The mention of the word “superclubs” brings forth a huge list of names ranging from Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Germany to Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in England.
The list, in fact, goes on, but most of the names on the list obviously belong to the top leagues in the world.
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However, there is a select set of clubs, whose trophy cabinets and domestic records trump even that of the European elite and almost all of them are non-European clubs. Here, we delve into five such superclubs whose existence is barely known and yet their exploits on the football pitch are worthy of a mention.
#5 Al Ahly, Egypt
Al Ahly, meaning “the national”, are the most successful club in the history of Egyptian football and have never been relegated since their inception in 1907. Further, they have won a whopping 38 league titles and 35 national cups, along with a record eight African Champions Leagues. This has led to the Egyptian giants being named the African Club of the Century by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Nicknamed “The Red Devils”, similar to the title held by Manchester United in England, Al Ahly are joint-second in terms of the number of international titles won – 20 – along with Barcelona and trail Real Madrid by a solitary title.
Playing in the 75000 capacity Cairo International Stadium, Al Ahly went an entire season unbeaten in 2005 (46 games) and won five of the six available trophies as well. Now, that is a tremendous achievement in any league, and Al Ahly are definitely a superclub irrespective of their global popularity.
#4 Club Olimpia, Paraguay
Club Olimpia, better known as Olimpia Asuncion internationally, are the most decorated club in the history of Paraguayan football, having won a stunning 40 domestic titles till date putting them behind only Olympiacos, Glasgow Rangers, Northern Ireland’s Linfield F.C. and Uruguay’s Penarol in terms of number of domestic titles won.
Further, they also boast of being amongst the rare few clubs to have completed the quadruple, having won the Paraguayan Championship, Copa Libertadores, the Copa Interamericana and the Intercontinental Cup in 1979.
Olimpia have a historic rivalry with Cerro Porteno and the clash is dubbed the Superclasico with 411 matches played till date. One of the most famous players from the club is Roque Santa Cruz, who went on to win the UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich.
Their immense trophy collection is enough to propel them to superclub status and Olimpia are rightly called “Rey de Copas“ or the King of Cups.
#3 Al-Muharraq, Bahrain
The only club from Bahrain to win the Continental Cup i.e. the AFC Cup en route to a historic quadruple, Al-Muharraq are royalty in Bahrain. The club have won the domestic league an insane 33 times and have therefore rightly earned the moniker “The Sheikh of Gulf Clubs”.
The Red Wolf have a pretty small stadium with a capacity of just 10,000 but when the measly 1.4 million population of Bahrain is taken into consideration, that is understandable. Al-Muharraq are a superclub of Bahrain and the Middle-East, however, it is close to impossible for anyone to know of their existence.
#2 Rosenborg BK, Norway
The only European club on the list, Rosenberg BK have won 24 league titles, with 13 of them coming during the club’s golden period between 1991 and 2004. In the same period, they took part in the Champions League group stage 11 times and reached the quarter-finals in the 1996-97 season.
A special mention goes out to Roar Strand, who played for the Norwegian club from 1989-2010, winning the domestic title 16 times and equalling Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs’ record for scoring in 21 consecutive seasons. Nicknamed “The Troll Kids”, Rosenborg are anything but that when it comes to their stature in Norway.
#1 Club America, Mexico
A superclub whose stadium, the Estadio Azteca, is famous for its inclusion in EA Sports’ FIFA series, Club America are the most successful club in the history of Mexican football despite their arch-rival Guadalajara being more famous. These two teams also contest the El Super Clasico. Nicknamed Las Aguilas (The Eagles), the club have won 12 league titles, one more than Guadalajara.
Club America hold 10 FIFA recognised club records, which is the highest for any club in the CONCACAF region. They have also won a record seven CONCACAF Champions League titles, making them the most dominant team in the region.
Owned by media giant Televisa, playing in the largest stadium in Latin America, Club America are a superclub barely known to anyone.
