UFC Hall of Fame Inductee Donald Cerrone famously remarked that ‘to be the best, you have to beat the best.’ Winning is hard, but to keep winning is even harder. But from time to time in sports, we will see an individual or a team so well-oiled, well-maintained, and well-organized that they just become invincible, that they just keep on winning and winning. Today, we will talk about the longest winning streak in some of the most popular and beloved sports in the world.
What is the longest winning streak in sporting history?
But, before we delve deeper into each sport, we have to look at the King of Kings, Queen of Queens, and the most dominant athlete not only in his sport but also in the sporting world. That crown belongs to one Antoni Bou, a Spanish professional motorcycle trials rider.
Ever since his career began in 2007, Bou has won all the indoor and outdoor series, seriously. He is currently on a 34-title winning streak and has yet to lose a title. Even more mind-boggling is the fact that, across his 17-year career, he has failed to finish on the podium only SIX times. His consistency is most certainly unique; no one in other sports manages to come even close.
Formula One
In the premier class of motorsports, dominance is far from unique. The eras of Fangio, Schumacher, Hamilton, and now Verstappen leave some fans frustrated and bored at the fact that most races are won before the lights turn off. But, at the end of the day, Formula One is a competition of engineering as much as it is a sport, so the fact that a team is able to build a dominant car should really be appreciated and marveled at, not frowned upon.
Longest winning streak for a driver
This record was recently broken after a decade of wait; Max Verstappen won the 2023 Italian Grand Prix and recorded his tenth victory in succession, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 tally of 9. Unprecedented was Verstappen’s dominance; the Dutchman won all but three Grands Prix and stood on the podium in all but one race. Will Verstappen better this in 2024? Bet now on fun88.
Championship-wise, Verstappen is on a three-peat: he has won three championships in a row. While this is impressive, it is not the longest. Juan Manual Fangio, Lewis Hamilton, as well as Vettel have managed to do four in a row. But only Michael Schumacher stood on top with five, winning it all from 2000 to 2004.
Longest winning streak for a team
Again, thanks to Verstappen’s recent dominance, Red Bull Racing set a whole new benchmark of 15 race wins in a row, breaking McLaren’s 35-year-old record of 11.
It is the opposite of the championship; while Schumacher stood on top in the individual aspect, it was Hamilton’s Mercedes AMG who established an eight-year dynasty, during which they won.
Football/Soccer
The world’s sport. The beautiful game. Football is as majestic as it is simple. Its long history paved the way for many serial winners and champions, but here are the best to ever do it.
Longest winning streak for a domestic team
This record is more than a century old, but the fact that no one has come close speaks a lot about its greatness. Sparta Prague is the most grandiose football club in the Czech Republic, and their 51-game winning streak spanned four whole years from 1920 to 1923.
Longest winning streak for a national team
There are two editions for this particular statistic; one counts only competitive games; the other counts every game, including friendlies.
For the former, the record belongs to Germany, who won 15 competitive games in a row between July 2010 and June 2012.
For the latter, the record belongs to Spain, who won 15 games in a row between June 2008 and June 2009, i.e., they went an entire year without drawing or losing.
Longest unbeaten streak for a domestic team
ASEC Mimosas, a football club from Ivory Coast, is the current holder of the longest unbeaten streak in world football; they played 108 league games without losing across six years.
But, if domestic cup games are included, the record changes hand to Steaua Bucharest who won 119 domestic games in a row, both in the Romanian League and the Romanian Cup.
Longest unbeaten streak for a national team
The reigning European champions Italy hold the current unbeaten record for national teams at 37. Reigning world champions Argentina very recently fell short by one to beat this record, stopping at 36 in a row.
Conclusion
Winning might be a sign of dominance, but real dominance consists of winning streaks. But to be the best, you have to keep winning. These individuals and teams showed us the limit of what is possible and motivated others to try harder to overcome these records.
