare against other unbeaten sides in history? Below are the top ten unbeaten runs in European football…
106: FC Steaua Bucuresti (1986-89)
This unfathomable run by the Romanian side included five straight league titles and the 1985/86 European Champion Clubs’ Cup. With the likes of Miodrag Belodedici, Marius Lacatus, Laszlo Boloni, Gavril Balint, and Victor Piturca providing the quality to this Steaua team, they remained unrivalled domestically until a resurgent FC Dinamo Bucuresti wrestled the 1989/90 league title from their rather greedy hands.
63: FC Sheriff (2006-08)
The Tiraspol-based club have completely dominated Moldovan football for the opening stages of this century; winning ten straight league championships between 2001 and 2010. Then under head coach Leonid Kuchuk in 2006/07, they became the first club to claim the national title undefeated. Their run came to an end in March 2008 at the hands of arch-rivals FC Zimbru Chisinau, but Sherriff went on to win the title anyway.
62: Celtic (1915-17)
The Glasgow club created a yet-to-be-broken British record under their first ever manager Willie Maley between November 1915 and April 1917. Remarkably, that included two games in one day; against Raith Rovers and Motherwell. The stars of this team included Jimmy ‘Napoleon’ McMenemy, Patsy Gallagher, and Alec ‘The Icicle’ McNair, who still holds Celtic’s appearance record of 604.
61: FC Levadia Tallinn (2008-09)
Under boss Igor Prins, the Estonian club’s unbeaten record helped them to secure the 2008 and 2009 Meistriliiga titles, until they were defeated by JK Trans Narva on the penultimate day of the 2009 season. Surprisingly, Prins played down the achievement of his team: “The fans will remember our impressive undefeated run, although I won’t deny that we went such a long time unbeaten because of an absence of strong opposition.”
60: R. Union Saint-Gilloise (1933 -35)
To this day the club is known as Union 60 in honour of their unbeaten run, with the side from the Brussels suburbs collecting three straight league titles during this purple patch. To mark the club’s achievements, the Pappaert Cup is awarded each season to the team that enjoys the longest unbeaten stretch. The trophy is named after Union’s then captain Jules Pappaert.
=59: FC Shirak (1993-95)
=59: FC Pyunik (2002-04)
Under the guidance of coach Andranik Adamyan, Shirak created the Armenain national record, which was later equalled by Pyunik. “Shirak were a very good team in those days,” recalled Adamyan. “We had our leaders, but all the players were ready to burst into action and show their strength. We had a good working atmosphere in the team and also that winning spirit. That’s why we were unbeatable.” Pyunik’s run was overseen by three different coaches; Oscar Lopez, Mihai Stoichita and Vardan Minasyan.
=58: AC Milan (1991-93)
Step aside Arsenal, Fabio Capello’s Milan were the first to team to earn the ‘Invincibles’ nickname and rightly so. Three successive Serie A titles and the 1993/94 Champions League trophy certainly laid claim to that. At the heart of this incredible run, the 1991/92 Scudetto was earned without losing a single game. As former Milan midfielder Roberto Donadoni put it: “Capello did very well in continuing the job started by Sacchi and adding only small pieces to complete the perfect mosaic.”
=58: Olympiakos FC (1972-74)
Following major investment from club president Nikos Goulandris, the Greek outfit went on an undefeated run between October 1972 and April 1974. They claimed three league titles in a row, setting a record of 104 goals in the 1973/74 season. Yves Triantafyllos was the star striker; notching up 58 goals in 80 matches during his three-year spell at the club.
=58: Skonto FC (1993-96)
Coached by Aleksandrs Starkovs, who would later lead Latvia to Euro 2004, Skonto embarked on a run that would see them continue to dominate the Latvian league the way they have ever since claiming the first of 14 straight league titles in 1991. “Every point we dropped was a painful blow for us because we were confident we would win every match,” long-standing Skonto captain Zemļinskis recalled. “That winning spirit allowed us to win 14 titles in a row. We did not lose a single league match in 1994 and 1995.”
56: SL Benfica (1976-78)
Set under Englishman John Mortimore, the Portuguese outfit went unbeaten between October 1976 and August 1978 when a 1-0 defeat at Porto ended their run. Mortimore, a former Chelsea defender, had the pleasure of calling on great players including Fernando Chalana, Toni, Nene, Humberto Coelho, Joao Alves and Minervino Pietra.
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