Three years ago, the Champions League group phase seemed little more than a formality for England’s strongest clubs. With all four representatives usually progressing through with ease, it was almost taken for granted that England’s clubs would be the dominant force in the most prestigious club tournament in Europe. But this season tells a different story.
Two teams from Russia, Spain, France, Germany, as well as England, feature in the last sixteen this season. Three from Italy, and one each from Switzerland, Greece and Portugal are also present. This is a stark contrast to last season with England having all four of their teams still in with a chance. The recent peak in 2008, when three English clubs reached the semis as well as an all-English final, reflected the fact that the Premier League was miles above the rest. However, this was never going to last - football works in cycles.
The resurgence of clubs such as AC Milan, the money being injected into teams like Real Madrid and the improvements in the standard of football in smaller nations such as Portugal, Russia and Switzerland have all had a big role to play in the underperforming top four of England thus far, giving the Premiership’s representatives more competition. Russian clubs seem to be attracting far bigger names, such as Samuel Eto’o and former Chelsea employee Yuri Zhirkov, even if it does appear to be money related. Portuguese clubs have notably improved as well; three of the four semi-finalists in last year’s Europa League were Portuguese.
AC Milan have imposed themselves as a serious threat once again over recent months to challenge the big clubs. They had lost the tag of ‘serious contenders’ over the past few years but have struck back better than ever, boasting a formidable strike force including Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Pato. Beating Arsenal last night, they are the one of the eight teams in the quarter final pot. Another Italian team looking good are Napoli, the dark horses of the competition so far, managing to squeeze their way out of a group including Bayern, Villarreal and City, and they are also heading for a quarter-final place if they can hold onto their two goal lead against Chelsea.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are probably the two main favourites to pick up the trophy in Germany on the 19th May. But you can never write off the smaller clubs, they have surprised everyone so far, such as FC Basel with victories over Manchester United and Bayern Munich, and Marseille, who defeated Inter Milan this week. Unlike previous years, you just can’t see an English team winning the competition this time around.
Admittedly, this all seems a bit quick to judge for the long term; all clubs have their odd bad season, right? However, it can’t be denied English clubs who have dominated Europe over the recent years have had a poor season in Europe this year. Just a one off? A coincidence? Or is the rest of Europe finally catching up with the Premiership’s supposed superior standard?
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