2025: THE YEAR THAT BROKE CURSES

With most major sports tournaments of 2025 now wrapped up, an interesting trend has emerged across the sporting world: teams breaking decades-long, even century-old trophy droughts. From football to cricket, 2025 has become the year that brought long-awaited glory to fans all around the world.

Starting with professional football, English club Newcastle United finally lifted a major trophy after 70 long years, winning the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. The win not only marked the end of a historic drought but also reignited the pride of their loyal fanbase.

In Italy, Bologna FC surprised the football scene by winning the Coppa Italia, their first title in 51 years. Their 1-0 win over AC Milan showed grit, tactical discipline, and a sense of destiny.

Then came English club Crystal Palace, who, in their 119-year history, won their first-ever major trophy by defeating reigning giants Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup Final. The win was nothing short of historic.

After 17 painful years without silverware, Tottenham Hotspur finally silenced their critics by lifting the UEFA Europa League, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final. Their manager, Ange Postecoglou, had boldly claimed he always wins something in his second season at any club. Despite Tottenham’s disastrous domestic campaign, finishing 17th in the Premier League and crashing out of every domestic cup, the final-day Europa triumph validated his prophecy and delivered long-overdue joy to Spurs fans, especially in the face of relentless banter from rivals like Arsenal, who are yet to secure their first European title.

The most notable win of all goes to French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), who won their first UEFA Champions League title in club history against Italian giants Inter Milan, with a 5-0 thrashing in the final. This became the largest margin of victory in UCL final history and was a long-awaited reward for a club that had chased European glory for decades.

Cricket’s Turn to Break Curses
Now, let's talk about cricket. Bengaluru's RCB broke their curse of not winning an IPL title in the 18 years since the league’s inception, with a 6-run win against Punjab's PBKS, who were also yet to clinch their first IPL title. It was guaranteed that the season would be historic when both teams secured their spots in the final.

South Africa broke their curse of not winning an ICC trophy in 27 years by clinching the World Test Championship title. They defeated defending champions Australia by 5 wickets at Lord’s, chasing down 282 in a dramatic final. With Aiden Markram’s gritty 136 and Temba Bavuma’s fighting 66, South Africa completed a historic comeback after trailing in the first innings. Australia’s dominance in ICC tournaments made them clear favorites, but South Africa’s win proved otherwise. Just like the RCB-PBKS IPL final, this too was a match where history was guaranteed, and this time, it belonged to the Proteas.

Sources: onefootball.com , cricbuzz.com