Football’s trophy magnet still has a record to break
To paraphrase the introduction of the cult TV series “The A-Team”: If you have a desire for trophies, if no one else can take you there, but if you manage to get him on the hook, maybe you can buy… Kingsley Coman.
Why such a praising statement, you might wonder? In sports, results matter. And Coman delivers just that: the 27-year-old winger has never (!) finished a season without a title.
First, France
The Frenchman acquired his football education at Paris Saint-Germain, where he made his debut for the first team in the 2012/13 season at the age of 16 years, eight months, and four days – at that time, the youngest player in PSG’s history, a record that has since been broken by Warren Zaïre-Emery.
He received only three minutes of playing time against Sochaux back then, but it was enough for him to receive the French Ligue 1 winner’s medal in the spring.
He was also awarded the golden accolade at PSG the following season, but as the breakthrough at the French powerhouse didn’t materialize – Coman played only a total of 52 minutes throughout the season – he decided to move on in the summer of 2014.
Then, Italy
Coman’s next destination was Juventus in Turin, where he got off to a decent start. Despite spending most of his time on the bench, Coman still managed to take to the field in 20 matches in the 2014/15 season. In addition, he was crowned Italian champion wearing the Bianconeri colors.
Although everything seemed fine on the surface, Coman felt that Massimiliano Allegri’s defensive style – which often forced him to play lower – didn’t suit him. With his future career in mind, the Frenchman submitted a request to leave and found his lifeline in a loan deal with Bayern Munich.
Still in Germany
In the German club ranks and under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, Coman immediately blossomed: 35 appearances in all competitions, topped with winning the Bundesliga, of course. But in addition to winning gold in Germany, he also won the Italian championship gold medal in the 2015/16 season for a single league match played in August!
Although Guardiola moved to Manchester City in the spring of 2016, Coman’s role didn’t change under the subsequent head coaches – and there have been quite a few at Bayern! He remained a pillar of the Bavarian club and has now accumulated 267 appearances and scored 58 goals in eight seasons.
But what’s even more significant: he has been crowned German champion with Bayern every season!
The Bundesliga title was won in the closest fashion this spring when Bayern snatched it from the clutches of their eternal rival Borussia Dortmund in the final matchday, and finally only thanks to a better goal difference.
A total of 29 titles
Thanks to that, Coman’s seemingly incredible streak continued. Since starting his professional career in 2013, he has always been crowned a national champion: twice in France, twice in Italy, and 8 times in Germany.
In addition to the aforementioned 12 league titles, the Frenchman has also won the French Cup, French Super Cup, Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup, German Cup (3 times), German Super Cup (6 times), UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
In club football, Coman has earned a total of 28 titles, to which he added a victory in the UEFA Nations League with France in 2021.
While 29 titles may sound impressive, the Frenchman doesn’t even make it into the top ten in the world. To achieve that, he would need to win at least ten more gold medals. However, considering that Coman is only 27, it doesn’t seem like an impossible feat.
Alves or Messi?
But who is the most successful football player in history? Most sources consider Brazilian Dani Alves to be the one, having managed to lift 46 trophies with Bahia, Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus, PSG, Sao Paulo, and the Brazilian national team.
True, there are sources that lower Alves’ cup tally to “only” 42, placing him behind Lionel Messi (43 trophies).
However, neither the Brazilian nor the Argentine is actually the most successful football player in history. That honour belongs to Gibraltar’s footballer Lee Casciaro. Yes, the 40-year-old player hasn’t earned a single dime from football, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has a record of 56 different trophies!
By the way, Casciaro was also the man who prevented Zlatan Ibrahimovic from becoming the oldest player to participate in a European Championship qualifying match this year. When the Swede came on as a substitute against Belgium on March 24th, he was 41 years, 5 months and 21 days old. Casciaro had played against Greece the day before, being a mere 3 days older than Zlatan.
