109 games unbeaten - Inside the world-record run masterminded by Liverpool legend

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FT Desk

A team from Malaysia has broken the world record for the longest run of games undefeated.

On the final day of last season, Johor Darul Ta'zim equalled the record for the longest undefeated streak when they beat Kelantan The Real Warriors 14-1, which in itself broke another record for the biggest winning margin in the history of professional football in Malaysia.

The previous record for the longest unbeaten streak was held by Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas from 1989 to 1994, as they never tasted defeat for 108 games.

Johor Darul Ta'zim reached 108 games in that aforementioned win but as it was the last day of the season, they were forced to wait months before the opportunity to break the world record presented itself.

A new world record in men's football after 32 years 🤩

Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta'zim are undefeated in 109 league games 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CFtO4M14RJ

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 21, 2026

On Friday, they finally achieved the feat and in emphatic fashion, too as they beat Kuching 3-0, with Marcos Guilherme, Oscar Arribas and Shahab Zahedi all scoring to put their name into the history books.

"It's a historic night," JDT head coach Xisco Munoz said after the match.

The winning run started in April of 2021 and they'll have the opportunity to extend it when they next face Kelantan Red Warrior on Wednesday.

Among those celebrating the landmark moment at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium was the club's owner, the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Idris.

He transformed Johor Darul Ta'zim from a relatively ordinary Malaysian club into a regional powerhouse. His involvement began around 2012–13, with JDT subsequently becoming privately owned and heavily backed by the Johor royal family.

Under his tenure, JDT have won consecutive league titles and have claimed four domestic quadruples in a row.

The club now needs just three more league titles in a row to equal the men's world record set by Tafea FC of Vanuatu (15) in 2009.

The rest of Malaysian football has been left in the dust by the financial power of JDT, but the club's chief executive, former Liverpool player Luis Garcia, says the money only tells half the story.

When asked by ESPN if the club are simply buying success, Garcia responded:

"I don't think that's the case. It's helpful [the money], of course ... But I think the work behind [the scenes] is something people do not see; you see the success, but you don't see the hard work behind it.

"If you look at Europe, I can give you five or six examples of big amounts of money spent on players, academies and facilities, and the success is not there. Not long ago, Paris Saint-Germain probably had the world's best strike force with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, but I don't remember them winning any Champions Leagues."

JDT’s success is beginning to extend beyond Malaysia, too, with the club establishing itself as a new force in Asian football. Their breakthrough on the continental stage came in 2015, when they lifted the AFC Cup after defeating Tajikistan’s Istiklol 1–0 in the final.

More recently, JDT have continued to make progress in the AFC Champions League Elite, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time last season before being narrowly beaten 2–1 by eventual champions Al Ahli.

JDT's last defeat in domestic football came five years ago in a 1-0 loss to Terengganu. Since then, they have won 100 league games and drawn nine.

"It's incredible we're speaking about it," head coach Munoz, who previously managed Watford and Sheffield Wednesday, said.

"In modern football, we have a lot of games. Maybe one day you are sleeping, maybe one day you make a mistake, or sometimes you have a bad day. And this did not happen."

The closest the undefeated streak came to falling apart was in May of 2022 when they found themselves 2-1 down against Sri Pahang with only a few minutes remaining. Then, in the 88th minute, all-time record scorer Bergson proved the hero again, scoring to salvage a 2-2 draw.

JDT have faced criticism over their lack of homegrown Malaysian players, despite 24-year-old winger Arif Aiman winning the league’s MVP award in each of the past four seasons.

Super League rules allow clubs to field six foreign players - four global, one Asian and one Southeast Asian - while naturalised players can count as locals. That system came under scrutiny last September when FIFA sanctioned FAM and suspended seven players, including JDT trio Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel, after finding that documents claiming Malaysian ancestry had been falsified.

"It's something that we want to leave in the past. When we talk, it's like we are pointing [the finger] at someone. There was something missing in the middle, and we only found out later on," Garcia says.

"The players were the ones who suffered the most. As a former player, I know what it's like to be out and not even have the opportunity to train with your team. That's really painful. But now we're focused on bringing the players back."

The suspended players are expected to return in October, but league rules remain, and only six foreigners will be allowed on the field.

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