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- Biggest losing margin in a World Cup qualifier
A hapless American Samoa were decimated 31-0 by then Oceania powerhouses Australia in a 2002 World Cup qualifying fixture on 11th April, 2001. The lopsided scoreline played a significant role in the overhaul of the qualifying process that now sees smaller teams playing in a preliminary round before they face the top dogs. The same rule is likely to ensure that this record will not be broken for a long time to come.
- Five European Cup triumphs in a row
Real Madrid were an unstoppable force during the time when Alfredo Di Stefano was at the peak of his powers. It was to the great fortune of Los Blancos that the Argentine’s peak came at the advent of the European Cup, which they won five times in a row on the back of their mercurial forward’s heroics. The continental championship, in its rebranded avatar as the Champions League, is yet to be successfully defended. It remains highly unlikely that Real Madrid’s record will be broken anytime soon.
- Most league goals in a season
Everton legend Dixie Dean scored a scarcely believable 60 goals from 39 league games in the English top flight in the 1927/28 season. About the prospect of his record being broken, he once replied: “People ask me if that 60-goal record will ever be beaten. I think it will. But there’s only one man who’ll do it. That’s the fellow that walks on the water. I think he’s about the only one.”
- Most goals at a World Cup
Just Fontaine grabbed 13 goals at the 1954 World Cup. No player has managed more than ten since. At a time when games at the premier football tournament are getting increasingly low scoring, it is safe to assume that Fontaine will have his record for a long, long time, if not forever.
- Most English top flight titles as a manager
When Sir Alex Ferguson retired from management at the end of the 2012/13 season, he had won 13 league titles with Manchester United. Second in the list is George Ramsay, who won six titles with Aston Villa, more than 100 years ago. Ferguson has the record safe for a very long time.
Founder and editor of Footiecentral. A voracious reader who loves reading anything and everything related to the history of football. He’s an ardent supporter of Manchester United and rarely misses a match.