Top 7 Unbelievable Curses In Football History, With Some Of Them Still Alive

There have been many stories relating to superstition around sports. More specifically, we want to dwell on the topic of sport-related curses. Nobody is quite clear why they occur, but they do. Fans, players, and owners have gone through bizarre curses throughout history. However, we need to sit back and think really hard about whether these curses are actually real or not.
If you try to list out all the so-called “curses”, there are lots of them. Furthermore, we know that numerous similar "curses" have existed throughout the history of sports. It does make you think that perhaps players and teams use the term “curse” to give their fans a reason for their team's misfortunes rather than poor play or coaching.
However, there really are teams that have suffered decades after decades of tragic defeats, so it does make you think about the possibility. Even if you don't believe in bad luck, you'll find patterns of unlucky events fascinating. Additionally, these coincidences frequently had an effect on the entire city, region, or country in addition to the team. So let's look at 7 curses in football history, some of which are still active today.

#7 Derby County and the Gypsy Curse

Source: dcfc.co.uk

One of the oldest football clubs in the world is Derby County, which was established in 1884. However, they began constructing a stadium in 1889 while ejecting the local Gypsies. They cast a curse in retaliation, stating that Derby County would never succeed in capturing the FA Cup. Of course, nobody gave a damn until the failures kept occurring over and over again.
Derby County accomplished an astounding six final four appearances, including three finals, between 1896 and 1903. They did, however, never succeed. The squad competed for the championship once again in 1946, but not before meeting with Gypsies in the hopes that they would break the curse. Indeed, throughout the game, the ball exploded, signaling the end of the hex. Derby eventually prevailed 4-1 to win the title.

#6 Mick Jagger Curse

Source: Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty

Teams adore it when celebrities support them since it increases their exposure. Additionally, you could assume that having a rock star like Mick Jagger on your side gives you more credibility. But when the iconic musician backs them, nobody is pleased. It all began at the 2010 FIFA World Cup when Jagger supported the USA and witnessed their defeat to Ghana. He twice wished England luck, but they lost on both occasions, thus the same thing happened at the 2014 World Cup. His greatest accomplishment, nevertheless, occurred during the same competition when he traveled to the semifinals to support Brazil against Germany. Even yet, the Germans prevailed 7-1 as the host country had its greatest catastrophe ever. Finally, he was in Russia in 2018 to see England's semifinal match. The Croatians ultimately triumphed, though.
Jagger broke security regulations to fly from France to London and see England defeat Denmark in the 2020 UEFA EURO in an effort to break the curse. However, one could argue that the devastating loss in the final that followed only made English supporters' suffering worse. As for Mick, he's hardly the only celebrity who's thought to be unlucky. Just ask Taylor Swift, who had her Staples Center sign taken down!

#5 Cruz Azul and the Bloody Finale

Source: Erwin R.

Cruz Azul and Club León, two Mexican football teams, squared off in the 1997 season's championship game. Cruz Azul's star Carlos Hermosillo netted the winning penalty kick in an extremely physical game to give his team the championship. But because he did it while severely wounded, many people think he cursed the squad. Since then, Cruz Azul has lost several finals, although they have also captured the CONCACAF Champions League. They were unable to win the league, though.Mexicans now refer to any team that loses in the closing seconds of a game as "Cruzazulear" since the scenario became so embarrassing. But there's a happy ending to this tale because Cruz Azul did, in fact, take home the trophy in 2021.

#4 Scotland's Never-Ending Agony

Source: manutd.com

The men's national football squad of Scotland was never among the best, to be honest. Nevertheless, they occasionally had little trouble making it into three European Championships and eight FIFA World Cups. Although they were never championship contenders, the fact that they've never advanced past the first round is astounding! They occasionally had bad luck and, like in 1974, returned home without suffering a loss.
Sadly, the performance of the women's squad wasn't any better. They qualified for the competition in 2015 and 2019, however, they were unable to advance to the knockout round. The biggest issue for the country appears to be extremely low scoring, particularly during the UEFA EURO. Scotland only scored five goals in nine games!

#3 The Tragedy of European World Cup Champions

Source: skysports

The most successful FIFA World Cup teams are from Europe, yet they frequently experience bizarre sports-related curses. The most improbable one, nevertheless, began following the FIFA World Cup in 1994. Since then, none of the European champions have advanced past the group stage of the subsequent World Cup! France, Italy, Spain, and lastly Germany were impacted by this up until this point in 2018. France, who is now the global champion, will have the opportunity to break the curse in 2022.
The European teams that finished third at the FIFA World Cup are also subject to this infamous curse. They failed to achieve qualification for the subsequent European Championship from 1974 to 2008.

#2 The Funeral Curse

Source: @paddypower

Mayo won their third Gaelic Football Championship in 1951, but according to mythology, they were cursed on the day of the victory. They disregarded a funeral cortège by noisily celebrating as they were returning home. According to legend, a local priest cursed the squad, telling them they would never succeed until the final player passed away. It took Mayo 38 years to return to the final, which ended in a loss, during this span. The squad struggled on, losing a run of eleven finals, and has yet to claim another championship.
Paddy Prendergast, the only living player from the 1951 squad, passed away shortly after Mayo lost another championship game in 2021. He rejected the curse in the 2016 documentary, asserting that the entire tale was made up. In his defense, the team kept losing championship games in the 1990s, which is when the curse legend first gained traction. Even though it draws attention to the team, Mayo representatives also referred to this as nonsense.

#1 FC Benfica European Curse

Source: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Benfica was the world's top football club in the early 1960s. They won five championships under Béla Guttmann's management in just four years. Two European Champions medals were among them, with the final one being awarded in 1962. Guttmann then requested a wage raise, thinking that he was entitled to one, but was fired instead. He then made a pledge to the squad that they would not overtake the rest of Europe in the ensuing century.
Since then, sixty years have gone by, and it still seems incredible that the squad was defeated in three other European finals as well as five European Cup/Champions League finals. Even their young squad lost all three of the pivotal games, for a total of 11 straight losses. Even Eusébio, the greatest player to ever play for Benfica, attempted to break the curse. He went to Guttman's grave before the 1990 European Cup Final and asked for forgiveness. However, it was unsuccessful.
While many teams got a lot of attention as a result of their curses, we doubt their owners are pleased. However, as can be seen from our top 10 list, many of these curses were either broken or made up years after they were purported to have occurred. Nevertheless, superstition will continue to exist in our society, and as one curse ends, another emerges.