Sports dynasty


In sports, a dynasty is a team or individual that dominates their sport or league for an extended length of time. Some leagues usually maintain official lists of dynasties, often as part of a hall of fame, but in many cases, whether a team or individual has achieved a dynasty is subjective. This can result in frequent topic of debate among sports fans due to lack of consensus and agreement in the many different variables and criteria that fans may use to define a sports dynasty. Merriam-Webster describes a dynasty as a "sports franchise which has a prolonged run of successful seasons". Within the same sport, or even the same league, dynasties may be concurrent with each other. This is a list of teams that have been called a dynasty after periods of success. The use of the term to characterize such prolonged success emerged in the early 20th century.

Association football

Club

American Major League Soccer

  • D.C. United, 1996 to 1999. In addition to the MLS Championships D.C. United won other American and regional titles during this time. In 1996, D.C. United won the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and in 1998 D.C. United won the CONCACAF Champions Cup as the best team in North America and later in the same year won the InterAmerican Cup against the champions of South America.
  • LA Galaxy, 2009 to 2015. Additionally, the team has four Western Conference titles and has had great players such as David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.

    Argentine Primera División

  • Boca Juniors, 1999 to 2012. In their "Golden Era", the Xeneizes, led by Riquelme, Palermo, Tevez, among others, won seven domestic championships, four Copa Libertadores, two Copa Sudamericana, three Recopa Sudamericana, and two Intercontinental Cup.

    Belarus Highest League

  • BATE Borisov won 13 consecutive national championships from 2006 to 2018 and became first and only Belarusian club that participated in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

    Canadian Premier League

  • Forge FC, 2019 to 2024. Led by head coach and sporting director Bobby Smyrniotis, Forge FC went to six league finals in six years, winning four Canadian Premier League championships.

    English First Division and Premier League

  • Liverpool between 1972 and 1990. During those eighteen years, the club became English champions on eleven occasions, under the successive guidance of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish. Other domestic honours won during the period were the FA Cups in 1974, 1986 and 1989 and the League Cups, won on four consecutive occasions from 1981 to 1984. This dominance was extended to the European stage, beginning in 1972–73 when the club won the second-tier UEFA Cup. Further success in this competition arrived in 1975–76, before Liverpool embarked on a run of four top-tier European Cup wins between 1976–77 and 1983–84. No other English club has achieved such success in the premier European club competition since then. Liverpool reached their finest hour in the 1983–84 season when, with Joe Fagan at the helm, they became English champions while also winning the League Cup and the European Cup final against Roma.
  • Manchester United created one of the biggest dynasties that lasted from the start of the Premier League in 1992–93 to 2012–13. After six seasons of Sir Alex Ferguson rebuilding the club, the team won the first-ever Premier League title, which was also their eighth top-tier league title. This victory was only the beginning of dominance, as the club won the league title twelve more times, setting a new English record of 20 top-tier titles. Manchester United also lifted the FA Cup during this period with victories in 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99 and 2003–04. Furthermore, United became the Champions of Europe twice during that time span, as well as reaching a further two finals. They won the Champions League in 1998–99 and 2007–08. During this time, the club finished no lower than third in each Premier League season.
  • Manchester City succeeded their rivals as the pre-eminent team in the Premier League, having won eight titles since 2011–12 Premier League. Additionally, they have won two FA Cups and six league cups in that time span. City's dominion of the league strengthened since Pep Guardiola took charge of the team in 2016; they won six of the last seven titles as of 2024, including a four-in-a-row sequence. Guardiola also guided them to the treble, winning the league, FA Cup and their maiden Champions League, also becoming just the second English team to accomplish the feat.

    French Ligue 1

  • Paris Saint-Germain from 2012 to present in Ligue 1. PSG won seven Ligue 1 championships in twelve seasons. They also won eight Coupe de France titles, including four straight from 2015 to 2018, as well as 5 straight Coupe de la Ligue titles from 2014 to 2018, with another in 2020. So far, PSG have achieved domestic treble four times and continental treble once, when they took their first European crown in 2025.

