The year in which eternal losers broke the shackles of ill fortune

The year 2004 will forever remain written down in football almanacs as a year that brought some incredible surprises. Twenty-one years ago, Porto won the UEFA Champions League, Greece won the European Championship, Werder Bremen were the champions of Bundesliga, Valencia won the La Liga, Real Zaragoza lifted the Copa del Rey trophy, while Middlesborough won the English League Cup.

The season whose end is near may not be remembered like the aforementioned 2004, but for some clubs and their fans - and one particular player - it will forever be historic and will find its place in their memories for good.

In 2025, many curses have been broken, many trophy droughts have been ended, and some eternal losers have finally managed to change their fortunes and win silverware to decorate their stadiums.

It all started with Newcastle. The club from the east of England has been waiting for a major trophy since 1955, when the Magpies clinched their sixth FA Cup. Since then, Newcastle have been the Premier League vice-champions twice, FA Cup runners-up three times, and League Cup finalists twice.

Howe's Magpies fly into legend! Newcastle beat Reds to win EFL Cup

But there were no trophies. Until March 16, 2025, when Dan Burn and Alexander Isak brought the Magpies the EFL Cup trophy - their first piece of silverware after 70 years - beating Liverpool 2-1 in the final!

The following month brought another broken curse - this time in the Netherlands.

Sorry, grandson, Eagles go ahead and take the maiden cup trophy

Go Ahead Eagles, the club from a city with a little over 100,000 citizens, Deventer, have never been the elite of Dutch football. In its early days, Go Ahead Eagles won four titles - the last one in 1933 - and have been trophyless ever since.

Yet, on April 21, they managed to break the 92-year-long curse and clinch their maiden Dutch KNVN Cup, beating the giants AZ Alkmaar on penalties.

Thirteen days later, the "unthinkable" happened - for the first time in his 16-year career, Harry Kane has won a trophy, claiming the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich! Even though he failed to bring glory to his Tottenham and despite the Bavarians' status as an utmost favourite in German football, the Englishman definitely deserved to emerge victorious and break the curse that has been following him for years.

No one deserved it more than him

Another curse - lasting for 51 years - was broken in Italy on May 14, when Bologna lifted their third Coppa Italia trophy in history after brushing AC Milan aside 1-0 in the final. The club whose last trophy came in 1974 in the same competition, thus crowned its fantastic performances and complete revival in the past few seasons, while striker Dan Ndoye became the utmost hero of the entire city.

It was worth waiting! Bologna win the Cup after 51 years and mark Milan's miserable season!

Only three days later, another side wearing blue and red jerseys changed its reputation of "eternal loser." Only this time, the curse lasted since forever! Although founded 119 years ago, Crystal Palace have never won a major trophy in England. Moreover, they reached the trophy match only twice in the FA Cup, in 1990 and 2016.

They waited 120 years for this, literally – Crystal Palace has won the first trophy in their history!

Still, third luck was the charm for the Eagles, who brought the "intimidating" Man City to their knees thanks to Eberechi Eze's early winner, bringing immense happiness to south London.

Finally, in an "all-English winner-takes-all" UEFA Europa League final, Tottenham beat Man United, ending their 17-year-long trophy drought. In the end, a bit paradoxically, Spurs crowned one of their worst Premier League seasons in recent history with a trophy and will play in the Champions League next season.

Goal like final, final like season, season like Man Utd's worst nightmare! Scrappy own goal for Spurs' UEL triumph

The impression is that the aforementioned Harry Kane lacked just a little patience to win the silverware with the team he captained for years, while Ange Postecoglou kept his promise and won a trophy in his second season.

At the same time, Brennan Johnson's goal - or Luke Shaw's own goal, according to many - marked the Red Devils' horrible campaign.

It's important to mention that this company could soon get two new members, as Paris Saint-Germain could clinch their first UCL trophy in their 54-year history, while Kenya Police could win their maiden KPL title.