Winning a title is hard. Going an entire season without losing is something only a handful of teams ever manage. Going more than two years without losing a league game sounds almost impossible.
And yet that is exactly what one club has done. In August, Johor Darul Ta’zim of Malaysia broke one of football’s longest-standing records, and they have kept going since. So I thought it was worth looking at the longest unbeaten runs in the history of the game, and where this new record sits among them.
The New World Record Holders
Johor Darul Ta’zim, better known as JDT, have now gone more than 110 consecutive Malaysia Super League matches without defeat. Their league run dates back to April 2021.
On 22 August, a 3-0 win over Kuching City took them to 109 games, beating the record of 108 set by ASEC Mimosas of the Ivory Coast between 1989 and 1994. They did not stop there. By the end of August, the run stood at 111 matches, with 100 wins and 11 draws, including a 9-0 win over Kelantan Red Warriors. They started the new season with five straight wins and 25 goals without conceding.
The figure across all domestic competitions is even more remarkable. According to the statistics site RSSSF, JDT have not lost a domestic match of any kind since the Malaysia Cup final in November 2021, a run of 155 games at the start of October.
They have won 12 consecutive league titles, play in a 40,000-seat stadium and have been heavily backed by their owner, Tunku Ismail. They also won the AFC Cup in 2015, and they remain the only side from South-East Asia to do so.
What About Al Hilal?
A lot of people assumed the record belonged to Al Hilal, and it is easy to see why. The Saudi giants have produced some incredible runs in recent years.
In November 2024, they set a Saudi record of 56 domestic matches unbeaten across all competitions, with 50 wins and six draws. That beat the previous mark of 55 set by Al Ahli between 2014 and 2016.
More recently, they put together a run of 47 Saudi Pro League games without defeat. That came to an end on 7 September this year, when Neom beat them 2-0 at the Kingdom Arena. It meant they fell four short of Al Ahli’s league record of 51.
Those are brilliant numbers, but they are a long way short of what JDT have done.
The Longest Runs in European History
Europe’s records have a different flavour, because the competition is fiercer and the fixture lists include continental football. Here are the longest unbeaten runs in all competitions in European history, as compiled by Sports Illustrated:
- Celtic, 62 matches (1915-17)
- Union Saint-Gilloise, 60 matches (1933-35)
- Bayer Leverkusen, 51 matches (2023-24)
- Benfica, 48 matches (1963-65)
- Rijeka, 45 matches (2016-17)
- Dinamo Zagreb, 45 matches (2014-15)
- Rangers, 44 matches (1992-93)
- Juventus, 43 matches (2011-12)
- Ajax, 42 matches (1995-96)
- AC Milan, 42 matches (1991-92)
- Celtic, 42 matches (2016-17)
Celtic’s Century-Old Record
Celtic’s run of 62 games, which lasted from 1915 to 1917, has stood for more than 100 years. If you include charity cup matches, it stretches to 66.
It is worth remembering the context. These were domestic games only, played during the First World War, long before European competition existed. That does not make it any less impressive, but it does make it a very different achievement from a modern run that includes trips across Europe.
Leverkusen’s Modern Masterpiece
For me, the most impressive run on that list is Bayer Leverkusen’s. Under Xabi Alonso in 2023/24, they became the first team to go through an entire Bundesliga season unbeaten, ending Bayern Munich’s long spell of dominance on the way.
Their run reached 51 matches in all competitions, and it was full of late goals and comebacks. It finally ended in the Europa League final in Dublin, where Atalanta beat them 3-0.
Doing that in a modern top-five league, with Champions League-level opponents and a packed fixture list, is about as hard as it gets.
Arsenal’s Invincibles
No list like this would be complete without Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s side went through the 2003/04 Premier League season unbeaten and stretched their league run to 49 games before Manchester United ended it in October 2004.
It is still the Premier League record, and I do not think anyone has seriously threatened it since. As a Palace fan, I have no great love for Arsenal, but I will admit that team was something special. Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires at their peak were a joy to watch, even when they were beating us.
The Other Great League Runs
Before JDT and ASEC Mimosas, one of the most famous league runs belonged to Steaua Bucharest, who went 104 Romanian league matches unbeaten between 1986 and 1989. That remains one of the great records in European football, and it came during the same era in which Steaua became European champions.
Elsewhere, SI notes that Egypt’s Al Ahly have finished seven league seasons unbeaten, and that Uruguay’s Penarol have also managed seven invincible campaigns.
Does the League Matter?
I know what some people will say. Malaysia is not the Premier League, and going unbeaten against weaker opposition is not the same as doing it against Manchester City and Liverpool.
There is some truth in that. JDT are far stronger than most of their rivals, and the gap shows in some of their scorelines. But I think it is too easy to dismiss what they have done.
Records like this are not only about talent. They are about concentration, squad depth and the mentality to treat every game seriously. Over 110 matches, there will have been bad pitches, injuries, poor refereeing decisions and days when nothing went right. Every other dominant side in history has eventually slipped up on one of those days. JDT have not.
My Verdict
I think JDT’s record deserves far more attention than it has had in this country. It may not have the glamour of Leverkusen’s season or the history of Celtic’s, but the numbers speak for themselves.
The bigger question is whether anyone will ever see them lose again, and how long their run will be when someone finally does
