FA Cup: Top five most successful clubs

The oldest national football competition the world returns for it’s 142nd final, playing host to one of the oldest rivalries in global football.

With the final just around the corner, we take a look at the most successful teams in the competition’s history.

5 – Tottenham Hotspur, 8 wins

Despite often being ridiculed for their lack of trophies, Tottenham are among the most successful sides in FA Cup history, winning the competition eight times – first in 1901, and most recently in 1991.

Tottenham have the best FA Cup final win-rate on this list as their eight titles have come from reaching just nine finals, with their only final loss coming in 1987 against Coventry City.

Spurs have won consecutive FA Cups on two different occasions, first in 1961 and 1962, then exactly 20 years later in 1981 and 1982. Their final FA Cup victory in 1991 saw them become the first side to win the competition eight times.

4 – Liverpool, 8 wins

Liverpool have the most recent success on this list having beaten Chelsea in the final last year to secure their first FA Cup title in over 15 years.

Liverpool’s success has been relatively spread out, having never won consecutive FA Cups. Their most successful period came between 1986 and 1989 where they reached three out of four finals, winning two of them.

Liverpool’s 1989 FA Cup victory came after one of the most memorable finals, where they defeated fierce rivals Everton 3-2 after extra time, with Liverpool legend Ian Rush netting twice in extra time to seal the win for Liverpool.

3 – Chelsea, 8 wins

Chelsea have some of the most recent success on this list, with over half of their wins coming in the last 15 years.

Chelsea’s first taste of FA Cup success came in 1970 with the final against Leeds going to a replay, one of the most infamous FA Cup ties of all time. Despite being one of the dirtiest games ever played there was not a single card shown, and when re-refereed with today’s laws there was a total of 11 red cards dished out.

Chelsea’s very recent history is not one they will want to look back on as they have reached the final in all of the last three years, losing all three to become the only team to have lost three consecutive FA Cup finals.

2 – Manchester United, 12 wins

Unsurprisingly, Manchester United are likewise amongst the most successful FA Cup teams with 12 titles to their name. Their success however hasn’t been particularly recent, with just two of their wins coming in the 21st Century.

United’s most successful period in the competition came in the mid to late 1990’s where they class of 92’ dominated all facets of English football. Under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson, United made it to four out of six finals between 1994 and 1999, winning three of them to become the first team to reach double figures in FA Cup wins.

Not quite as early as Spurs’, Manchester United’s first win came in 1909, giving them the longest time between first and last FA Cup wins on this list. The Red Devils’ have reached twenty finals, one of only two teams to do so. Their most recent visit was in 2018 where they lost out to Chelsea for the second time in the FA Cup final.

They will be taking to Wembley once again this season as they bid to move to within one of Arsenal and win their 13th FA Cup vs Manchester City on the 3rd of June

1 – Arsenal, 14 wins

Arsenal are the most successful team in FA Cup history with 14 wins between 1930 and 2020. The Gunners have reached the final a record 21 times, losing just seven of those.

The Gunners have a wealth of both historical and recent success in the tournament with their 14 titles being well spread between their first and last win. They have won consecutive FA Cups on two occasions, firstly in 2002 and 2003, and more recently in 2014 and 2015.

Arsenal certainly had their most successful period between 2014 and 2017 when they won the competition in three out of the four years. Their highlights in that period include beating Premier League Champions Chelsea in the final in 2017 as well as a thumping Aston Villa 4-0 in the 2015 final to go one clear of Manchester United with 12 titles.

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