{"id":566,"date":"2026-03-06T07:10:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T07:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=566"},"modified":"2026-03-06T07:10:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T07:10:35","slug":"arsenal-and-man-city-are-chasing-the-quadruple-how-close-did-ferguson-mourinho-klopp-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=566","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal and Man City are chasing the quadruple \u2013 how close did Ferguson, Mourinho, Klopp get?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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No English team has ever won the quadruple.<\/p>\n

Winning the domestic league championship, European Cup\/Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup has so far proven to be an insurmountable task, but this season represents an opportunity for Arsenal and Manchester City to see whether they can create history.<\/p>\n

Currently first and second in the Premier League table (though Arsenal are seven points ahead, they have played one top-flight game more and must still visit City\u2019s Etihad Stadium, where they have not won since January 2015, next month) and into the last 16 of the Champions League, the two teams meet in the Carabao-sponsored League Cup final on March 22.<\/p>\n

Providing they both advance into the FA Cup quarter-finals from their last-16 ties against Mansfield Town and Newcastle United this weekend and also see off Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid respectively in Europe over the next couple of midweeks, victory that Sunday at Wembley will give one of them the chance to kick on in their quest for footballing immortality.<\/p>\n

Pep Guardiola\u2019s City have come close to the quadruple in the recent past, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in 2022-23, but they had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the quarter-finals by a Southampton side who ended up not just relegated but bottom of the top flight. Before then, Manchester United completed that same treble but had also lost in the last eight of the League Cup, to Tottenham Hotspur.<\/p>\n

With the important caveat of winning the League Cup \u2014 which is often seen as the least prestigious of the four trophies involved \u2014 first, Chelsea nearly managed it in 2006-07, at a time when Jose Mourinho, then their manager, was in his pomp. They lifted the FA Cup too, but fell painfully short in Europe and in the Premier League (more on that shortly).<\/p>\n

The two Manchester clubs and Liverpool have also been within sniffing distance of claiming the other three trophies after lifting the League Cup, only to then miss out in one or more of those other competitions.<\/p>\n

If Arsenal or City are to create history over the next three months, it will require perfection\u2026 and undoubtedly an element of good fortune along the way.<\/p>\n

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\n Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, left, and Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola will go head-to-head in the Carabao Cup final this month (Michael Regan\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

In that 2006-07 season, Chelsea kick-started their quadruple hopes by beating Arsenal 2-1 in the League Cup final.<\/p>\n

Despite winning that final, they still had plenty of work to do on the Premier League run-in, and were trailing Manchester United by nine points on the February day they celebrated that League Cup success, albeit with a game in hand over Sir Alex Ferguson\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Although Mourinho\u2019s Chelsea continued to progress in the FA Cup, which they eventually won by beating United in the final in late May, they had already been knocked out of the Champions League, losing to Liverpool over two semi-final legs a couple of weeks earlier. They also failed to close the gap to United at the top of the table, who ended the campaign six points ahead of them.<\/p>\n

It was United\u2019s turn in 2008-09, having won a Premier League and Champions League double in 2007-08, to lift the League Cup in February and still be active with a chance of defending their Premier League and Champions League crowns while also securing the FA Cup. That squad included a front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney, with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the heart of defence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith United, we established a mentality around that particular squad that was built throughout the years before,\u201d Rene Meulensteen, an assistant coach under Ferguson at the time, tells The Athletic<\/em>. \u201cIt was a certainty that we were going to win trophies; nobody doubted that. That was our mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ferguson, Meulensteen added, winning the Premier League was always the \u201cmain focus\u201d, but explained how lifting the League Cup \u2014 traditionally the first trophy on offer each season \u2014 \u201creinforced what we stood for and what we wanted to achieve\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just creates a good-feel factor,\u201d the 61-year-old says.<\/p>\n

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\n Meulensteen with Ferguson in 2009 (Paul Ellis\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

But even that great United team of the late 2000s were unable to buck the quadruple trend, retaining the title but succumbing to Everton in an FA Cup semi-final that went to a penalty shootout and losing to a fabulous Barcelona team in the Champions League final.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to look at the opposition that you\u2019re facing, and we faced obviously a very, very strong Barcelona at the time in the Champions League final, and we lost to Everton on penalties in the FA Cup, but we should have had a penalty with Danny Welbeck,\u201d Meulensteen says of those two pivotal fixtures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes it (winning the quadruple) so difficult is that because you are going so deep in every single tournament, you do need to start resting important players. That is how Sir Alex managed the squad during that particular time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the players, when it comes to those games, want to play, but the manager has to make those tough decisions at times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Manuel Pellegrini\u2019s 2013-14 Manchester City squad won the League Cup and Premier League but fell short in the FA Cup (quarter-finals vs Wigan Athletic) and Champions League (round of 16 vs Barcelona), before the club hired Guardiola ahead of the 2016-17 season.<\/p>\n

