What is the 'perfect season' in football & which teams have done it?

The current Barcelona Femeni side can legitimately claim to be one of the best women's football teams of all time, but one achievement has thus far eluded them: the perfect season.

It can still be done in 2021-22, but they will need to keep winning their remaining games in order to grasp it.

So what is a perfect season and who has done it? GOAL brings you everything you need to know.

When a team is said to have completed a 'perfect season', it means they have gone through an entire league campaign without losing or drawing a single game; they have won every fixture.

Generally speaking, in assessing a perfect season, only the primary league competition is considered. A rare achievement, it requires a combination of supreme talent and consistency, as well as a dash of luck on occasion.

The concept of a 'perfect season' is not exclusive to football and it is a term which is also applied in other sports, including American football, Australian Rules football and so on.

The number of teams that have achieved a perfect season is relatively low, particularly in the men's game.

Among the teams to achieve the feat are Scottish side Rangers (1898-99) and Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros (1931-32).

Many more teams have passed through entire campaigns undefeated, including the Arsenal Invincibles in the Premier League (2003-04). Their nickname was inspired by the Preston North End team that went an entire First Division season unbeaten in 1888-89.

Antonio Conte steered Juventus through Serie A unbeaten in 2011-12, while Brendan Rodgers masterminded Celtic's unbeaten season across multiple competitions in 2016-17. Steven Gerrard helped Rangers to an unbeaten Scottish Premiership season in 2020-21.

Legendary Romanian side Steaua Bucuresti