We always hear about the best in the world, but sides that feature towards the lower end of league tables or tournament tables are rarely talked about. However, the rankings do not exactly show how good (or bad) a team actually is, since it is only calculated with points but at the same time that does showcase how a team fairs against others.
But there are times when even the teams with quality talent in them can suffer a disastrous season or tournament, be it due to injuries, lack of team chemistry or even proper coaching staff that is out of touch with their roster.
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Here, we list the ten worst teams in football history:
#10 England Euro 2008 Qualifiers
New manager Steve McClaren tried to establish himself as someone willing to break with the past by cutting a number of respected veterans from the team, including Sol Campbell, David James, and former skipper David Beckham, only to bring back both Beckham and Campbell when England started struggling during their qualification matches.
Then came the final match against Croatia and the England side couldn’t hold on, as they slipped to their second defeat to the Croatians and failed to qualify for the Euro 2008.
England was never among the favourites for the Euro 2008 title, but they were certainly expected to qualify, even possibly winning their group. They did have a tough qualification group, but with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand, it should have been a walk in the park to qualify for the Three lions.
They had been consistent in their last two competitions, losing in controversial fashion to Portugal in the quarter-finals of both the Euro 2004 and the World Cup in 2006.
#9 France 2002
France was riding high after winning the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, and given that they were placed in a relatively easy group with the likes of Denmark, Uruguay and newcomers Senegal, people expected them to go far. A knockout round place was a given, and many predicted them to go even further, as it seemed that nothing could stop the French on their way to the finals.
But that was not the case as the French were doomed from the start, as star player Zinedine Zidane suffered an injury during their pre-World Cup friendly and their hopes went down the drain. The Senegalese, playing their first ever World Cup, shocked the French and beat them 1-0 before a draw against Uruguay saw hopes increase. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, the French management rushed Zidane prematurely, to face Denmark in the final group stage game.
The former Real Madrid man was barely able to run, let alone create chances for his suddenly incompetent teammates, and they went out with a whimper, losing 2-0 to Denmark. France did end up making history as they became the very first defending champions to fail to score a single goal during their World Cup campaign.
#8 SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin 1965-1966
Just before the start of the Bundesliga’s inaugural season, for political reasons, the German football association wanted to have a club from the city of Berlin in the league, after Hertha BSC was removed. The winner of the second division in German football had already failed to advance and the second place team had refused the offer.
Tasmania 1900 Berlin took their place in the Bundesliga and the side soon became synonymous with dreadful football. Over the course of one embarrassing and forgetful season, Tasmania set record after record; from most goals conceded, fewest goals scored, most consecutive defeats (now shared with Bielefeld), most defeats – the list is never ending.
The club was eventually relegated in their first and only season in German top flight football and ten years later, declared bankruptcy. Their legend still lives on, however, as one of the most unsuccessful top flight teams ever to be seen.
#7 Bradford City
Between the 1999/2000 and the 2007/2008 season, Bradford City was one of the worst teams in the world, and given that they play in League One that says a lot about English football in the lower leagues.
During that period, 82 teams have played in the league for all of those 9 seasons (and a further 19 have played in the league for some of that period.)
Of the 82 teams, the Bradford City side have the worst overall record, the worst home record, fewer home wins than any other team, more home defeats and only Stockport have conceded more goals at home than Bradford.
#6 Sunderland 2002-2003
The 2002-2003 Sunderland side was easily one of the worst sides to ever play in the Premier League. Although they've only been relegated three times in their history, on two separate occasions they have set the record for least amount of points in the history of the league.
The were relegated in the 2002-2003 when they won just four league games and a record-low 19 points. They had some good players, including striker Kevin Phillips who was previously a European Golden Boot winner with 30 goals. Unfortunately for Sunderland, Phillips only managed to score 6 times that season.
They did do well against league champions Manchester United, after clawing back from a 1-0 deficit to earn a point but losing in the reserve fixture. It was a pretty dismal season in the end and was characterised by a then record 15 league defeats in a row, outdone only by Derby County.
#5 Sunderland: 2005-2006 season
As bad as the 2002-2003 season was for Sunderland, their very next season in the Premier League was horrendous even by their poor standards. Despite coming off their rousing win in the Championship, Sunderland went back down again.
