Recent in Sports
Earps announces shock England retirement after losing place
Hughes to stay as Carlisle boss in National League
'Writing on the wall' - what does future hold for Grealish?
Holland back in Wales squad after Euros scare
The £100m final Man Utd cannot afford to lose?
Of the four English men's teams to win major trophies this season - with Chelsea yet to play in the Uefa Conference League final - three of them ended long waits for silverware.
In the Women's Champions League, Arsenal shocked Barcelona to lift the trophy while in Scotland Aberdeen stunned Celtic in the Scottish Cup final.
And there have been surprising winners elsewhere in Europe too.
Arsenal (Women's Champions League)
Stina Blackstenius scored the winner as Arsenal stunned European giants Barcelona to win their first Women's Champions League title in 18 years.
The Gunners were classed as huge underdogs before the match, with Barcelona having won three of the past four European titles.
Barca had two-time Ballon d'Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas in their line-up, and have dominated club football in recent years.
Arsenal finished 12 points behind Womens Super League champions Chelsea this season, but the Blues were thrashed by Barcelona 8-2 in the Champions League semi-finals.
Newcastle (Carabao Cup)
Most recent trophy won: 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Newcastle, who will be playing Champions League football for the second time in three years next season, couldn't exactly be classed as an underdog - but they have most certainly been an underachiever.
Their fully deserved 2-1 Wembley win over Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup on 16 March ended a 56-year wait for a trophy.
Those who do not count the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as major silverware say the trophy drought had been 70 years - going back to the Magpies' 1955 FA Cup victory.
Dan Burn and Alexander Isak were the Magpies heroes this time.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United had won all the League Cups since 2015.
Crystal Palace (FA Cup)
Crystal Palace went one better than Newcastle when they stunned Manchester City 1-0 to win the FA Cup final on 17 May.
Eberechi Eze scored the only goal, while Dean Henderson saved an Omar Marmoush penalty.
That was the first major trophy Palace had ever won.
No longer do Palace fans need to try to count the 1991 Zenith Data Systems Cup, a competition that was launched when English teams were banned from Europe and which ran for seven seasons.
It also ensures them a European place - in the Europa League - for the first time in their history.
It was just the fourth time since 1995 that a team outside the so-called big six won the FA Cup.
Tottenham (Europa League)
Like Newcastle, Tottenham are another underachieving team who have flirted with major honours in recent years without quite being able to get over the line.
But Spurs - the club with the ninth-highest turnover in the world, external - ended their 17-year wait for a trophy when they beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League in Bilbao, with Brennan Johnson's goal sure to go down in folklore.
It also meant Ange Postecoglou remarkably made good on his early season - and much-ridiculed - declaration that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club.
It was only their second trophy since the turn of the Millennium and Spurs' first in Europe since the 1984 Uefa Cup.
And it means that their worst season domestically since 1977-78 (when they were in the second tier) ends with a place in the Champions League, despite finishing the Premier League season in 17th, only one place above the relegation zone.
Aberdeen (Scottish Cup)
Most recent trophy won: 2014 Scottish League Cup
Aberdeen earned a sensational first Scottish Cup victory in 35 years when they beat Scottish champions Celtic on penalties.
The shock win ended Celtic's hopes of a domestic treble and ended Aberdeen's run of four straight defeats against them this season. They also had no win against Celtic in their last 30 meetings.
Apart from the Dons' League Cup success in 2014, Aberdeen's previous major trophy came back in 1996.
Sunderland (Championship play-off winners)
Sunderland will be playing in the Premier League next season after beating Sheffield United 2-1 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
The Black Cats finished 14 points behind Chris Wilder's Blades in the regular campaign and were outplayed in a one-sided first half.
But, two goals in the last 15 minutes turned the Wembley final on its head, as Regis le Bris' underdogs were left celebrating.
Bologna (Coppa Italia)
Most recent trophy won: 1974 Coppa Italia
Bologna secured their first trophy in 51 years when they edged out AC Milan 1-0 to win the Coppa Italia.
Dan Ndoye scored the only goal in Rome's Stadio Olimpico in a team captained by Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson.
Juventus, Inter Milan, Napoli and Lazio had won every Italian Cup between them since 2008.
Stuttgart (German Cup)
Most recent trophy won: 2007 Bundesliga
Stuttgart may have been very heavy favourites to win the German Cup, but it still means a big deal to them having ended an 18-year trophy drought.
Their opponents in Saturday's final were third-tier Arminia Bielefeld.
It was their first trophy since the 2006-07 Bundesliga, and their first German Cup since 1997.
Dungannon Swifts (Irish Cup)
Most recent trophy won: 2018 Northern Ireland League Cup
Dungannon Swifts' wait for a trophy was only seven years - but their Irish Cup success over Cliftonville, which they won on penalties, was only the second trophy in their 76-year history.
It ensured the Tyrone side only their third season in European football.
Go Ahead Eagles (KNVB Cup)
Most recent trophy won: 1933 Dutch champions
Go Ahead Eagles had a remarkable 92-year wait in between trophies.
Their last silverware was the Dutch title in 1933, back in amateur football days before a proper national league. The regional champions entered a play-off system, which Go Ahead - which was their full name then - won.
But that long wait ended in the Dutch Cup final this season with Go Ahead beating AZ Alkmaar on penalties - after scoring an injury-time equaliser at the end of the 90 minutes.
0 Comments
This space aims to broaden the debate on the subject addressed in the news, democratically and respectfully. Comments that violate laws and ethical and moral principles or that promote illegal or criminal activities will not be accepted. Therefore, slanderous, defamatory, prejudiced, offensive, aggressive comments, those that use foul language, incite violence, express hate speech or contain links will be summarily deleted.