Death by Football: The Fall of the ‘big’ Teams
In recent seasons, we have witnessed (and continue to witness), slowly but surely, the elegant destruction of what we know as the ‘big’ teams. Spain, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Germany, Holland, Russia, Greece, and Turkey have all fallen to the inevitable rise of the ‘middle’ teams. Let’s review the movers and shakers:
Spain
Last season, Real Madrid broke the spell and snatched the title from Barcelona on the last day, with Sevilla having played extremely well. The season before that, Osasuna broke in to the top four. That same season, Villarreal pulled off an impressive feat by reaching the Champions League semifinals. This season, Villarreal are currently in 2nd place, with Atletico Madrid in 4th. One big team which has fallen from here is Valencia: a perfect example of my theory.
Italy
Although Calciopoli contributed to this, Chievo Verona achieved 4th in the 2005-06 season, and Lazio did the same last year. Fiorentina have, effectively, confined AC Milan to the UEFA Cup this season and, let’s not forget, Udinese had an okay run in the Champions League in 2005/06 (or was it 2004/05?).
France
AS Monaco crashed out of the elite after 2004/05, and a host of clubs like Marseille, Bordeaux, and, recently, Nice and Nancy, have troubled Lyon. Marseille returned to Europe this season, and Bordeaux made it last season, with Nice set to take a Champions League birth for next season.
England
It may be less evident here, but Everton beat Liverpool to 4th in 2004/05, and threw away a chance this season. Tottenham have twice scraped with Arsenal for 4th in the past two seasons, and Manchester City came close this season, along with Portsmouth and Aston Villa. Give those teams some time and money, and I guarantee you there will be a different ‘Big 4′ in seasons to come.
Scotland
The Old Firm have retaken control, but Hearts beat Rangers to 2nd in 2005/06 and (I can’t remember which club) is pressuring Rangers and Celtic recently.
Germany
A prime example. Last season brought about the end of the Bayern era. Stuttgart proved that giants aren’t forever, and this season Hamburg, Werder (again), Schalke, Leverkusen and Stuttgart are fighting Bayern for the coveted title. Expect fireworks (figuratively, of course).
Holland
AZ Alkmaar were outstanding last season, in it until the last day in which PSV won by one goal over Ajax. Ajax’s decline has been ever more evident in the past seasons, losing out to the likes of FC Kobenhavn, and PSV crashing out of the Champions League at the group stage this season opened a window for Feyenoord and AZ.
Russia
Zenit St. Petersburg became only the second ever non-Moscow club to win the Russian Premier League last year, and continued their supremacy by defeating Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 away from home in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals first leg in Leverkusen. CSKA didn’t make the Round of 16 in the UCL, again, and Spartak failed to qualify.
Greece
AEK Athens burst onto the scene last season, leapfrogging the once-great Panathinaikos and the eternal champions Olympiakos. This season, Asteris Tripolis has impressed, and clubs like PAOK and Thessaloniki getting better. Plus, a new movement is trying to sieze ‘partial’ control of Panathinaikos to ‘return the greatness’ to the club. Good luck…
Turkey
Sivasspor came out of nowhere to shock Fenerbahce and Galatasaray this season, while Besiktas came out of the shadows to achieve UEFA Champions League qualification for this season. Everyone’s just waiting for Trabzonspor to come back…
However, there are notable exceptions to this theory. In Portugal, Porto has never relinquished its hold over the SuperLiga, and in Ukraine Shakhtar and Dynamo always continue their duel for supremacy. In the Nordic Leagues, Kobenhavn, Gothenburg, and Brann continue their reigns, while in Serbia and Romania its always either Bucharest clubs (in Romania) or Belgrade clubs (in Serbia).
Feel free to criticise me in the comments section below.
Topics: Ajax, Bundesliga, Competitions, England, English Premier League, Eredivisie, Features, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, La Liga, PSV Eindhoven, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scottish Premier League, Serie A, Spain, Turkey
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So what does this all mean? Is it an indication of league strength? If you ask me, even though the Premier League is THE top league in terms of talent and finances, how many TRUE European giants are in the EPL? Liverpool are the biggest team (in terms of success rate), followed by Manchester United. Arsenal and Chelsea… well, they are certainly big teams now, but unless they prove they can win the UEFA Champions League, they’re not giants yet across the continent.
I measure league strength in three aspects: clubs participating and winning the Champions League, number of clubs in the latter stages of the UEFA Cup (and winning it of course), and quality of players in the National Teams playing in their domestic leagues.
EPL has dominated the money game and the Champions League spectrum, but in the UEFA Cup, they’re struggling against the top 10′s of other leagues.
For me, the La Liga still has greater overall league strength. They have two to three clubs contesting in the UCL, and regularly have 3 to 4 teams in the UEFA Cup.
The EPL’s quality is undeniable… La Liga is still up there. The poor league is the Serie A…corruption, deaths, violence, losing to the Big 4 of England… bad news…only their National team is good.
The Bundesliga is improving though. More teams fighting Bayern and the National team doing well.
April 4th, 2008 @ 19:32gr8 article!
April 5th, 2008 @ 00:34very interesting… stats would not go amiss. well, it very good- compared to the usual trashtalk on this blog.
April 5th, 2008 @ 16:45munichheart, i am not undermining the strength of the leagues. The fact that there is this much coimpetition proves the point that these leagues are very strong.
April 6th, 2008 @ 02:48Yup, they are GT. But if I may ask, how would you rank the leagues as you see it now? With all the other teams threatening the giants?
Like… which league could overtake another league soon?
April 6th, 2008 @ 17:35