English teams very strong, Spanish teams very entertaining.
Now that the knockout rounds of both European club competitions have been set, casual glances up and down the draws will invariably lead to discussions over which is the 'best' league in Europe.
This debate is never any closer to getting decided. Yet I shall dabble in this discussion for a bit. For a start, the merits and strengths of each league change from season to season. So each year, a different league could be considered the 'best'. Additionally, the term 'best' is very subjective to begin with. Does it mean the level of competition in the league, the attractiveness of the style of play or the effectiveness of the game played in each league. Since the latter 2 are much harder to judge and subject to relative tastes, let's concentrate on the first attribute - the depth of the league.
Clearly, in every league there are the few top teams - the select few who have the biggest resources, largest payroll and sometimes the biggest fanbases, who are capable of winning the league each year. Let's be honest, in England(4), Scotland(2), Holland(2-3), Spain(3-4), Italy(3), Portugal(3) there are only 2 to 4 teams who can win the league for the foreseeable future. In France and Germany, there is now one team(Lyon and Bayern) which is head and shoulders above everyone else, resource and roster wise, but they each have about 2-3 challengers. So, these are the best teams in each league. Against each other, across Europe, these teams are roughly on an equal footing.
We cannot compare the leagues based on them. But what of the middle placed teams in each league measuring up against each other ? This is where depth comes in. The teams who are outside the big 3 or 4 are the ones who contribute largely to the depth of each league. Some leagues have better middle placed teams (largely due to better financial resources) and as a result, week in, week out, the competition is fiercer, as the playing field is a little bit more even. In other leagues, outside the big clubs(and perennial contenders), the level of competition drops off significantly and the middle placed teams seem to make up the numbers more than anything else. As a consequence of this higher level of competition, usually, teams from these deeper leagues do well in Europe against clubs from other leagues since they are used to a tougher level of competition domestically. So, in essence, the depth of each league is a strong indicator of how good it is. And this can, more or less, be measured by how well a league's entrants in the continental club competitions do.
Looking at the participants in the Champions' League, it's easy to conclude that perhaps the Premiership is the strongest league this time round. The Premiership had 4 participants in the group stage, all 4 topped their respective groups, enroute to the knockout stage, with a combined record of 15-4-5. 2 of those 5 losses, I should add, came in dead rubbers after qualification had already been secured. No other league may have had as many participants in the group stage but no other league had such consistent success either. Getting 2 out of 2 teams to top their groups is commendable, getting 3 out of 3 is distinctive, but 4 group winners out of 4 is truly exceptional. This was the first time this had ever been done.
Looking further, in the UEFA cup, all 3 of the Premiership's teams topped their groups. Between them, they were unbeaten, drawing only 2 games and winning all the rest. Spain (Espanyol, Celta, Sevilla, Osasuna) had 4 teams but only 1 group winner in Espanyol; France(Lens, PSG, Nancy, Auxerre) had 4 teams, but no group winners, although everyone except Auxerre progressed; Italy (Parma, Livorno, Palermo) had one group winner Parma, while another progressed. On a side note, Israel had 2 entrants and both progressed (Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel-Aviv).
So, it would seem that English clubs have been spectacularly dominant in Europe this year, generally beating most other opponents from other leagues. The Premiership seems very deep, outside the top 4, this year. Case in point, Newcastle, when mired in midtable - beat Palermo in Sicily, while the latter was leading Serie A. Blackburn, still not completely safe from relegation, beat both Nancy (top 4 in Ligue 1 at the time) and Feyenoord (top 5 in Eredivisie).
So, the middle placed teams in England seem to be better than the middle placed teams elsewhere in Europe. So, the Premiership seems to be stronger by virtue of its depth. Hence, one can assume that it is currently the best league in Europe.
Last year, using the same argument, one could venture, that La Liga was the best league in Europe and the Premiership a little bit behind in second place. With Barcelona beating Arsenal in the Champions' League final and Sevilla thrashing Middlesborough in the UEFA Cup showpiece, that theory was lent credence. In general, by looking at results by teams from the various leagues in matches against each other, one could argue that since Real's triumph in 1998, the pendulum haas shifted slowly from Serie A towards La Liga, where it has remained for the last several seasons. But now, the title for best league in Europe seems to shifting again - perhaps inexorably towards the Premiership.
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I should let the matter rest with that. But I won't. Most conclusions have a caveat. This one especially so, since it is so vague a discussion. So much for number crunching. Aesthetically, I would consider La Liga to still be the best league in Europe. In my opinion the talent and style of play is unrivalled in Spain. As successful as Blackburn, (Middlesborough) and Newcastle are in Europe, they are boring and dull to watch. Real Zaragoza and Celta Vigo have been more entertaining than most of England's top flight this year. And although Deportivo are themselves terribly boring at times - they are not challenging for honours any time soon. At the end of the day, if I want to watch entertaining football - La Liga is what I turn to. Charlton versus Fulham may feature bigger payrolls than Bilbao versus Espanyol - but the latter creates more fans of the game by virtue of the level of skill on display. So, on a purely subjective level, which everyone is welcome to condemn and contest, I would say La Liga in Spain is the best league in Europe.
