Chapter 4: Clubs & Trophies

Sheffield FC, founded on 24 October 1857 out of a cricket club, is recognised by FIFA as the world's oldest football club still in existence.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Sheffield FC, incl. the club's own site sheffieldfc.com · recall

Notts County, founded in 1862 and one of the Football League's twelve founding members in 1888, is recognised as the oldest professional football club, distinct from Sheffield FC's claim to being the oldest club overall.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Notts County FC · recall

Real Madrid won the first European Cup final 4-3 against Stade de Reims in Paris on 13 June 1956, with goals from Di Stefano and a Rial brace.

Source: UEFA, uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0258-0e6a0359223b-d180c4119f8e-1000--1955-56-madrid-claim-first-crown · recall

Real Madrid have won Europe's top club competition 15 times, including the first five editions in a row, more than any other club.

Source: UEFA, uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/video/028e-1b07fb86eaa9-6d3e66f56503-1000--real-madrid-s-15-titles · recall

Uruguay's Penarol beat Paraguay's Olimpia in the final of the first Copa Libertadores in 1960, and went on to retain the title in 1961.

Source: Cross-checked histories of the 1960 Copa Libertadores · recall

Lazio beat Mallorca 2-1 in the 1999 final, the last-ever Cup Winners' Cup before UEFA folded the competition into the UEFA Cup.

Source: Cross-checked histories of the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final · recall

Celtic beat Rangers 5-2 in a friendly on 28 May 1888 at Celtic's new Parkhead ground, the first meeting of what became known as the Old Firm.

Source: Cross-checked histories of the Old Firm derby's origins · recall

The first Barcelona-Real Madrid match was a 3-1 Barcelona win on 13 May 1902, in a cup semi-final at Madrid's Hipodromo de la Castellana racetrack, years before La Liga existed.

Source: Cross-checked histories of El Clasico's origins · recall

Manchester United began in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club, formed by workers from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's Carriage and Wagon department, and took its current name in 1902.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Manchester United's origins · recall

Arsenal began in October 1886 as Dial Square, formed by workers at the Royal Arsenal armaments factory in Woolwich, before becoming Royal Arsenal, then Woolwich Arsenal, then Arsenal in 1914.

Source: Arsenal FC official history, arsenal.com/history/laying-the-foundations/laying-the-foundations-overview · recall

When Everton left Anfield after a rent dispute with ground-owner John Houlding, Houlding founded Liverpool FC to keep using the stadium.

Source: Liverpool FC official history, liverpoolfc.com/info/how-liverpool-fc-was-founded-1892 · recall

Juventus was founded on 1 November 1897 by students from Turin's Massimo d'Azeglio Lyceum as Sport-Club Juventus; its famous black-and-white stripes only arrived in 1903.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Juventus FC's founding, incl. the club's own site juventus.com/en/club/history · recall

Argentina's Independiente have won the Copa Libertadores 7 times, including 4 in a row from 1972 to 1975, more than any other club.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Copa Libertadores club records · recall

Englishmen Herbert Kilpin and Alfred Edwards founded the club in December 1899 as the Milan Cricket and Football Club, which is why it still uses the English name 'Milan'.

Source: Cross-checked histories of AC Milan's founding · recall

Five young men of Italian descent founded Boca Juniors on 3 April 1905 in Buenos Aires' La Boca neighbourhood, a district long settled by Ligurian immigrants.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Boca Juniors' founding · recall

Eleven footballers left the MTV 1879 gymnastics club on 27 February 1900 after it refused to let them join the German Football Association, forming FC Bayern that same evening.

Source: Cross-checked histories of FC Bayern Munich's founding · recall

Marist Brother Walfrid founded Celtic to raise funds for his charity, the Poor Children's Dinner Table, feeding impoverished families in Glasgow's East End.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Celtic FC's founding · recall

River Plate formed in 1901 from a merger of two clubs; a founder took the name from crates reading 'The River Plate' he saw unloaded near the club's original ground in La Boca.

Source: Cross-checked histories of River Plate's founding · recall

River Plate beat Boca Juniors 2-1 on 24 August 1913 in Avellaneda, the first official meeting between the two clubs.

Source: Cross-checked histories of the Superclasico's origins · recall

After Boca's bus was attacked near River's stadium, CONMEBOL moved the deciding leg to the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, the first Libertadores final played outside Latin America; River won 5-3 on aggregate.

Source: Al Jazeera, aljazeera.com/sports/2018/12/10/river-plate-beat-argentine-rivals-boca-to-win-copa-libertadores · recall

Swiss-born Hans-Max Gamper, who took the Catalan name Joan, placed a newspaper advert calling for players in October 1899, leading to Barcelona's founding that November.

