“It is a very tough championship with a lot of big players and a lot of big teams.” Well, yes it is; however, England just haven’t got it right on the big stage, against the rest of Europe’s elite clubs, like they once did. There was a time when English clubs flaunted their talents overseas, marauding their ability in the likes of Spain, Italy, Germany and France: but it’s become more infrequent, less impressive and harder to achieve than it used to be for the elite of England.
In 59 Champions Leagues, formerly the European Cup, England have taken home 11 of them, with Liverpool, fans quick to remind, accountable for nearly half of them with five. Furthermore, English teams have featured in only 18 of the 59 Champions League finals.
Unfortunately, only 2 of the 11 English Champions League successes have been in the last decade. Before Sir Alex Ferguson’s famed ’99 triple, including the Champions League, England had been on a 15-year dry run in the Champions League. The Premier League: the self-anointed Best League in the World.
“I don’t know when, but it would be great to play in Premier League.” The same player, the proud owner of a Ballon d’Or and a World Cup winners’ medal, said this, too: he still hasn’t played in the Premier League. At the time of quoting, in 2008, he was reportedly looking for a new club; he ended up in La Liga, not the Premier League. Seemingly more than ever, players are choosing to either; stay in La Liga or move there instead of, or from, the Premier League: the self-anointed Best League in the World.
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“I think it is the best championship in the world.” Our mystery quoted player stated, in the same breath as his aforementioned quotes. This was said at the height of England’s only real continuous phase of European dominance in the past decade, 2008, in which Manchester United won the Champions League on penalties against another English club, Chelsea, a year after Liverpool had made the Champions League Final, to be defeated by AC Milan.
Manchester United, again, made the final the following year, but were comprehensively beaten by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Our mystery player, a deceivingly praising one at that, is Kaka. He chose to join Real Madrid over the self-anointed Best League in the World in 2009.
It seems, however, that unless English clubs buck up their ideas when it comes to the final stages of the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League, the credibility, if there is any, to their claim at being the Best League in the World, will dwindle, die and disappear.
Sunday night provided 2011 with the most watched domestic club football game in the world, El Clasico; Real Madrid v. Barcelona; Guardiola v. Mourinho; Messi v. Ronaldo. It recorded over a staggering 450 million viewers, making it only second to the Champions League final, in terms of viewing figures. Monday night’s Oil Oligopoly of the Premier League contest got severely fewer views.
Tottenham & Fulham had their European adventure cut short last week and both ended with rather distasteful happenings: Harry Redknapp took the opportunity to clench his fist at his Irish opposition, not content with just hammering them 4-0 and Fulham let their qualification hopes slip from a 2-goal lead in the last minute to draw two apiece.