'Small' football clubs that shocked the world and became league champions

It doesn't happen often because money dominates football these days. However, the modern game has still produced a few surprises.

Football is one of the least predictable sports out there, but that's the beauty of the game. Football history is littered with 'smaller clubs' who have, against all odds, risen to the occasion and toppled the big boys. Here are clubs that have shaken up the traditional hierarchy in their league. All scoring stats are from Transfermarkt, unless otherwise stated.

Without a doubt the most shocking league champions of recent years. In an era when money rules football, Leicester managed to beat some of the richest clubs in the world for their first-ever Premier League in the 2015/16 campaign. The Foxes sealed the deal thanks to a 2-2-draw for Spurs at Stamford Bridge.

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Leicester's team included some top players like Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kanté, but Jamie Vardy was arguably their main man that season. The striker scored 24 goals during the 2015/16 season and finished second in the top scorers' standings behind Harry Kane.

On to France, where Montpellier stunned the world by winning the Ligue 1 in 2011/12, three points ahead of giants Paris Saint-Germain. 'La Paillade' decided the championship with a 1-2 win over Auxerre, thanks to two goals from John Utaka.

Olivier Giroud played an important role for Montpellier that season, scoring 21 goals. His good performances earned the French striker a move to Arsenal, where he continued to score with ease and proved to be a top striker in European football.

AZ Alkmaar won the Eredivisie in 1981 and repeated that feat in the 2008/09 season. 'The Cheese Farmers' ended the season with an eleven-point lead on FC Twente.

Mounir El Hamdaoui was AZ's and the Eredivisie's top scorer, but the club's success was also due to the experience of Louis van Gaal, who put together a hard-to-beat team with the league's best defence. According to World Football, AZ only conceded 22 goals in the 2008/09 campaign.

One season later, it was FC Twente who surprised Dutch giants like PSV and Ajax by taking its first ever league title under the guidance of Steve McClaren.

Twente's star was Costa Rican Bryan Ruiz, who scored 24 goals and finished second in the top scorers' standings.

Twente bought Ruiz from AA Gent in 2009 for €5.5 million, as stated by Transfermarkt, and a few years later it was the Belgian's side turn to celebrate when they picked up their first ever top-flight title, having gradually worked their way to the top of Belgian football.

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Gent's success coach was Hein Vanhaezebrouck, who had outstanding players like Sven Kums and Laurent Depoitre at his disposal. 'The Buffalos' set off the fireworks by beating Standard de Liège 2-0 and automatically qualified for the group stage of the Champions League.

On to Germany, where VfL Wolfsburg captured the Bundesliga in the 2008/09 season and clinched its first-ever league title, two points ahead of Bayern Munich and five ahead of VfB Stuttgart.

Otto Rehhagel is a legendary coach for inspiring Greece to European Championship glory in 2004. Six years earlier, he had another underdog story after leading Kaiserslautern to the Bundesliga title in 1998 after they were relegated in 1996.

Rehhagel's players beat Bayern Munich to the title by two points, winning 19 of their 34 games. The squad featured a young Michael Ballack. Have you heard of him?

With Edin Dzeko and Grafite, 'The Wolves' had two formidable strikers in their ranks, who scored 26 and 28 goals respectively that season. That is more than half the goals Wolfsburg scored that season (80).

In 1984/85, Hellas Verona shocked the big boys in Italy by winning the Scudetto for the first time. 'The Yellow and Blues' beat Torino and Internazionale for the crown of Italy's best football team.

Nobody thought Verona could take the title, but the combination of German Hans-Peter Briegel and Dane Preben Elkjær, along with formidable striker Giuseppe Galderisi and good dribbler Antonio Di Gennaro, proved to be the perfect mix for success.

Last but not least, Blackburn Rovers also deserves a place on this list. The Riversiders' were taken over by industrialist Jack Walker in 1991 and his millions translated into top-flight success a few seasons later.

Blackburn and Walker broke the bank for Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton at the time, who both played crucial roles in the 1994/95 title win with 34 and 15 goals respectively. Blackburn finished the season just one point ahead of Manchester United, who were the defending champions, in front of Blackburn the season before.

Bursaspor's 2009/2010 Super Lig title victory has been described as the biggest shock in Turkish football's history.

The team's only trophy before winning the league was the Turkish Cup in 1986. The 'Green Crocodiles' finished a point ahead of Fenerbahçe and beat giants Besiktas and Galatasaray by ten points.

Which club did we forget about? Let us know in the comments!

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