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The FIFA World Cup & the UEFA Champions League are two of the most coveted titles any footballer can win in his playing career. But achieving international & domestic excellence is quite the challenge, let alone doing so in the same season. However, there are some lucky individuals who have managed to do so during their illustrious careers.
Winning the FIFA World Cup & Champions League in the same season is one of the rarest feats in football
Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the greatest footballer the game has seen, has won 5 Champions Leagues, but the Portuguese icon has never lifted the FIFA World Cup. Lionel Messi achieved this feat only last year but saw his Paris Saint-Germain side crash out in the Champions League this season in the Round of 16. Hence, while some greats win both titles, others do not and then there are those who do the same in a single campaign. While they may not have been the most focal part of those victories, their contributions cannot be understated.
On that note, let's take a look at 5 players who have won the FIFA World Cup & Champions League in the same season.
#5 Julian Alvarez (2022/23)
Julian Alvarez is the most recent name to be added to this unique list, following Manchester City's Champions League triumph against Inter Milan in the final.
In fact, the Argentine is the youngest footballer to ever achieve this feat. Alvarez is also the only player on the list to have won the FIFA World Cup before the Champions League, due to the Winter World Cup in Qatar last year.
The young striker lit up the tournament with four goals in five starts, including the winner against Australia in the Round of 16. He also played a crucial role in the final by pressing from the front and creating several chances for his side through his brilliant movement on & off the ball.
To add to his international success, he is now also a Champions League winner, as mentioned before. Although Alvarez has not played a whole lot of football this season, he has produced moments of magic which have helped Manchester City win the treble.
He scored thrice and assisted twice in 10 Champions League games, albeit most of them were off the bench, thereby racking up less than 500 minutes of football in the competition.
Regardless, the centre-forward has a lot of potential and could play a key role in the Cityzens winning many more accolades in the years to come.
#4 Sami Khedira (2013/14)
Sami Khedira, albeit not the most underrated footballer of his time, was a player whose importance to his team was rather understated.
An active runner in the center of the pitch, Khedira was part of the Real Madrid team that lifted their first Champions League in 12 years in 2014. The defensive midfielder started the first four group stage games of the competiton before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for nearly six months.
However, following Xabi Alonso's absence in the Champions League final due to too many yellow cards, Khedira was straightaway slotted into the line-up on the day of the final. The German played well for 59 minutes before being substituted, albeit he was always unlikely to make a difference, given the little recovery time he had before playing in such a big game.
However, Los Blancos, who were 1-0 down when Khedira left the pitch, heroically equalized in the final minutes of the game before winning it in extra time.
Khedira lifted the Champions League but that was not going to be his only achievement that year. The midfielder was named in Joachim Low's 2014 Germany squad for the FIFA World Cup and the Germans were one of the favorites to lift the title.
The Real Madrid star started four out of seven games that led to Die Manschaft winning the trophy, including scoring one goal and assisting another in the 7-0 drubbing of Brazil in the semi-final. Khedira remained an unused substitute in the final against Argentina but proudly lifted the FIFA World Cup at the end of the game.
Khedira retired a couple of years ago, having won 18 titles in his glittering career.
#3 Franz Beckenbauer (1973/74)
Franz Beckenbauer is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and brought about the "sweeper" role in the game during the 1970s.
A midfielder turned central defender, Beckenbauer was famous for his long-range passing, bravado in defending a high line and his leadership skills. These qualities certainly came in handy when he won the FIFA World Cup & the Champions League in the 1973/74 campaign.
A Bayern Munich legend, Beckenbauer was promoted to the club's senior team at age 19 in 1964. Although the club achieved very little success during his first six seasons at the club, they hit their glory days when the German defender also hit his professional peak.
The 2-time Ballon d'Or winner & 4-time German Footballer of the Year was part of the team that won three Champions Leagues in a row, with the first coming in the 1973/74 campaign. The European Cup, as it was known back then, did not have as many teams as it does now, but Bayern Munich had to fight hard for this title.
After drawing 1-1 in extra time, Bayern Munich & Atletico Madrid played a replay of the final two days later, which saw the German side win 4-0. Beckenbauer featured in both games, captaining his side valiantly against a tough Spanish opposition, leading them to win their first ever European Cup.
But Beckenbauer also achieved international glory two months later as he led West Germany to their second FIFA World Cup trophy. After finishing second in the "first group stage" of the tournament, West Germany finished top of their group in the "second group stage". This led to them facing the Netherlands in the final as they came back from behind to win 2-1 after going behind after only two minutes.
One of the greatest captains German football shall ever see, Franz Beckenbauer was the first player to win the FIFA World Cup & Champions League in the same season.
*(Uli Hoeneß & Gerd Muller also achieved this feat in the same season)*
#2 Raphael Varane (2017/18)
The only other active player on this list, Raphael Varane may be currently plying his trade at Manchester United but left Real Madrid in 2021 as a club legend.
The then 18-year-old joined Real Madrid in 2011 and quickly became one of the best defenders in the squad under Jose Mourinho. Varane's quick pace over long distances, aerial prowess in both halves of the pitch and eagerness to learn served him well during his initial years at the club.
Hence, it was no surprise that he was picked ahead of the much more experienced Pepe in the 2014 UCL final that Real Madrid went on to win.
But Varane achieved more greatness in the competition later as he was part of the team that won three consecutive Champions League trophies between 2016-2018. However, he is likley to remember the last one very fondly as it was also the year he won the FIFA World Cup with France.
Les Bleus, who had not won the FIFA World Cup since 1998, were favorites for the competition and fared brilliantly in all the knockout stages. Their 4-2 drubbing of Croatia in the final remains one of the most convincing performances by a team at that stage of the competition. Varane played in the Champions League final & FIFA World Cup final in that season, conceding thrice over the two games, with all three turning out to be merely consolation strikes.
One of the best defenders in world football currently, the 30-year-old has already achieved what most people would like to by the end of their careers.
#1 Roberto Carlos (2001/02)
Yet another Real Madrid icon on this list, Roberto Carlos is arguably the greatest left-back in the history of the game.
The Brazilian's free-flowing style of play was pleasing on the eye as were his tireless defending skills, not to mention his thunderous shots full of swerve & curve. But in the 2001/02 season, the 29-year-old was certainly playing some of his best football. Thus, it was no co-incidence that he won the Champions League & the FIFA World Cup in that campaign.
The South American played in all 13 of Real Madrid's UCL games, as he scored twice and assisted thrice in the road to the final. However, his most vital contributions came in the form of two assists in the 1-2 victory against Bayer Leverkusen in the final.
The first was thanks to some quick thinking, as his long throw from nearly the half-line put Raul clear in the penalty box to squeeze the ball past the goalkeeper. The second assist was a lobbed ball in the six-yard box in search of a teammate and Zinedine Zidane was there to pounce with a wondrous volley, which turned out to be the winner.
Roberto Carlos later also formed part of a mesmerizing Brazil side in the 2002 FIFA World Cup that scored 18 times in seven games and conceded four goals. While the left-back was responsible for that astute defense, he also scored once through his thumping free-kick against China in the Group Stage.
A true legend of the game, Roberto Carlos left several memories in the two competitions before retiring from the game in 2016.
