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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Guardian sport

Which football teams have won tournaments they did not qualify for?

José Mourinho, Bobby Robson and Ronaldo.
Jose Mourinho, Bobby Robson and Ronaldo; Barcelona won the 1997 Cup Winners’ Cup despite being beaten finalists in the 1996 Copa del Rey final. Photograph: Colorsport/Shutterstock

“Apart from Denmark in 1992, have any teams won tournaments or competitions for which they didn’t originally qualify?” enquires John Palfreyman.

It’s Europa League week, so let’s start with the teams who won that competition after going out of the Champions League. (Yes, yes, we know that technically they qualified but they still got there via the back door and the parachute. The definition of ‘didn’t originally qualify’ is in the eye of the beholder so we’ve included any potentially eligible story we find vaguely interesting, which is basically all of them.)

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