Now that the knockout rounds of both European club competitions have been set, casual glances up and down the draws will invariably lead to discussions over which is the 'best' league in Europe.
This debate is never any closer to getting decided. Yet I shall dabble in this discussion for a bit. For a start, the merits and strengths of each league change from season to season. So each year, a different league could be considered the 'best'. Additionally, the term 'best' is very subjective to begin with. Does it mean the level of competition in the league, the attractiveness of the style of play or the effectiveness of the game played in each league. Since the latter 2 are much harder to judge and subject to relative tastes, let's concentrate on the first attribute - the depth of the league.
Clearly, in every league there are the few top teams - the select few who have the biggest resources, largest payroll and sometimes the biggest fanbases, who are capable of winning the league each year. Let's be honest, in England(4), Scotland(2), Holland(2-3), Spain(3-4), Italy(3), Portugal(3) there are only 2 to 4 teams who can win the league for the foreseeable future. In France and Germany, there is now one team(Lyon and Bayern) which is head and shoulders above everyone else, resource and roster wise, but they each have about 2-3 challengers. So, these are the best teams in each league. Against each other, across Europe, these teams are roughly on an equal footing.
We cannot compare the leagues based on them. But what of the middle placed teams in each league measuring up against each other ? This is where depth comes in. The teams who are outside the big 3 or 4 are the ones who contribute largely to the depth of each league. Some leagues have better middle placed teams (largely due to better financial resources) and as a result, week in, week out, the competition is fiercer, as the playing field is a little bit more even. In other leagues, outside the big clubs(and perennial contenders), the level of competition drops off significantly and the middle placed teams seem to make up the numbers more than anything else. As a consequence of this higher level of competition, usually, teams from these deeper leagues do well in Europe against clubs from other leagues since they are used to a tougher level of competition domestically. So, in essence, the depth of each league is a strong indicator of how good it is. And this can, more or less, be measured by how well a league's entrants in the continental club competitions do.
Looking at the participants in the Champions' League, it's easy to conclude that perhaps the Premiership is the strongest league this time round. The Premiership had 4 participants in the group stage, all 4 topped their respective groups, enroute to the knockout stage, with a combined record of 15-4-5. 2 of those 5 losses, I should add, came in dead rubbers after qualification had already been secured. No other league may have had as many participants in the group stage but no other league had such consistent success either. Getting 2 out of 2 teams to top their groups is commendable, getting 3 out of 3 is distinctive, but 4 group winners out of 4 is truly exceptional. This was the first time this had ever been done.
Looking further, in the UEFA cup, all 3 of the Premiership's teams topped their groups. Between them, they were unbeaten, drawing only 2 games and winning all the rest. Spain (Espanyol, Celta, Sevilla, Osasuna) had 4 teams but only 1 group winner in Espanyol; France(Lens, PSG, Nancy, Auxerre) had 4 teams, but no group winners, although everyone except Auxerre progressed; Italy (Parma, Livorno, Palermo) had one group winner Parma, while another progressed. On a side note, Israel had 2 entrants and both progressed (Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel-Aviv).
So, it would seem that English clubs have been spectacularly dominant in Europe this year, generally beating most other opponents from other leagues. The Premiership seems very deep, outside the top 4, this year. Case in point, Newcastle, when mired in midtable - beat Palermo in Sicily, while the latter was leading Serie A. Blackburn, still not completely safe from relegation, beat both Nancy (top 4 in Ligue 1 at the time) and Feyenoord (top 5 in Eredivisie).
So, the middle placed teams in England seem to be better than the middle placed teams elsewhere in Europe. So, the Premiership seems to be stronger by virtue of its depth. Hence, one can assume that it is currently the best league in Europe.
Last year, using the same argument, one could venture, that La Liga was the best league in Europe and the Premiership a little bit behind in second place. With Barcelona beating Arsenal in the Champions' League final and Sevilla thrashing Middlesborough in the UEFA Cup showpiece, that theory was lent credence. In general, by looking at results by teams from the various leagues in matches against each other, one could argue that since Real's triumph in 1998, the pendulum haas shifted slowly from Serie A towards La Liga, where it has remained for the last several seasons. But now, the title for best league in Europe seems to shifting again - perhaps inexorably towards the Premiership.
------------------------------------------------
I should let the matter rest with that. But I won't. Most conclusions have a caveat. This one especially so, since it is so vague a discussion. So much for number crunching. Aesthetically, I would consider La Liga to still be the best league in Europe. In my opinion the talent and style of play is unrivalled in Spain. As successful as Blackburn, (Middlesborough) and Newcastle are in Europe, they are boring and dull to watch. Real Zaragoza and Celta Vigo have been more entertaining than most of England's top flight this year. And although Deportivo are themselves terribly boring at times - they are not challenging for honours any time soon. At the end of the day, if I want to watch entertaining football - La Liga is what I turn to. Charlton versus Fulham may feature bigger payrolls than Bilbao versus Espanyol - but the latter creates more fans of the game by virtue of the level of skill on display. So, on a purely subjective level, which everyone is welcome to condemn and contest, I would say La Liga in Spain is the best league in Europe.
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