Teams of the century: 100 points and more
Monday, May 19, 2014
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Juventus completed the Italian season with an awesome final total of 102 points; UEFA.com meets the only other sides who have made it to three figures in a European top flight.
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Having ended the campaign with a mighty 102 points, Juventus have become only the fourth club to finish a European top-flight season with a three-figure points total. UEFA.com meets the members of football's 100 club.
105: Barry Town AFC (Wales 1996/97)
104: Barry Town AFC (Wales 1997/98)
Regarded as the best club side in Welsh league history, player-manager Gary Barnett's side lost only one of their 40 league games in 1996/97, and remained undefeated throughout all 38 fixtures in the following campaign. "We had an incredible squad of players during that era," reflected Barnett, whose side also won two League Cups and a Welsh Cup during that purple patch. "The passion we had, the team spirit we had – it was unbelievable." Barry ended both seasons with an extraordinary +103 goal difference - strikers Tony Bird and – later – Eifion Williams were prolific, but Barry's defence was equally proficient – their late goalkeeper Mark Ovendale set a record by not conceding in over 1,000 minutes of league football, while defender Gary Lloyd became the first – and to date only – player from the league to be called-up to the Welsh national team.
103: Celtic FC (Scotland 2001/02)
The Hoops pulled out all the stops as they claimed a second consecutive Scottish Premier League title under Martin O’Neill, losing just one game all season, and conceding only 18 goals. Strike partners Henrik Larsson (29) and John Hartson (19) racked up a mighty 58 league goals between them. "Martin spent good money at a time when the club needed to spend money," said current Celtic manager Neil Lennon, who was a key midfielder in O'Neill's side. "It was a terrific team, exceptional actually – probably the best since the [Lisbon] Lions [who won the European Cup in 1967]."
102: Juventus (Italy 2013/14)
Juventus's 3-0 final-day defeat of Cagliari Calcio set a new benchmark in Serie A, outstripping the record of 97 set by FC Internazionale Milano in 2006/07. The Bianconeri won 33 of their 38 games, including all 19 at Juventus Stadium – another Serie A record. "Our target was to win the Scudetto, but once we had it in our pockets, we tried everything to reach this incredible amount of points," said coach Antonio Conte. "I think it will be very hard to beat this record." Rudi Garcia, whose AS Roma side finished 17 points back in second, concurred: "They did something unique this season. Honestly, I don't think we will see a team passing the 100-point mark again in the near future."
100: Real Madrid CF (Spain 2011/12)
"It was hard winning league titles in Portugal, England and Italy, but this was the hardest of them all," is how former Madrid coach José Mourinho summed up the achievement of leading the Merengues to their first championship in four years. "This was truly one to celebrate." If it seemed difficult to the coach, then his side certainly made it look easy, scoring 121 goals (including 46 for Cristiano Ronaldo) and finishing nine points clear of FC Barcelona as they took their 32nd Liga title, and becoming the first Spanish side to rack up a century of points.
100: FC Barcelona (Spain 2012/13)
Tito Vilanova’s Barcelona matched Madrid's record within a season, starting as they meant to go on with 18 wins and a draw in their first 19 games. Having scored 50 in the previous campaign, Lionel Messi scored 46 – including, for the first time, at least one against all of the other sides in the league. "There are some records we won't be able to break, like being league leaders from the first to the last week of the season," Vilanova said, a little nonplussed after leading the club to their 22nd crown. "But after everything we've come through, I think we should be pleased."