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The FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions’ League are the 2 biggest tournaments in football. The World Cup is the biggest possible honour for a footballing nation, whereas the Champions’ League represents the pinnacle of club football. Therefore, it is a matter of extreme honor for a footballer to win either.
The world cup is held every 4 years, whereas the Champions League is an annual affair. Therefore, a player only gets one chance in every 4 years to win the World Cup. As a result, the chances of winning the World cup and the Champions League in the same year are very minuscule.
Naturally, there are very few footballers who have managed to win both those coveted prizes. A player must have the privilege of being born in a strong footballing nation as well as play for an elite club to be able to win both those titles. Now, there are even fewer players who have managed to win both the titles in the same year. We are going to have a look at 3 such players:
#1. Christian Karembeu (France):
Karembeu was a defensive midfielder who played for the French national team. He won the World Cup in 1998 as Aime Jacquet’s French team went on to win their maiden World Cup title on home soil. Karembeu did not start in all the matches but was mainly used as a substitute.
Still, he played his role in the qualifying campaign as well as the finals. France beat Brazil 3-0 in the final to win the trophy/ Karembeu won 53 caps with the French national side and his international career spanned 10 years.
In the same year, Karembeu also won the Champions League with Real Madrid. Real beat Juventus 1-0 in the final in Rotterdam as Pedrag Mijatovic scored the winner. Karembeu played in the final and played his role in securing the 7th European crown for Real. He had a distinguished club career with the likes of Sampdoria and Middlesbrough besides Real. Karembeu played in 78 matches for Real and scored 4 goals. He also became the first player to win the World Cup and the Champions League in the same year.
2. Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
Roberto Carlos was one of the greatest left-backs in the history of the game and also very successful in terms of winning titles. He won the World Cup in 2002 with a brilliant Brazil team. Carlos had previously won the runners-up medal with the Brazilian national team in 1998 as France beat them in the final.
However, he made amends in 2002 by playing in every match of Brazil’s successful World Cup campaign. Brazil beat Germany 2-0 in the final. Carlos ended up winning 125 caps for Brazil and scoring 11 goals.
Carlos was also part of the great Real Madrid team of the early 2000s, which was also known as “the Galacticos” and won every possible title in club football. Real had players like Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and Raul in their team. They beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the Champions League final in Glasgow. Carlos had been a regular starter for them throughout the season and ended up playing 512 matches in 11 seasons with Real.
#3. Raphael Varane (France):
Varane remains one of the best centre-backs of this generation and was a mainstay of the French defence in their successful World cup campaign in 2018. Varane played in every match and was one of the best players of the tournament. He also scored a goal against Belgium in the semifinal. France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final to win their second World Cup.
Varane also won the Champions League in 2018 with Real Madrid. He played in most of the matches for Madrid also and had Sergio Ramos as his defensive partner in most of the matches. Varane is known for his elegant tackling and good distribution and demonstrated his prowess in Real’s successful Champions’ League campaign.
Real beat Liverpool 3-1 in the final and won their 13th European crown. He has already played in 245 matches for Real and should win even more titles in the upcoming years.
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