Leicester City won the Premier League against all odds just 12 months after a miraculous survival campaign. The Foxes, who once looked destined to relegate from the Premier League in March 2015, have confounded critics by not only staying up but also but also winning the league title in the most emphatic manner in the very next season.
The reigning Premier League champions were clear underdogs at the start of the season, but they’re not alone in the list of clubs to have shockingly won the domestic titles in this millennium. Let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest upsets in European football;
5Atletico Madrid (2013-14)
La Liga side Atletico Madrid won the title against all odds in the 2013-14 season by breaking the Barcelona/Real Madrid monopoly in the division. The Los Rojiblancos had finished 24 points behind the duo in the previous season.
Diego Simeone’s men won the crown with 90 points from the 38 games, sealing the title on the final day of the season. Their success was a real triumph given it had been nine years since a club had been able to finish the La Liga season above Barcelona or Real Madrid.
4Rubin Kazan (2008)
Rubin Kazan unexpectedly won the Russian Premier League title in 2008, 12 months after finishing in the 11th place. Rubin were only promoted to the top-flight in 2003, and the title triumph five years later was only their second in the 50-year history of the club.
Quite an achievement in such a short space of time, they went on to successfully defend their crown a season later but failed to sustain their string of good performances afterwards. At Present, Rubin are languishing in the bottom-half of the league.
3Montpellier (2011-12)
Montpellier won the French Ligue 1 title in the 2011-12 campaign, a season after finishing 14th and only three years after returning to the top-flight. Having been relegated twice between 2000 and 2004, Montpellier didn’t make it back to Ligue 1 until 2009. Their unexpected triumph in the top division came against mighty Paris Saint-Germain, who finished runners-up that season. PSG then bounced back to dominate the league for years to come, and ever since Montpellier haven’t come close in the title race.
2Wolfsburg (2008-09)
Wolfsburg won the German Bundesliga title in the 2008-09 season against all odds to temporarily end Bayern Munich’s dominance in the domestic league. Werder Bremen’s title in 2003-04 was a shock, but they had a rich history in the tournament and were runner-ups just in the preceding season.
The Wolves had been used to the bottom-half of the league prior to winning the Bundesliga title, but they ruled the roost in 2009 to claim the only top-flight crown in their history. Bayern Munich and Stuttgart challenged them all the way but couldn’t stop Wolfsburg from clinching the silverware.
1Deportivo La Coruna (1999-2000)
Deportivo La Coruna won the Spanish La Liga title in 1999-2000 campaign to shock the football world. Barcelona were the team to suffer the humiliation at the time. The Catalans had won consecutive titles and delivered four top-three finishes in a row, but they were made to settle for a runners-up spot on that season.
Deportivo narrowly missed relegation in 1998 and stayed in the league to claim their only La Liga title two years later against all odds. It seemed impossible for a side like Deportivo to finish above giants like Barcelona and Real Madrid, and their 2000 season triumph will go down as one of the best moments in their 110-year history as well as the biggest shock in the competition.
