There have been some absolutely iconic underdog stories in football over the past 10 years, but what are the most important underdog stories of the past decade?
The underdog is something every sports fan loves to see prevail, toppling the giants of their sport to give the audience something different and unique that revolutionises and pioneers it to a whole new level.
Over domestic and international football, we've seen some unbelievable moments and stories over the past decade, and we'll be looking at our pick for the top 5 in this article!
Here are our picks for the most but what are the most important underdog stories from the past decade (2012 to 2022).
5) Leicester win the Premier League 2015/16
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In what will go down as one of the most incredible football and sporting moments in history, Leicester City defied the odds as they lifted the Premier League trophy for the first time in their history, courtesy of Claudio Ranieri and his squad.
Ranieri's squad featured the likes of Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, who achieved the unthinkable.
The prior season saw Leicester only just avoiding relegation to the Championship, and the team went into the 2015/2016 season at 5000/1 to win the whole thing, putting them as one of the least likely to prevail.
Leicester would beat Spurs to the title after Spurs drew with Chelsea's final game of the season, capping off a season to remember and making it one of the most important underdog stories of the past decade.
The iconic season would see Vardy break the all-time Premier League record previously held by Ruud Van Nistelrooy for goals scored in consecutive games and himself, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante and Wes Morgan being put in the Premier League team of the year.
4) Ajax's UEFA Champions League run in 2018/19
Soccer Football - Champions League - Ajax Amsterdam Training - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 4, 2019 Ajax Amsterdam coach Erik ten Hag during training REUTERS/Susana Vera
The 2018/19 season proved to be one to remember for Ajax fans, as they saw their team lift the Eredivisie trophy once again. However, it was their Champions League campaign that had everyone talking that year.
Ajax had to enter the Champions League through a series of qualifiers. They would prevail after beating Austrian side Strum Graz, Belgian side Standard Liege and Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv.
Ajax were drawn into a group stage alongside German giants Bayern Munich and Portuguese powerhouses Benfica.
The Eredivisie side would finish the group second behind Bayern but hadn't lost a single game in the six group matches.
Soccer Football - Champions League - Ajax Amsterdam Training - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 4, 2019 Ajax Amsterdam coach Erik ten Hag during training REUTERS/Susana Vera
The Round of 16 draw saw Ajax get drawn against European titans, 13-time winners Real Madrid. The first leg saw Ajax lose 2-1 at home, courtesy of a late winner from Marco Asensio.
However, this loss birthed a more tenacious Ajax team than ever, as they shocked the world and battered Madrid 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu with goals courtesy of Hakim Ziyech, David Neres and two incredible strikes from Dusan Tadic and Lasse Schone.
This took them to the quarter-finals against a Juventus side led by five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo would haunt them in the first leg as he would score in the 1-1 draw. However, a header from Ajax captain Matthijs De Ligt saw Ajax advance to the semi-finals.
Ajax looked unstoppable after toppling two European giants; they had more than surpassed expectations with this talented team. However, a late 90th-minute goal from Lucas Moura saw them just miss out on reaching the final.
However, performances in this campaign made global superstars out of the likes of Frenkie De Jong, Donny Van De Beek, Dusan Tadic, David Neres and more in what was an unforgettable season and one of the most unforgettable underdog stories of the past 10 years.
3) Lille win Ligue 1 in 2020/21
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lille v Lorient - Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - November 22, 2020 Lille's Jonathan David REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
In a league that has been dominated by French giants Paris St Germain for the majority of the decade, it seemed almost an impossible task to dethrone them.
However, underdogs in the 2020/21 season, Lille, finally toppled the french giants and captured their first Ligue 1 title in 10 years under the management of Christophe Galtier.
A superb strike force led by veteran Burak Yilmaz and an unmistakable defence marshalled by Jose Fonte and Mike Maignan saw Lille dispose of teams and march on to a historic Ligue 1 campaign.
In the campaign, Yilmaz would net 16 goals in 28 games with the support of the star boy Jonathan David and manager Galtier would rightly receive the Manager of The Season award for his efforts and taking Ajax to one of the most important moments of the last 10 years.
2) Wigan defeat Man City in the FA Cup Final 2012/13
Football - Manchester City v Wigan Athletic - FA Cup Final - Wembley Stadium - 11/5/13
Manchester City's Joe Hart and Sergio Aguero (R) look on dejected after Wigan's first goal scored by Ben Watson (not pictured)
Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Lee Smith
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This monumental moment in the 2012/13 season saw Wigan Athletic win their first major trophy in 81 years after a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.
City, led by then manager Roberto Mancini, were clear favourites for the match. However, this proved not good enough, and we saw another glimpse of the beauty of the FA Cup as a Ben Watson wondergoal saw Wigan get their clutches on silverware.
This win also had positive repercussions as Wigan booked themselves a place in the Europa League. Unlikely heroes in Callum McManaman, Shaun Maloney, Ben Watson and more gave Wigan a season like no other and is a moment to remember in FA Cup history.
1) Canada qualify for their first World Cup since 1986
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group F - Canada v Morocco - Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 1, 2022 Canada's Tajon Buchanan in action with Morocco's Hakim Ziyech REUTERS/Carl Recine
In recent years Canada is starting to form a formidable squad, and they were finally rewarded as they reached their first World Cup since 1986 with stand-out performances coming from Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan and more.
Canada would begin their World Cup journey by defeating Suriname and Haiti in qualifiers before joining a qualifying group alongside the likes of the CONCACAF's strongest in the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica and more.
Canada would qualify after dominating the group, even beating the USA. Canada would only lose twice on their journey, once to Panama and once to Costa Rica but would get big wins over Mexico and Jamaica before making it to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Those were our picks for the top 5 most important underdog stories of the past decade, are there any that we've missed out?
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