They started the season badly, losing the first five games before they finally snatched a draw. They went on to improve on their 2002-2003 record-setting standards, by going on to slump to new lows in terms of wins, points, and even losses, losing 29 out a possible 38 games, beating their record of 27 losses.
They won just three matches, with the first win of their season coming on September 25, and their second on January 21st. Manager Mick McCarthy was eventually fired in March after failing to win a single home game and was replaced by Kevin Ball, who guided The Black Cats to their first and only home win. They were eventually relegated and then went on to win the Championship, again.
#4 American Samoa
In 2001, Australia sent their reserve team against a relatively unknown team American Samoa. But it was too easy for the Australians as and they went on to set a world record for the largest victory ever with a scoreline of 31-0. The defeat sent the Samoans to the bottom of FIFA’s world rankings - a place they would occupy for just over ten years.
In nearly two decades, the team had zero wins and 30 losses, most notably known for the defeat suffered at the hands of Australia. The run was so horrendous that a documentary crew followed the team, filming their exploits.
Called the weakest team in the world, the Samoans have played a total of 42 international games, winning just four, drawing one and losing 39 games, conceding 326 goals in the process, with a goal difference of minus 298 goals!
However, the team soon had their most successful qualifying attempt in their history during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in the summer of 2015, winning two games and narrowly missing out on progressing to the next stage thanks to goal difference.
#3 Derby County 2007-2008
Despite beating Newcastle in their sixth Premier League game, the Rams did not win another match all season, going on to lose 25 of their remaining 32 games, a sorry statistic that has never been matched in the Premier League since. But to make things worse, everything was crashing down behind the scenes, too, and manager Billy Davies was soon fired.
A new manager soon stepped in but his appointment proved to worsen things instead and by Boxing Day, Derby County had only managed a meagre seven points from 19 games. Paul Jewell decided to go on a spending spree in an effort to improve the entire team, selling key players of the squad and bringing in many others, players who Jewell thought could bolster the side.
Nothing worked for the Rams, and they managed only four points from 19 games, before being relegated with just 11 points to their names, beating Sunderland’s 2005-2006 record for the lowest points tally. A quick read of their results make for a brutal reading; 6-0 home loss to Aston Villa, 6-1 to Chelsea and even a 4-0 loss to Reading, who themselves were relegated at the end of the season.
#2 Sporting de Gijon 1997-1998
Sporting de Gijon brought in eleven players to help them with their relegation battle, including three strikers and even a former Barcelona B defender. However, it was not to be and the side was eventually sent Second Division. They had enjoyed a period of success in the 1970s and 80s, beating Milan and even thrashing Barcelona at home.
However, their luck soon died out and it all started with an internal financial crisis and the loss of important players which became the catalyst to relegation five years later. Sporting de Gijon started the season losing their six games before their first of seven draws of the season for the Spanish side. Nothing could stop the losses, and barring two wins in February (which ended a 24 game winless run, the longest ever in the division) and April, the team went on to lose 29 games out of a possible 38.
Sporting de Gijon became the only team in La Liga history to be relegated in March, ending the season with a record low points tally of just 13. It took them nearly ten odd years to recover from that, before they finally returned to the La Liga for the 2008-2009 season, even beating Real Madrid three years later.
#1 Longford AFC 2015-2016
Dubbed the worst team in England after their atrocious 2015-2016 season went down in footballing folklore, Longford had lost their entire squad and manager during the summer transfer window and thus had to play their reserve side for the rest of the season. The side went on to put on an absolutely horrible show, and just halfway through the season, they had a total of zero points and had seen 170 goals scored against them in the process.
Things became so bad that a 5-0 scoreline was something to look forward to, as the team became used to losing by double figures nearly every other game. It soon went from bad to worse for the team, as 53-year-old England legend Stuart Pearce signed for them on a one match deal, in order to help the club in their effort to get their first win of the season.
The former West Ham defender had to wait over a month to make his debut, but when he did, the club managed to lose the game by only one goal, but that was as good as it was going get for Longford. They finished the season with 30 losses out of 30 and had a goal difference of minus 216 before they were relegated.
