With 9 within the 1999-2000 marketing campaign, Luis Figo holds the report for essentially the most assists in a single Champions League marketing campaign. However who else makes up the highest 5?
Which gamers have registered essentially the most assists in a single Champions League season?
Opta has collated new information from the early years of the UEFA Champions League, that means we are able to now deliver you the definitive stats on assists in Europe’e elite competitors.
One of many joys of researching outdated video games is to see gamers you had forgotten about displaying their expertise in an period when when soccer was arguably much less homogenous, and also you caught transient glimpses of gamers who you didn’t see week to week within the prime leagues.
This text celebrates these creators who’ve had spectacular campaigns within the Champions League by creating essentially the most targets for teammates in a single season, and we take a look at how the report advanced.
Most Assists in a Single Champions League Marketing campaign
Luis Figo, Barcelona – 9 (1999-2000)
David Beckham, Manchester United – 8 (1998-99)
Gaizka Mendieta, Valencia – 8 (2000-01)
Neymar, Barcelona – 8 (2016-17)
James Milner, Liverpool – 8 (2017-18)
Raphinha, Barcelona – 7 (2024-25)
Raúl, Actual Madrid – 7 (2002-03)
Xavi, Barcelona – 7 (2008-09)
Ryan Giggs, Manchester United – 7 (2006-07)
Dwight Yorke, Manchester United – 7 (1998-99)
Roberto Firmino, Liverpool – 7 (2017-18)
Mesut Özil, Actual Madrid – 7 (2010-11)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paris Saint-Germain – 7 (2012-13)
Luís Figo, Actual Madrid – 7 (2000-01)
Extra Champions League Information
The First Season
The Champions League was a really completely different competitors in its first iteration. There have been qualifying rounds involving all groups, which meant the winners of Europe’s elite leagues weren’t assured spots within the group stage. Certainly, in that first season, the English, Spanish and German champions have been all eradicated and any targets that they scored in spherical one or spherical two don’t depend in the direction of any Champions League information.
The group stage noticed eight groups break up into two teams, and the 2 groups who received their teams – Milan and Marseille – went straight to the ultimate. There have been fewer video games in the entire competitors than there are nowadays on a single matchday.
Marseille went on to win the ultimate, with Rudi Völler establishing 4 targets in that marketing campaign to set the preliminary bar for essentially the most assists in a single season of the Champions League.
His tally was matched in 1993-94 by Barcelona full-back Sergi Barjuán and Milan duo Dejan Savicevic and Zvonimir Boban. These two groups competed in that season’s closing, which the Italian facet received 4-0, nonetheless the largest margin of victory in a closing. Savicevic scored a shocking strike, which is without doubt one of the most iconic targets of that period, but in addition assisted the opening objective in Athens for Daniele Massaro.
Savicevic additionally registered the primary hat-trick of assists within the competitors in December 1993 when he arrange all three targets in a 3-0 victory over FC Porto.
A New Chief
Sergei Yuran was the primary to succeed in 5 assists in a single season, helped by the actual fact he registered 4 in two video games towards Rosenborg. Spartak Moscow turned the primary workforce to win all six group stage matches within the Champions League, with Yuran offering the service, however he didn’t stick with the Russian facet for the knockout levels, selecting as an alternative to signal on mortgage for Millwall in England’s second tier.
One thing of a nomad, Yuran had seven golf equipment in as many seasons between 1994 and 2001. He netted only one objective for Millwall in a spell the place partying slightly than soccer appeared to be his precedence.
“I forgot about soccer,” he was quoted as telling the Night Commonplace. “I’d flip up for coaching after yet one more wild night time at a disco with my beloved new spouse. Not solely did I study nothing, however I misplaced what I did know.” He even urged most English golf equipment performed a model of soccer that was extra akin to rugby.
Supervisor Jimmy Nicholl, who took over from Mick McCarthy shortly after Yuran’s arrival, was very important. In the identical aforementioned interview, Yuran mentioned: “Jimmy Nicholl mentioned I used to be essentially the most unprofessional participant he’d ever met. And that was true.”
Yuran wasn’t the one participant to succeed in 5 assists that season, although. Benoit Cauet of Nantes matched the Russian’s feat, together with a hat-trick of assists in a single sport towards Juventus within the semi-final second leg, which the French champions received 3-2. They in the end misplaced the tie 4-3 on mixture, although.
Cauet was a dynamic midfield participant who labored exhausting in each assault and defence, however these proved to be his solely assists within the competitors, partly as a result of he performed only one extra season within the Champions League whereas at Inter in 1998-99.
“He’s Extra Like a Dancer Than a Soccer Participant” – Franz Beckenbauer
The report didn’t final lengthy because it was damaged the next season as soon as once more, this time by Zinedine Zidane. The 1996-97 event was the final version of the Champions League the place solely the champions of every nation have been eligible to take part. Reigning European champions Juventus had determined to put money into Zidane, a artistic playmaker who had been impressing with Bordeaux in Ligue 1. The French midfielder settled in instantly, successful the Serie A title, the league’s Overseas Footballer of the Yr award, and serving to his facet to succeed in the second of three successive Champions League finals.
