The legendary high-water mark of 26 consecutive wins set by Johan Cruyff’s Ajax side had stood for more than half a century before it was broken in Scotland’s fifth tier thanks to goals from a lab technician. Or so everyone thought.
Ajax had been made aware of the impending landmark and celebrated East Kilbride’s 3-1 victory over BSC Glasgow in November 2016 by sending a club van onto the pitch. There were 27 crates of beer packed in the back along with a laptop that carried a video message from club legend and technical director Edwin van der Sar. Kilby manager Martin Laughlan gushed: “To surpass the legend Johan Cruyff’s record with Ajax is surreal.”
Guinness World Records did not get swept along in the fanfare, discounting Kilbride’s run as they operated outside “top-level” competition.
However, Ajax were surpassed by another British club in the same year. Here’s a look at all of the teams that have made it into the official standings.
Frank Rijkaard was focussing on his lingerie company and mulling over an offer from the Netherlands Antilles when Barcelona came calling in 2003. Two years later, the legendary Dutch player had entered the pantheon of great managers with an 18-game winning that propelled the club to glory in La Liga and the Champions League.
Ronaldinho clicked into the best form of his entire career during this blistering sequence, directly contributing to 21 goals in 18 games.
The two most famous strikes from Ronaldinho amid this run came at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he was so good the Real Madrid fans even stood up to applaud him. It’s safe to say that Rijkaard would have been working with a slightly different calibre of player had he taken up the Antilles offer.
Vanderlei Luxemburgo has a divisive reputation. The Brazilian manager led his national team to the 1999 Copa America title but became embroiled in an unsavoury corruption trial when his ex-girlfriend and colleague Renata Alves launched a smear campaign against him.
Luis Figo worked with Luxemburgo at Real Madrid in 2005 and described him as “the worst” coach of his career. Yet, for Rivaldo, Luxemburgo was “the best”.
“Everything coaches in Europe do today,” Rivaldo wrote on social media in 2020, “you already did 25 years ago.” Rivaldo’s faith in the Marmite manager no doubt stems from their two…
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