Who has won titles in the most European nations?
Sunday, April 30, 2017
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Only five coaches and eight players have won national titles in four – or more – UEFA member countries; UEFA.com salutes the masters of the European tour.
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By our calculation, only eight players and five coaches have won domestic league championships in four or more European nations; UEFA.com salutes the continent's title specialists.
The Coaches
Carlo Ancelotti - ITA, ENG, FRA, GER
"I'm really happy. This Bundesliga season has been a fantastic experience," Bayern coach Ancelotti declared on Saturday after becoming the first manager to win titles in four of the 'big five' leagues, having added the German championship to honours won with AC Milan (2003/04), Chelsea (2009/10) and Paris St-Germain (2012/13). The Italian tactician almost claimed the Spanish crown during his spell at Real Madrid, finishing just two points behind Barcelona in 2014/15 and three points adrift of Atlético the season before.
Ernst Happel – NED, BEL, GER, AUT
"In my case, everything paid off and I have no regrets," Happel once said. A fine defender for Austria, he was the first coach to lift the European Champion Clubs' Cup with two different teams – Feyenoord in 1970 and Hamburg in 1983. He also won a league title with the Rotterdam outfit in addition to three in Belgium with Club Brugge, two with Hamburg and another pair with Austrian team Swarovski Tirol. After his death in 1992, Vienna's famous Praterstadion was renamed in his honour.
Tomislav Ivić – YUG, NED, BEL, GRE, POR, FRA
"He had a unique style and took a lot of notes whenever he remembered something," recalled forward João Pinto, who played under Ivić at Benfica. The only coach or player to have claimed championships in five European countries, the late Croatian managed 15 sides across the continent, steering Hajduk Split to three top-flight crowns in the 1970s, then winning titles abroad with Ajax (1976/77), Anderlecht (1980/81), Panathinaikos (1985/86) and Porto (1987/88). He also bossed Marseille for part of their 1991/92 championship campaign.
José Mourinho – POR, ENG, ITA, ESP
"Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm a European champion and I think I'm a special one," Mourinho famously said at his first Chelsea unveiling, going on to guide the Londoners to their first English championship in 50 years. Among a select group of tacticians to have won the UEFA Champions League twice, the 'Special One' has amassed eight domestic crowns in four countries – with Porto (2002/03, 2003/04), Chelsea (2004/05, 2005/06, 2014/15), Inter (2008/09, 2009/10) and Madrid (2011/12).
Giovanni Trapattoni – ITA, GER, POR, AUT
The 78-year-old refuses to dwell on past glories. "I'm not interested in what I've done but in what I'm still going to achieve," he said. The sole three-time UEFA Cup-winning coach, the Italian's ten domestic championships include six Serie A baubles during a glittering ten-year reign at Juventus and a long-awaited Scudetto with Inter in 1988/89. National titles with Bayern in 1996/97, Benfica in 2004/05 and Salzburg in 2006/07 followed.
The Players
Zlatan Ibrahimović – NED, ITA, ESP, FRA
"Wherever I have gone I have won. You appreciate it more the older you get," the Manchester United forward said recently after claiming his 32nd major honour of his career. Two Dutch titles with Ajax and three Serie A crowns in as many years with Inter started his championship haul, before the Liga title with Barcelona in 2009/10 enhanced the collection. Yet more success followed in France with four Paris crowns.
Jiří Jarošík – CZE, RUS, ENG, SCO
"I keep an eye on all my old clubs," said the Czech midfielder. That is no small task given that Jarošík has had ten of them. He landed six Czech titles with Sparta Praha and a Russian crown at CSKA Moskva in 2003, before featuring in Chelsea's first English championship triumph in 50 years, in 2004/05. A Scottish top-flight coronation in his second season and a memorable UEFA Champions League campaign proved the highlights of his time in Glasgow with Celtic.
Mateja Kežman– SRB, NED, ENG, TUR
"Football has made me a more complete person because I have met so many cultures and people," said the former Chelsea forward who, having played in nine countries, speaks five languages. Kežman might even have been the first man to lift titles in five nations had he mustered enough games to get a medal with BATE Borisov in 2011. He launched his tally in Serbia with Partizan in 1999 before clinching the Dutch Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven. The Premier League crown followed with Chelsea, then a Turkish title with Fenerbahçe in 2007.
Maxwell – NED, ITA, ESP, FRA
The Brazil full-back has been a travelling companion of Ibrahimović for much of his career; they became team-mates at a fourth different club when Maxwell joined Paris in 2012. "Maxwell is the best bloke in the world," Ibrahimović said. "I mean, if you want to think of a teddy bear, you have Maxwell." Almost inseparable since becoming Dutch champions with Ajax in 2001/02 and 2003/04, Maxwell and Ibrahimović picked up three Scudettos together at Inter, and though they briefly parted – Maxwell securing two Barcelona titles to Zlatan's one – before they were reunited again in Paris, winning four Ligue 1 crowns.
Rade Prica – DEN, NOR, SWE, ISR
The only player to have claimed domestic titles in three Scandinavian countries – with Helsingborg in Sweden (1999), Aalborg in Denmark (2007/08) and Rosenborg in Norway (2009, 2010) – the Swedish forward plied his trade in England and Germany before starring in Israel, where he claimed three championships at Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC. His secret? A single-minded determination on the pitch. "I'm quite a calm person but I can get black eyes, especially on the pitch, and I have moments when I am not a nice guy," he said.
Arjen Robben – NED, ENG, ESP, GER
Having scratched a major itch by winning the UEFA Champions League to complete a treble with FC Bayern München in 2012/13, Robben put aside thoughts of adding to his array of multinational league titles. "I am 30 now, it's not like I want to go to a new league," he said at the time. A champion with PSV (2002/03), Chelsea (2004/05, 2005/06) and Real Madrid CF (2007/08), Robben's six Bundesliga winners' medals are just some of the highlights of his golden spell in Germany.
Wesley Sneijder – NED, ESP, ITA, TUR
A key component of José Mourinho's historic treble-winning Inter side in 2009/10, the Dutch playmaker felt he was destined to achieve UEFA Champions League glory after his switch from Real Madrid to Milan. "It became my dream once I went to Inter, as I knew the final was at the Santiago Bernabéu," he said. He scooped titles in the Netherlands (Ajax, 2003/04) and Spain (Madrid, 2007/08), and most recently took the top prize twice in Turkey (Galatasaray, 2012/13, 2014/15) following his stint with Inter.
Mark van Bommel – NED, ESP, GER, ITA
"In every game I ask the most of myself – I go to the extreme," Van Bommel said of the combative style which made him a UEFA Champions League winner with Barcelona in 2005/06 and a FIFA World Cup runner-up with the Oranje in 2010. "I try in a fair way to win every ball." The archetypal midfield enforcer, his uncompromising approach netted him eight league championships: four with PSV, two with Bayern and one each with Barça and AC Milan.