Winning European treble will put Juventus in distinguished company

Juventus are bidding to become the eighth club to land the golden “treble” of both domestic league and cup and European Cup in the same season. The eight sides that clinched the treble by winning the Champions League: Celtic 1966/67

Jock Stein’s Celtic became the first British side to win the European Cup, beating Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon. In doing so they became the first club to win the treble, having edged out Rangers in the Scottish league and Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. Ajax 1971/72

Inter were again the fall guys as a dominant Ajax beat the Italians 2-0 with two goals from Dutch master Johan Cruyff. PSV Eindhoven 1987/88

Guus Hiddink’s predominantly Dutch side swept through the Eredivisie season and clinched the Dutch Cup before turning their attention to Benfica in Stuttgart. After the game ended 0-0 after extra time both sides scored all five of their penalties but when Antonio Veloso missed for Benfica the Cup went to PSV. Manchester United 1998/99

One of the most improbable trebles as United’s never-say-die attitude repeatedly saw them retrieve lost causes. Alex Ferguson’s side came from a goal down to beat Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the Premier League season when defeat would have handed the title to Arsenal. They also survived an epic FA Cup semifinal against Arsenal before beating Newcastle United in the final. A few days later they looked downand-out when they trailed Bayern Munich 1-0 in Barcelona as the game entered stoppage time before goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer secured an astonishing comeback. Barcelona 2008/09

Pep Guardiola’s side were unstoppable. They scored 105 goals en route to winning La Liga, wrapping up with a 6-2 defeat of Real Madrid. They beat Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final and completed the treble in a 2-0 defeat of Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome. Inter Milan 2009/10

Jose Mourinho’s side were not always the most pleasing on the eye, but were devilishly diffcult to beat. Diego Milito’s goal secured Serie A on the last day of the season from Roma and he also won them the Coppa Italia. So it was hardly a surprise that the Argentine’s double guided Inter to victory over Bayern Munich in the final. Mourinho became only the third coach to win the European Cup with two different clubs having won it in 2004 with Porto. Bayern Munich 2012/13

Bayern made a mockery of the Bundesliga, winning it by 25 points from Borussia Dortmund, who were also the victims in the German Cup final and their misery was complete in the Champions League final at Wembley when Arjen Robben’s last-minute goal secured a 2-1 victory, and the treble. Barcelona 2014/15

The first season with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar forming their lethal attacking trident saw Barcelona pip Real Madrid to the La Liga title and, as in in 2009, it was Athletic Bilbao who succumbed in the cup. Juventus, who were also in line for a treble, equalised shortly after half-time but Suarez put them back ahead and Neymar wrapped it up in stoppage time. – Reuters