Europe’s Fairytale Football Title Successes
Europe’s smaller leagues are packed with interesting stories and surprise title successes. Last season (2022/23) saw the likes of Aris Limassol, Swift Hesperange, Larne, FC Struga and Raków claim maiden titles in Cyprus, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia and Poland. But this season (2023/24) served up even more great stories, including two teams from towns of less than 12,500 becoming national champions.
KF Egnatia, Albania
Albanian side Egnatia, named after the Roman road Via Egnatia that linked Durres on the Adriatic Sea to Byzantium (Istanbul), was only promoted to the Kategoria Superiore for the second time in its history in 2021. But last season, it stormed to a maiden title ahead of 17-time winners Partizani to claim an emotional success against all the odds.
Egnatia’s success was dedicated to Ghanaian striker Raphael Dwamena, who died while playing for the club in November. Dwamena was diagnosed with a heart issue in 2017 and then had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) fitted in 2020, which allowed his club Levante to monitor his heart during games. He collapsed during an Austrian Cup game in 2021, and an ICD shock stabilised him quickly. But two years later, on 11 November 2023, he suffered a cardiac arrest 23 minutes into a game between Egnatia and reigning champions Partizani. Sadly, Dwamena died on the way to Kavajë Hospital at the age of just 28. After his death, Dwamena’s cardiologist revealed the player had chosen to remove his ICD a year prior to the incident.
Foussballclub Differdange 03, Luxembourg
Differdange 03 was formed in 2003 as a merger between AS Differdange and Red Boys Differdange, which had been one of Luxembourg’s most successful clubs with 6 league titles and a record 15 cup successes. The newly formed Differdange 03 had added 5 more cup wins but hadn’t added to the titles that Red Boys last won in 1979.
That changed in 2023/24 as, 12 months on from Swift Hesperange claiming their maiden title, Differdange 03 followed suit. Differdange romped to the Luxembourg National Division, only losing 2 of their 30 matches, scoring 70 goals and only conceding 23 to win the league by 5 points from Swift and Diddeleng.
Fotbal Club Petrocub Hincesti, Moldova
Sheriff Tiraspol, most famous for beating Real Madrid away in the Champions League in 2021, had won the last eight Moldovan Super Liga titles. But that streak ground to a halt courtesy of maiden winners Petrocub Hincesti, who also won the cup to become the only Moldovan side other than Sheriff to do the double this century.
The success of Petrocub, which plays at the 1,100-capacity Stadionul Municipal Hîncești, is largely courtesy to the unique format of their domestic league. Sheriff finished the regular season with a six-point lead over their rivals. However, the new format — only introduced in 2022/23 — sees the top 6 teams’ points tallies wiped out going into the championship phase. Petrocub put together an inspired run, going unbeaten through the championship phase to send the title to the tiny town of Hincesti, which has a population of just over 12,000, for the first time.
This success could be a marker for improvement at Petrocub, who recently announced a partnership with an unnamed African company and appointed a Ghanaian CEO. This mirrors Sheriff’s successful approach of recruiting young African talent.
Fudbalski klub Dečić Tuzi, Montenegro
FK Decic only played in Montenegro’s top-tier First League for the first time in 2006 and only returned there in 2020. But the club from the tiny town of Tuzi, which has a population of just over 11,000, claimed an historic title in 2024.
The club offered signs of improvement as they came runners-up in the Montegrin Cup in 2021 and 2022. Yet a league title push seemed unlikely given they finished 4th in the 2023 league campaign, a huge 20 points behind winners Budućnost Podgorica. However, Decic performed superbly last season, losing 6 of their 36 games to win their maiden title by 6 points from Mornar.
Jagiellonia Białystok Sportowa Spółka Akcyjna, Poland
Jagiellonia Białystok had spent most of its 123 years in the 2nd and 3rd tiers of Polish football and had never been national champions. But, following promotion to Ekstraklasa in 2007, they came close to glory in 2017, when a final-day defeat saw them miss out on the title by 3 points to Legia Warszawa. But they finally exorcised those demons last season.
Very few people could have predicted it, considering Jagiellonia finished 14th in Ekstraklasa in 2023, only avoiding relegation by 4 points. But out of nowhere, Jagiellonia raced to the top of Ekstraklasa and found themselves locked in a title battle with 2-time winners Śląsk Wrocław and record 15-time winners Legia Warszawa.
Going into the final 2 games, Jagiellonia led the way but drew 1–1 at Piast while Śląsk won to draw level on points on the final day. But Jagiellonia cruised to a 3–0 victory at home to Warta Poznán to claim their maiden title on goal difference. Their first title was largely courtesy of scoring 77 goals in 34 games, which was 27 more than Śląsk.