Source: FC Barcelona official history, fcbarcelona.com/en/card/643865/1899-1909-foundation-and-survival · recall

In 1908 a group of Milan members who disagreed with the club's limit on foreign players broke away and founded Internazionale, a club open to players of any nationality.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Inter Milan's 1908 founding · recall

King Alfonso XIII granted Madrid Football Club the title 'Real' (Royal) on 29 June 1920, letting the club place the royal crown on its crest.

Source: Real Madrid official history, realmadrid.com/en-US/news/club/latest-news · recall

Founded in 1900, the club took the name of Ajax, a hero of the Trojan War second only to Achilles among the Greeks, reflected in the warrior's profile on its crest.

Source: Cross-checked histories of AFC Ajax's founding · recall

Celtic's 56th Scottish title in May 2026 passed Rangers' 55 for the Scottish record, but the world record for national top-division titles belongs to Linfield of Belfast, with 57 won between 1890-91 and 2024-25.

Source: Guinness World Records, most wins of a national top division (Linfield, 57); SPFL and The Analyst reports of Celtic's 56th title, 16 May 2026 · recall

Egypt's Al Ahly have won the CAF Champions League a record 12 times, most recently in 2024 against Tunisia's Esperance.

Source: CAF, cafonline.com/caf-champions-league/news/ahly-crowned-champions-of-africa-for-record-extending-12th-title · recall

Paris Saint-Germain was founded on 12 August 1970 by merging Paris FC with Stade Saint-Germain; the two split apart again in 1972.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Paris Saint-Germain's founding · recall

Manchester City began in 1880 as the football team of St Mark's Church in West Gorton, set up by church wardens partly to keep young men out of trouble, and took its current name in 1894.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Manchester City's origins · recall

Tottenham Hotspur grew out of the Hotspur Cricket Club, formed by grammar-school and Sunday-school boys in 1880, who started a football team in 1882 to play through the winter.

Source: Cross-checked histories of Tottenham Hotspur's founding · recall

Gus Mears built Stamford Bridge as a stadium first; when Fulham declined to rent it, he founded Chelsea specifically to play there, the reverse of how most clubs began.

Source: Chelsea FC official history, chelseafc.com/en/the-story-of-chelsea-chapter-1 · recall

The pink shirts faded in the wash, and an English member arranged a new set from England.

Source: Juventus, 'History: the black and white shirts' (juventus.com); Notts County FC heritage pages (nottscountyfc.co.uk) · recall

Former Forest players had joined the new Woolwich side.

Source: Arsenal FC, 'History of the kit' (arsenal.com); Nottingham Forest heritage pages (nottinghamforest.co.uk) · recall

He wanted his players to think of the greatest side in Europe.

Source: Leeds United, 'Don Revie and the all-white kit' (leedsunited.com) · recall

Red and white cloth was cheap because it was left over from making mattresses.

Source: Atlético de Madrid, 'Historia: los colchoneros' (atleticodemadrid.com) · recall

Railway workers in São Paulo founded the club after watching the Corinthian tour.

Source: Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, 'História' (corinthians.com.br) · recall

The club had played in red and blue before.

Source: Palermo FC, 'La storia del rosanero' (palermofc.com) · recall

He was one of several Englishmen among the club's early members.

Source: Juventus, 'History: the black and white shirts' (juventus.com); Notts County FC heritage pages (nottscountyfc.co.uk) · recall

1886, 1903, 1907 and 1961.

Source: Juventus, 'History: the black and white shirts' (juventus.com); Notts County FC heritage pages (nottscountyfc.co.uk) · recall

1886, 1897, 1900 and 1910.

Source: Club founding dates from official histories: swfc.co.uk, evertonfc.com, lcfc.com, whufc.com, juventus.com, athletic-club.eus, fcbarcelona.com, sscnapoli.it · recall

Notts County still play in black and white and are known as the Magpies.

Source: Juventus, 'History: the black and white shirts' (juventus.com); Notts County FC heritage pages (nottscountyfc.co.uk) · recall

The name is often said to be a joke about a club whose name means 'youth'.

Source: Club heritage pages: Juventus (juventus.com), Everton (evertonfc.com), Leicester City (lcfc.com), Crystal Palace (cpfc.co.uk) · recall

Ye Ancient Everton Toffee House and Mother Noblett's shop are part of the story.

Source: Club heritage pages: Juventus (juventus.com), Everton (evertonfc.com), Leicester City (lcfc.com), Crystal Palace (cpfc.co.uk) · recall

Fans sat on the wall of the Carrer de la Indústria ground in the 1910s.

Source: FC Barcelona, 'Why are Barça fans called culés?' (fcbarcelona.com) · recall

The building was moved to Sydenham, where FA Cup finals were played from 1895.

