A Season of Shocks: Europe's Most Unexpected Champions

As the 2026/27 season slowly starts to find its rhythm, it is a good moment to look back at the campaign that just ended. It was one of the strangest in recent memory, with plenty of leagues crowning champions who had either never done it before or had not done it in decades. Austria - LASK claimed their second league title, and first since 1965, finishing two points above defending champion Sturm Graz. Ukrainian defender Maksym Talovyerov, who played several seasons at center back or in defensive midfield, was no longer part of the squad. Azerbaijan - Sabah, a club founded only in 2017, won their first ever championship, leaving Qarabag nine points adrift. Qarabag had become the first Azerbaijani club to reach the Champions League playoffs, but their continental success did not translate domestically. Sabah also added the national cup. The first goal in club history belonged to Ukraine national-team forward Marko Dević. Bulgaria - Ludogorets had been champions 14 years in a row. That run finally ended at the hands of Levski Sofia, who claimed a 27th league title and first since 2009. Only fierce city rivals CSKA, with 31 titles, have more. Even CSKA-1948 finished above Ludogorets, a position they had never reached before. Hungary - Ferencváros, winners of seven straight championships, missed out by a single point to Győr. In the 1980s, the club was known as Raba ETO, and they had a brief title moment in 2013 before dropping to a lower division. After returning to the top flight, Győr finished fourth in the first season and then champions the next. Their Champions League involvement this season did not last long - they lost to the Icelandic champion. Denmark - FC Copenhagen did not even reach the top-six championship round, although they did make the Conference League by knocking out Polissia along the way. Brøndby had a poor finish. That left Aarhus to take advantage and end a 40-year wait, beating Midtjylland in a tight race. Aarhus clinched first place in the penultimate round with a win at Brøndby. They had also sold key defensive midfielder Madsen to FC Copenhagen after the season started, yet still ended up on top. Lithuania - Kauno Žalgiris won their first ever domestic title. The football club began as part of the famous basketball Žalgiris organization. Norway - Bodø/Glimt, the only Arctic champion in football history (Greenland not included), had taken four of the previous five titles. The trio of Bodø/Glimt, Molde and Rosenborg had won all 11 championships before this season. This time, however, Viking from Stavanger edged them by one point. Bodø/Glimt spent much of the season making noise in Europe, while Tromsø - the world's northernmost professional club - finished third. Viking's ninth title was their first since 1991. Romania - Universitatea Craiova won championships and reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals in the 1980s, then spent recent years hovering around third or fourth place. Now they are champions again for the first time in 35 years, the same gap Viking had to end. Universitatea Cluj finished second, and their remarkable run was covered earlier when they were introduced as Dynamo Kyiv's Europa League opponent. Switzerland - the most unique story belongs to Thun. After five years outside the Swiss Super League, they returned and won the title in their very first season.