Europe, home of unarguably the best leagues in the world; The flirty and mighty sexy Spanish league - graced by the true world stars of football, is an obvious contender for King of all leagues. But then we consider the English Premier League, where a team that occupies a much maligned place in the relegation zone, can cause an upset in a match against a team at the summit of the table. any regard to be the most competitive league, can put up a brave fight and cause an upset against on a given day. Six teams have the potential, will and desire to win the league,
Therefore this breakdown of the leagues should provide that bit of clarity most of us football fans are blinded to due to our sentimental attachments and loyalties.
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| Three of the world's finest now battle it out in the same league |
Not to imply that these two phenomenal football beasts are the only thing on show in Spain, for La Liga is truly the league of stars. Probably the world's best two midfielders in Xavi and Iniesta display exquisite control, awareness and passing on such a regular basis that it is a cause of shock when one of them somehow loses possession of the ball. Recently joined by their 35 million euro Spanish team mate Cesc Fabregas, the collection of La Liga stars continues to grow.
The wealth of such immense talent is such that even a man who consistently hits the 20 goals a season mark by the name of David Villa can not afford the limelight. Across the divide Ronaldo is joined by Spain's other midfield maestro, Xabi Alonso, pinging 50 yard passes at all angles over the pitch. Not to mention former world player of the year and 56 million pound signing Kaka along with Germany's start playmaker Mesut Ozil. There is a vast majority that would argue that these two teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are the two most powerful teams in the world. In Barcelona's case, the position as the world's prominent force is not often even put up for debate after winning two Champions League titles in three years.
However in the battle for the position as the world's most prominant league, it is the fact that these two teams are the only one's worth mentioning that diminishes La Liga's chances. It appears that the league of stars is really the league of two teams packed with stars and the fact that 3rd place Valencia in last season's table remained a full 21 points behind 2nd place Madrid shows the lack of competition in the league.
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| The dangerous trio |
The English Premier League on the other hand revels in boasting itself as the remedy to such problems, with six teams now supposedly competing at the top. The original "big 4" of United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool has now been expanded to include Man City and Tottenham and with two of them certain to miss out on champions league football, competition at the top is fierce.
As a matter of fact competition throughout the league is fierce when considering the relegation battle that usually boils down to the final day of each season. Barcelona may have been Europe's dominating force for the past few years but the Premiership teams have also proven the strength of their league on the continental stage, with each of the 'original' big four making an appearance in the Champions League final over the past 7 years.
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| Tough league or bad day at the office? |
But in all, how competitive has the Premiership really become? In the last 7 years there have still only been two different winners of the title and since its inception in 1992 there have only been a total of four different winners. Maybe to some it is just as predictable as La Liga's league of two?
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| Manchester United enjoy showing their silverware to the Old Trafford faithful |
Compared to the power and success of both the Premiership and the La Liga, the German Bundesliga wrongly appears feeble and uninteresting to most football fans outside of Germany. But with good reason,
in the past decade they have only had two appearances in the Champions League final and in both cases their representatives have returned empty handed.
The Bundesliga has less international appeal than Spain and England, as a result of their financial rules. The few stars of Germany usually end up seeking more elaborate and lucrative leagues, think about Dzeko moving to Man City or Ozil when switching to Real Madrid. This underlines the lack of appeal that this league has to offer on a European scale. Bayern Munich is probably the only club which is viewed as a 'super power' from outside of Germany due to their consistency and ability to attract stars such as Robben and Ribery to their club.
in the past decade they have only had two appearances in the Champions League final and in both cases their representatives have returned empty handed.
The Bundesliga has less international appeal than Spain and England, as a result of their financial rules. The few stars of Germany usually end up seeking more elaborate and lucrative leagues, think about Dzeko moving to Man City or Ozil when switching to Real Madrid. This underlines the lack of appeal that this league has to offer on a European scale. Bayern Munich is probably the only club which is viewed as a 'super power' from outside of Germany due to their consistency and ability to attract stars such as Robben and Ribery to their club.
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| Spectacles like this in Germany aren't rare. Inset, Schalke's crowd decked in blue. |
Serie A appeared at the bottom of each of the attendance figures and goals per game figures however don't count them out just yet. Inter Milan won the Champions League as a Serie A representative only two years ago, beating the mighty Barcelona along the way, and AC Milan won it only shortly before them in the 06/07 season. It will be a while before we can judge their European success this season but with Napoli proving themselves away at Man City and then winning comfortably against Villarreal, and AC Milan holding Barcelona to a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp their is obviously still a lot of strength in the league. Maybe even the league of tacticians deserves the top spot?