Source: Club heritage pages: Juventus (juventus.com), Everton (evertonfc.com), Leicester City (lcfc.com), Crystal Palace (cpfc.co.uk) · recall

San Mamés recalls Saint Mammes, said to have been thrown to the lions in Roman times.

Source: Athletic Club, 'San Mamés: la catedral' (athletic-club.eus) · recall

Hennes Weisweiler built the team on young players.

Source: Borussia Mönchengladbach, 'Die Fohlenelf' (borussia.de) · recall

A fox's head has been on the club crest for decades.

Source: Club heritage pages: Juventus (juventus.com), Everton (evertonfc.com), Leicester City (lcfc.com), Crystal Palace (cpfc.co.uk) · recall

1878, 1879, 1884 and 1895.

Source: Club founding dates from official histories: swfc.co.uk, evertonfc.com, lcfc.com, whufc.com, juventus.com, athletic-club.eus, fcbarcelona.com, sscnapoli.it · recall

1897, 1898, 1899 and 1926.

Source: Club founding dates from official histories: swfc.co.uk, evertonfc.com, lcfc.com, whufc.com, juventus.com, athletic-club.eus, fcbarcelona.com, sscnapoli.it · recall

Hillsborough stands in Owlerton, which gave the club the name 'the Owls'.

Source: Sheffield Wednesday, 'Why the Owls?' (swfc.co.uk) · recall

In English it is often called the Stadium of Light, but Luz is the name of the area.

Source: Club stadium pages: San Siro (sansiro.net), Boca Juniors (bocajuniors.com.ar), FC Barcelona (fcbarcelona.com), SL Benfica (slbenfica.pt) · recall

Its tall, steep stands on three sides give it a box-like shape.

Source: Club stadium pages: San Siro (sansiro.net), Boca Juniors (bocajuniors.com.ar), FC Barcelona (fcbarcelona.com), SL Benfica (slbenfica.pt) · recall

It opened in 1957 to replace Les Corts.

Source: Club stadium pages: San Siro (sansiro.net), Boca Juniors (bocajuniors.com.ar), FC Barcelona (fcbarcelona.com), SL Benfica (slbenfica.pt) · recall

The name became part of the club's identity.

Source: Manchester United, 'Old Trafford: the Theatre of Dreams' (manutd.com) · recall

The remark was made when Celtic moved to their new ground in 1892.

Source: Celtic FC, 'Celtic Park: Paradise' (celticfc.com) · recall

Everton played there until moving to their new stadium by the docks in 2025.

Source: Everton FC, 'Goodison Park history' (evertonfc.com) · recall

It replaced the old Stadion Rote Erde next door.

Source: Borussia Dortmund, 'Westfalenstadion 1974' (bvb.de) · recall

1892, 1910, 1923 and 1957.

Source: Official stadium histories: evertonfc.com, manutd.com, wembleystadium.com, fcbarcelona.com, sansiro.net, realmadrid.com, slbenfica.pt · recall

1926, 1940, 1947 and 2003.

Source: Official stadium histories: evertonfc.com, manutd.com, wembleystadium.com, fcbarcelona.com, sansiro.net, realmadrid.com, slbenfica.pt · recall

It takes its name from a hunting lodge built for Baron Craven in 1780.

Source: Fulham FC, 'Craven Cottage history' (fulhamfc.com) · recall

Queen's Park won the first final against Clydesdale.

Source: Scottish FA, 'The Scottish Cup trophy' (scottishfa.co.uk) · recall

It took back the king's name after Franco's death.

Source: RFEF, 'Historia de la Copa del Rey' (rfef.es) · recall

The DFB chose a permanent venue, much as England had with Wembley.

Source: DFB, 'Das DFB-Pokalfinale in Berlin' (dfb.de) · recall

Villa beat Rotherham over two legs.

Source: EFL, 'League Cup history' (efl.com) · recall

The first match was drawn and United won the replay 4-0.

Source: The FA, 'Community Shield history' (thefa.com) · recall

The badge is called the coccarda; the league champions wear the shield, the scudetto.

Source: FIGC and Lega Serie A, 'La coccarda della Coppa Italia' (legaseriea.it) · recall

They beat Aberdeen 4-0 at Hampden.

Source: SPFL, 'League Cup history' (spfl.co.uk) · recall

1874, 1908, 1935 and 1961.

Source: Official competition histories: thefa.com, scottishfa.co.uk, rfef.es, fff.fr, legaseriea.it · recall

1871-72, 1903, 1917-18 and 1922.

Source: Official competition histories: thefa.com, scottishfa.co.uk, rfef.es, fff.fr, legaseriea.it · recall

Calais RUFC, from the fourth tier, lost 2-1 to Nantes after leading at half-time.