The elegant Zidane registered six assists in his workforce’s Champions League marketing campaign, all in house video games. Edgar Davids described him as “a particular participant” who “creates house the place there’s none”, whereas Edwin van der Sar known as his teammate “a really regular man” who’d arrive at coaching in a Fiat Punto slightly than a Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini. “The aura he had, the way in which he moved on the pitch was particular.”
Zidane can be the primary participant to register double figures for assists in whole and in addition the primary to succeed in 20. His output dried up barely in his later profession. He managed 16 assists in 35 video games for Juventus, however simply 10 in 45 Champions League appearances for Actual Madrid.
Bend It Like Beckham
We didn’t have to attend too lengthy to see the report crushed as soon as once more. Manchester United’s treble-winning season was outstanding in some ways, however on completion of this undertaking we are able to now reveal that not one, however two gamers surpassed Zidane’s tally of six assists in 1998-99, and each got here from the identical membership.
Dwight Yorke managed seven assists because the Crimson Devils posted some unbelievable scores and have become the primary workforce to win the trophy having not been champions of their very own home league the season earlier than. There have been 31 targets netted of their six group video games, 20 for and 11 towards and Yorke arrange six of these for the Premier League membership. It’s no shock that three of these got here for his strike accomplice Andrew Cole, with whom the Trinidadian goalscorer had fashioned a lethal partnership.
By the top of the group stage, Yorke was forward of one in every of his Man Utd teammates by one help, nevertheless it wasn’t the Champions League assists report holder Ryan Giggs, however David Beckham, who added three extra within the knockout section to interrupt Zidane’s report after which prolonged it together with his closing help of the marketing campaign within the semi-final towards the Frenchman’s Juventus facet. Yorke recorded his seventh help in that very same sport after Beckham had racked up quantity eight. It’s fascinating to notice as nicely that the previous England captain’s help in that sport was his just one from a dead-ball scenario that season.
Beckham performed in central midfield within the closing towards Bayern Munich at Camp Nou, and whereas he didn’t get credited with an help, it was in fact two corners from the very best crosser within the enterprise that led to United’s dramatic late comeback with two targets in stoppage time.
The Present Document Holder
UEFA like to tinker with the format of their competitions and this reality most likely contributed to a brand new report being set within the 1999-2000 season. The qualifying pool was prolonged to 32 groups from 24 and a second group stage was carried out to ensure golf equipment extra matches and thereby extra income. As an alternative of 11 matches to win the trophy, now a workforce must play 17 video games.
These extra matches allowed Barcelona’s Luis Figo to succeed in a tally of 9 assists and his performances in 1999-2000 led to a controversial transfer to rivals Actual Madrid after they activated a buyout clause within the Portuguese winger’s contract. He additionally received the 2000 Ballon d’Or.
Figo’s probabilities of setting the report have been helped by the actual fact he took corners from either side of the pitch and 4 of his 9 assists got here straight from his corners, with two every for Frank de Boer and Abelardo.
He adopted up with seven and 6 assists respectively within the following two seasons of Champions League soccer at Madrid and completed his profession with 34 assists within the competitors general, placing him sixth on the all-time record for many Champions League targets created.
Shut However No Cigar
A number of gamers have come near matching Figo’s report however thus far, everybody has fallen quick. Three extra gamers have managed to rack up eight assists in a single marketing campaign, however with fewer video games per season from 2003 onwards, folks could possibly be forgiven for considering maybe it’d by no means be bettered.
If we have been to let you know a Spanish midfielder threatened the report, you would possibly suppose it was somebody like Xavi or Andrés Iniesta. Nonetheless, the primary to go shut was Gaizka Mendieta in 2000-01, who registered eight assists as Valencia made their solution to the ultimate, solely to lose on a penalty shootout towards Bayern Munich. Mendieta scored within the closing from the penalty spot and in addition netted within the shootout however sadly for the La Liga facet, they misplaced the competitors’s showpiece for the second season in a row.
We needed to wait 15 seasons for somebody to go as shut once more and it was one other Barcelona participant who nearly equalled the report. Neymar was in his pomp alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez; the Brazilian’s tally was boosted by registering 4 assists in a single match towards Celtic. In truth, he holds the report for many assists by a participant towards a single opponent within the competitors with eight towards the Scottish giants.
The latest try to come back near matching Figo’s report got here in 2017-18 when James Milner recorded eight assists for Liverpool on their run to the ultimate. Mohamed Salah could have been the star of that workforce nevertheless it was Milner who led the way in which creatively. A hat-trick of assists towards Spartak Moscow was the spotlight of his contribution and his tally of eight in that single season matched the overall of assists that the versatile Milner mustered in his 9 different campaigns put collectively.
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