The most memorable moments of world football in 2023

Football fans have experienced an emotional 2023. This was a year that witnessed many comebacks, brilliant victories, championship moments, and that journey was also indispensable for failures and forgettable lows.

Below are the most special moments of football in 2023.

Man City and the historic treble

Man City has just experienced the most successful year in the club's history. Pep Guardiola's side won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the 2022-23 season, becoming the second English team to complete a great treble after Manchester United in 1999.

With Erling Haaland and a star-studded squad, Pep Guardiola brought Man City to the finish line in unstoppable form. But on that journey, they still encountered many difficulties. On the morning of February 6, Man City leaders received notice that the Premier League had accused the club of violating financial rules more than 100 times from 2009 to 2018.

Speculation about being stripped of the title and even relegated quickly made fans confused, and the dressing room was also unstable. But after February 6, Man City played 28 matches in all competitions and lost only 1 match to Brentford in May, after winning the championship.

Throughout the season, images of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies were hung around Man City's training ground, above the words "our goal". In public, Guardiola always called for the treble. is "impossible", but internally, he constantly encourages the players to think about the opportunity to write their names in the history books. Because after all, the only English team to do this is MU under Sir Alex Ferguson, and that was almost 25 years ago.

The final step was a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul. This was one of Man City's toughest matches of the season, decided by Rodri's strike midway through the second half. It's not even an exaggeration to say that this is the most difficult match of Man City's three titles after many slip-ups in this arena.

After a season full of ups and downs, difficulties and bumps, Pep Guardiola's impossible dream has come true.

Napoli won Serie A after 33 years

Napoli won its first Serie A championship in 33 years, five rounds early. Wild celebrations took place throughout Naples, inside the stadium and on the streets.

This is Napoli's third title in Italy's highest football tournament and the first since Argentine legend Diego Maradona helped them win the championship in 1987 and 1990. Napoli's home ground is also recognized. changed its name to honor Maradona after his death in November 2020.

In the championship deciding match against Udinese, a capacity crowd of more than 50,000 people watched the match on a big screen at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples. In Udine, celebrating fans flooded the stadium at the final whistle, while Naples was filled with fireworks and alcohol.

Spalletti's team was unbeaten in the first 15 matches of the season, including an 11-match winning streak. After Inter's first loss on the field, Napoli immediately had an 8-match winning streak to get closer to the Scudetto. The people of Naples even decorated the city with banners, flags and life-sized effigies of Napoli players as the final rounds took place, just waiting for this historic moment.

This title also gives coach Spalletti the honor he most craves in Italy, despite previously leading Roma and Inter.

Messi won his 8th Golden Ball

On October 30, Lionel Messi won the 8th Golden Ball of his career, after defeating Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

Messi is an important star who helped Argentina win its first World Cup in 36 years. He now has 3 more Golden Balls than Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi also holds the record for reaching the top 3 Golden Balls the most times (14 times), being runner-up 5 times and winning 8 times.

This individual title helps Messi's career become more complete, as he has conquered a new milestone that is difficult for anyone to break.