    German Bundesliga

  • Bayern Munich from 1968 to present. Since the foundation of Bundesliga in 1963, Bayern have won the league a record 33 times, more than every other German clubs combined. Bayern also won the European Cup three times in a row from 1974 to 1976, and won the Champions League subsequently in 2001, 2013, and 2020. Bayern became the first German club to win the quadruple in the 2012–13 season, winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League and DFL-Supercup. They won eleven consecutive league titles, from 2013 to 2023, until their winning streak was broken by Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023–24 season.

    Greek Super League

  • Olympiacos are the most successful club in Greek football history, with 47 Greek League titles and 28 Greek Cups.

    Italian Football Championship and Serie A league

  • Genoa from 1898 to 1904 in Italian football having won six Italian championship titles in seven years using the Cambridge's Pyramid.
  • Pro Vercelli from 1908 to 1913 in Italian football having won five Italian championship titles in six years. Also, the Vercelli's club players during that period constituted the backbone of the nascent national team.
  • Juventus from 1930–31 to 1934–35 seasons in Italian football. During Edoardo Agnelli presidency and with the technical guidance of Carlo Carcano, who implemented in the team the Metodo tactic scheme; the club dominated the 1930s winning five consecutive national championships – at the time the sole top flight competition in the country – a national record that stood for the next 82 years and allowed the Turinese side to form the core of the Italy national team during the Vittorio Pozzo's era, including the 1933–1935 Central European International Cup winner team and the 1934 world champion squad.
  • Torino during the 1940s in Italian football due to their success in the league championships in 1942–43 and from 1945–46 to 1948–49. This team notably won a historic five consecutive league titles and were given the moniker Grande Torino by the press.
  • A.C. Milan experienced several successful periods during their history. In the 1950s, having won four league titles and two Latin Cups, which was considered a predecessor of club tournaments in Europe, namely the European Cup. From the 1987–88 to the 1995–96 season, Milan won five Serie A titles. Also, they were able to secure four Supercoppa Italiana in 1988, 1992, 1993 and 1994. Internationally, Milan honours included three UEFA Champions Leagues in 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1993–94 seasons, three UEFA Super Cup titles and two Intercontinental Cups. In this period, the game philosophy of then manager Arrigo Sacchi is considered to have revolutionized football in Italy, where the game was previously based on a defensive approach, switching the focus towards a highly fluid and organized game, zonal marking and intense pressing in the midfield line. He did so while at the same time securing one of the strongest defending packages of all time, thanks to individuals such as Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini. In the 2000s, namely between the 2002–03 and 2006–07 seasons, Milan achieved important successes, having won one Serie A title, one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa Italiana, two UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.
  • Inter Milan experienced two golden eras. During the Grande Inter era of the mid-1960s, Inter, managed by Helenio Herrera, won three Serie A titles, 1962–63, 1964–65 and 1965–66, as well as back-to-back European Cups and Intercontinental Cups.

    Spanish La Liga

  • Real Madrid won 12 La Liga titles in 16 seasons, as well as reaching eight European Cup finals in 11 seasons. They also won five consecutive league titles in 1986–90. The club's most recent dynasty formed as part of their gálactico transfer policy, with the team reaching eight consecutive Champions League semi-finals from 2010–11 to 2017–18 and winning six titles between 2014 and 2024, including a three-in-a-row sequence.
  • Barcelona from the 2004–05 season to 2019–20. They won ten La Liga championships and four Champions League titles, including an unprecedented six major trophies in 2009, and became the first Spanish team to win the Sextuple. They also became the first team to win the treble twice in European football in the 2014–15 season.

    Collegiate

  • Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer, 1959–1974. Led by head coaches Bob Guelker and Harry Keough, SLU won 10 titles in the first 15 seasons of the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, as well as making the championship game six consecutive times from 1969 to 1974 and the College Cup all years except for 1964 and 1966.
  • North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer, 1979–2012. This also includes 9 consecutive NCAA Tournament Championships from 1986 to 1994, and 15 consecutive ACC Tournament Championships from 1989 to 2003. Also, they boast a 90% win rate, having won 704 games and lost or tied only 78 games.