In today’s day and age, it is hard for a smaller team to win a major title. As the saying goes, the Rich are getting Richer, the cash flow of big clubs, too, is increasing substantially. This gives them the comfort of buying any player they want as well as making it difficult for smaller clubs to compete with them. We have seen many small clubs who have dissolved due to bankruptcy. So, fairy-tales are getting even tougher to witness.

However, today let’s have a look at 5 teams which won a major title beating the juggernauts of the football world.

5. Birmingham City (League Cup final, 2011)

 Birmingham City had a fairly difficult run to the final. They faced sides like Aston Villa, West Ham, Brentford, MK Dons and Rochdale. In the finals, they had to face Arsenal. We all knew Arsene Wenger as the cup specialist. They already met twice in this season and Arsenal won both the matches. So, no one gave Birmingham a chance to overcome Arsenal. When the match began surprisingly Birmingham took the lead in the 28^th minute but Arsenal equalized in the 39^th minute. After that the match was fought very evenly although in the 89^th minute clash between Laurent Koscielny and Szczesny gave Birmingham the opportunity to score the winner and that is what Martins did, taking advantage of the mistake and ending the 100 years curse of not winning a trophy.

4. Wigan Athletic (FA Cup Final, 2013)

Wigan Athletic was in a downhill in the 2012-13 season under Roberto Martinez. They were heading to relegation and eventually they did relegate. Not even their fans would have dreamt of winning the FA Cup title. Although this was one of the classics which showed that the FA Cup can still create a magical fairy tale. Wigan did get a bit of an advantage in the road to the finals. Except Everton, they faced sides like Bournemouth, Huddersfield town, Macclesfield town and Millwall. Even though they had a fairly easy run, surely no one would have thought they can beat the cash rich Manchester City. Even after this, Wigan Athletic held on and they did not let Manchester City score a goal. When the opportunity came for the Wigan Athletic in the injury time, they converted the goal from the corner, which was scored by Watson. Wigan Athletic did enjoy the happiness of winning the FA Cup and the sadness of relegation in a single season.

3. Real Zaragoza (Copa Del Rey, 2004)

Who would have thought that a team of Galactico’s would be beaten by Real Zaragoza. To be fair, Real Zaragoza did not have an easy run to the finals. They only had an easy run in the round of 64 and the round of 32. After that, they had to face Real Betis in the round of 16. Real Madrid’s Arch nemesis Barcelona in the quarter final, as well as a side which was doing very well in the early 2000’s was Deportivo Alaves. Real Zaragoza did not get the amount of credit they deserved. When Beckham opened the scoring for Real Madrid, everyone thought that it will be a walk in the park for Madrid’s side. However, Dani and Villa scored two back to back goals for Real Zaragoza in the first half and gave everyone a shock. Roberto Carlos equalized in the second half. The match remained 2-2 and it went to extra time. In the second half, the unthinkable happened when Galletti scored an absolutely stunner from outside the box, thus, winning the Copa Del Rey for Real Zaragoza.

2.  AS Monaco (Ligue 1, 2016-17)

AS Monaco is by no means a smaller club. They are one of the historical as well as the most successful side in France. Still hear me out, no one would have thought that anyone can break the monopoly PSG had over the league. Winning the league was like eating a piece of cake for PSG. Although what Leonardo Jardim’s side did that year was tremendous. Monaco truly had rising superstars with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva as well as the rejuvenated Radamel Falcao. They were scoring goals for fun. Not only did they take the league by storm, they also reached the Champions league semi finals, loosing out to Juventus in the semis and beating Manchester City on the road to semi-finals. So, it was refreshing for all of us to see Monaco lifting the league’s title that season and doing the unthinkable.

1. Leicester City (Premier League, 2015-16)

By now everyone must have heard that bookies gave Leicester City a chance of 5000:1 for winning the league. To be fair you cannot point at them, Leicester City somehow was saved from relegation last season and obviously no one would have dreamed of them finishing in the top 4, let alone winning the league. That’s what Claudio Ranieri did. No one can deny that Leicester City was having a tremendous season but on the flip side all the traditional top 6 sides were playing very poorly that season. The likes of Kante in the midfield, Riyad Mahrez on the wings and Jamie Vardy leading the line who also brooked Ruud Van Nistelrooy by scoring in 11 Consecutive matches. All 3 were having the season of their life. This triumph was not only unthinkable but it was unachievable. However, it is football and anything is possible and that is why we love this beautiful game to witness such stories.