Source: Fédération Française de Football, 'Calais, finaliste 2000' (fff.fr) · recall

The company's name is still in the club's.

Source: Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 'Geschichte' (bayer04.de) · recall

The club still plays at the Volkswagen Arena.

Source: VfL Wolfsburg, 'Vereinsgeschichte' (vfl-wolfsburg.de) · recall

The shipyard's workers explain the nicknames 'the Irons' and 'the Hammers'.

Source: West Ham United, 'Thames Ironworks' heritage pages (whufc.com) · recall

It was founded in 1885 by the church's Young Men's Association.

Source: Southampton FC, 'St Mary's and the Saints' (southamptonfc.com) · recall

The chapel stood at Villa Cross in Handsworth.

Source: Aston Villa, 'Club history: Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel' (avfc.co.uk) · recall

Army clubs were usually called CSKA or CDKA instead.

Source: Dynamo Moscow (fcdynamo.ru) and Dinamo Kyiv (fcdynamo.kiev.ua) club histories · recall

The church was St Andrew's in West Kensington.

Source: Fulham FC, 'Club history' (fulhamfc.com) · recall

1874, 1878, 1885 and 1895.

Source: Club founding dates from official histories: swfc.co.uk, evertonfc.com, lcfc.com, whufc.com, juventus.com, athletic-club.eus, fcbarcelona.com, sscnapoli.it · recall

1874, 1903, 1904 and 1945.

Source: Club histories: bwfc.co.uk, fc-carlzeiss-jena.de, bayer04.de, vfl-wolfsburg.de · recall

PSV stands for Philips Sport Vereniging, the Philips sports club.

Source: PSV Eindhoven, 'Historie' (psv.nl) · recall

They reached the semi-finals, where Reims beat them.

Source: Hibernian FC, 'The first British club in Europe' (hibernianfc.co.uk); UEFA · recall

The League feared the new competition would crowd its fixture list.

Source: Chelsea FC, '1955: why Chelsea did not play in Europe' (chelseafc.com) · recall

Matt Busby argued that English football had to take part.

Source: Manchester United, '1956: into Europe' (manutd.com) · recall

They won 3-2 at the Camp Nou.

Source: Rangers FC, '1972: Barcelona' (rangers.co.uk) · recall

Bobby Robson's side won 5-4 on aggregate.

Source: Ipswich Town, '1981 UEFA Cup' heritage pages (itfc.co.uk) · recall

They won both legs of the final against the Hungarian side.

Source: Newcastle United, '1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup' (nufc.co.uk) · recall

The Swedish side won 2-1 on aggregate.

Source: Dundee United, '1987 UEFA Cup final' (dundeeunitedfc.co.uk) · recall

1956, 1963, 1972 and 1981.

Source: UEFA, finals of the Fairs Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup (uefa.com) · recall

1968, 1969, 1970 and 1987.

Source: UEFA, finals of the Fairs Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup (uefa.com) · recall

They beat Atlético Madrid 5-1 in the Cup Winners' Cup final in Rotterdam.

Source: Tottenham Hotspur, '1963: European glory in Rotterdam' (tottenhamhotspur.com) · recall

Otto Rehhagel's side remain the only newly promoted champions of the Bundesliga.

Source: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 'Meister 1998' (fck.de); Bundesliga · recall

Verona finished four points ahead of Torino.

Source: Hellas Verona, 'Lo scudetto 1985' (hellasverona.it) · recall

They clinched it on the last day of the season at the Riazor.

Source: RC Deportivo, 'Campeones de Liga 2000' (rcdeportivo.es) · recall

It was the club's first French title.

Source: Montpellier HSC, 'Champions 2012' (mhscfoot.com) · recall

Ben Watson's late header won the final at Wembley.

Source: Wigan Athletic, '2013 FA Cup winners' (wiganathletic.com); The FA · recall

They beat Arsenal and Aston Villa on the way before losing to Swansea.

Source: Bradford City, '2013 League Cup final' (bradfordcityafc.com); EFL · recall

Grafite and Edin Džeko scored 54 league goals between them.

Source: VfL Wolfsburg, 'Meister 2009' (vfl-wolfsburg.de) · recall

1985, 1998, 2000 and 2012.

Source: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 'Meister 1998' (fck.de); Bundesliga · recall

1981, 1991, 2009 and 2013.

Source: Club histories: realsociedad.eus, crvenazvezdafk.com, vfl-wolfsburg.de, wiganathletic.com · recall

The score was 1-0, the winner coming in stoppage time.

Source: Wigan Athletic, '2013 FA Cup winners' (wiganathletic.com); The FA · recall