Winning the continental treble is something that every manager aspires to achieve in their career. However, only nine in the history of European football have been fortunate enough to lift all trophies that they can get their hands on.
1. Jock Stein (Celtic) 1966/67
The first manager in the history of Europe to achieve the feat, Jock Stein’s Celtic also managed to win the Scottish League Cup to extend the treble to a quadruple, effectively winning every competition that the club participated in.
2. Stefan Kovacs (Ajax) 1971/72
Kovacs’ Ajax team boasted of having Johan Cruyff in the team, and they managed to embark on the Dutch club’s most successful tenure in their history. Their style of play was known as the original “total football” that is still celebrated to this day.
3. Guus Hiddink (PSV) 1987/88
The end of the 80s saw the last of Dutch football being on the level to complete a continental treble involving the European Cup. Hiddink went on to manage the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea, and came really close to the European Cup final, but not quite.
4. Alex Ferguson (Man Utd) 1998/99
Sir Alex managed to establish himself as one for the history books with the season right before the turn of the century. Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed to turn around a 1-0 deficit against Bayern Munich to deliver the European Cup to the Red Devils.
5. Pep Guardiola (Barcelona) 2008/09
Achieving the feat in his first season with Barcelona, the Catalonian manager completely defied expectations and transformed Barcelona into one of the best and smoothest playing teams that the world has ever seen, with almost all players coming through the academy.
6. Jose Mourinho (Inter Milan) 2009/10
The Special One managed to end Inter Milan’s 45-year wait for European glory, winning all competitions available to the Nerazzurri in the 2009/10 season. Mourinho’s reputation as one of the best became even more solid after winning the continental cup following the victory with Porto.
7. Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich) 2012/13
The Bavarians managed to bring the treble to their manager in his last game in charge of the club. The final was the second consecutive one in as many years, having lost to Chelsea the year before on penalties. The Bayern of the following year managed to conquer everything in their path after that loss.
8. Luis Enrique (Barcelona) 2014/15
The trio of Messi-Suarez-Neymar blossomed under Luis Enrique and dominated the mid-2010s as Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets held the fort behind the unbelievable attacking trio.
9. Hansi Flick (Bayern Munich) 2019/20
Hansi Flick remains the only other coach to win the treble in his first season in charge. The former Bayern player managed to lead the team into an almost unbeaten 2020 that saw them win every competition they could compete in.