Guardiola has shown himself capable of managing a team to a historic trophy haul, winning six titles in 2008-09, culminating in beating Manchester United in that Champions League final. His Barcelona team also won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, Spain\u2019s Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the old version of FIFA\u2019s Club World Cup that season, so if anyone knows how to get over the line in multiple competitions, it is the 55-year-old.<\/p>\n

However, City have had chances to complete the quadruple by firstly winning the League Cup three seasons in a row under the Catalan (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-2021), but found themselves coming up short in one of the other three competitions.<\/p>\n

During that 2018-19 campaign, Guardiola, in quotes reported by the BBC<\/a>said it would be \u201calmost impossible\u201d to achieve the four-trophy feat.<\/p>\n

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Teams chasing the quadruple<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Season<\/span><\/th>\nLeague Cup winners<\/span><\/th>\nFinal league posiiton<\/span><\/th>\nFA Cup<\/span><\/th>\nChampions League<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\n

2006-07<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Chelsea<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Winners<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Semi-final<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2008-09<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Manchester United<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Semi-final<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Runners up<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2013-14<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Manchester City<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Quarter-final<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Round of 16<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2018-19<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Manchester City<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Winners<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Quarter-final<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2019-20<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Manchester City<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Semi-final<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Quarter-final<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2020-21<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Manchester City<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Semi-final<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Runners up<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2021-22<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Liverpool<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Winners<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Runners up<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cSurviving is a miracle,\u201d Guardiola said after his team beat Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup semi-finals. \u201cNobody has done it (won the quadruple), so why can we do it?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is almost impossible to achieve everything \u2014 that is the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Meulensteen, managing your squad when it comes to the business end of the season is crucial if a team are to win a quadruple. He noted how Ferguson would often think \u201cthree games ahead\u201d in terms of team selection, working out when the most appropriate time was to rest certain players.<\/p>\n

This, though, should be viewed as a blessing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, you want to be there,\u201d Meulensteen said. \u201cAs Manchester United, we wanted to have a lot of games in April and May, because that\u2019s where the prizes are being given.<\/p>\n

\u201cNowadays, if you do go far in the Champions League and in the FA Cup, you are going to have to play a lot in the final weeks, which is going to be a Sunday-Wednesday or Saturday-Tuesday situation. And you have to play those games anyway, so they might as well be big games where you have something to play for, and your big players thrive on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

It was Liverpool\u2019s turn to win the Carabao Cup in 2021-22, and they came agonisingly close to lifting the other three trophies too with Jurgen Klopp in charge.<\/p>\n

That April, they were one point behind City on the Premier League run-in, and had made it into the Champions League semi-finals and FA Cup final.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love being in this situation. It\u2019s incredibly tough \u2014 we play pretty much all the time,\u201d said manager Klopp, in quotes reported by TNT Sports<\/a>. \u201cYou cannot plan that you are still in everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we know there\u2019s nothing we have achieved so far, or not a lot. We won one competition, that\u2019s great, but there are three others to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Klopp said he loved his Liverpool side going for four trophies (Clive Brunskill\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

They fell agonisingly short, beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final but then finishing a point behind City and losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.<\/p>\n

Two years later, during what proved Klopp\u2019s final season in charge, Liverpool were still active in four competitions during the second half of the campaign, albeit playing in the second-tier Europa League as opposed to the Champions League.<\/p>\n

They again won the Carabao Cup, but finished third in the Premier League, having been knocked out of both the FA Cup and Europe in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n

There is a reason no club has yet managed to win the quadruple; history has shown it is almost impossible, as Guardiola suggested six years ago.<\/p>\n

But Arsenal and City currently still have the chance to do it this season \u2014 and time will soon tell which of the two clubs are going to continue to be in with a shot after their Wembley showdown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No English team has ever won the quadruple. Winning the domestic league championship, European Cup\/Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup has so far proven to be an insurmountable task, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}