Article 106 — Farmers League vs Best League
There was a lot of chatter on the best league in the world vs farmers league while the European club competition was going on. By definition, a farmers league is one where there is no competition in the league with only one winner and that winner cannot replicate that form in Europe.
For me, the best league is one where there is a strong competition in the domestic league, where it is unpredictable which team would win it and in turn, the league has representatives that get to the final of the European club competition and are winners in those competitions regularly.
Followers of the English Premier League were quick to lay claim to having the best league in the world last season when they had four representatives spread across the Europa League and Champions League. They had two teams that were neck to neck in the league until the final day of the season with over 90 points for each team. In one season, that claim has been evaporated. The furthest an English club went in European club competition this season was to the semi-final of the Europa League. The league was also one-sided with the champion team winning it by over 20 points.
In terms of the league competition, the English Premier League has been the most unpredictable in the last decade with different winners almost every season. However, the competition in the last three season has had an obvious chasm between the top or top two and the rest. For the upcoming decade, the Premier League is best placed to dominate due to the money available in the English game. It is the richest league in the world and the clubs should capitalise on it. And no it is not the best league in the world, having four representatives in the final of the Champions League and Europa League in one season doesn’t make you the best league in the world.
If you apply the theory of English Premier League fans, then the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will lay claim to having the best league in the world because there were two representatives from each league in the Champions League semi-finals and a representative of each league in the final of that competition. But that is not the case. Bayern Munich was fantastic this season, winning their second Treble but they have won the Bundesliga for 8 seasons in a row now. Paris Saint-Germain had a clean sweep of all the trophies on offer in France but they have also won Ligue 1 seven out of the last eight championships.
Right now, would anyone bet against Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain winning their respective domestic league? I doubt there will many brave enough to do that. A league that has been my favourite since I started watching football, one that is close to my heart, Serie A was once the best league in the world and that was in the 90s.
Between 1990–91 to 1999–00, two times Italian clubs have won and four times Italian clubs have finished runners-up in the Champions League, six times Italian clubs have won and five times Italian clubs have finished runners-up in the UEFA Cup and two times Italian clubs have won and once an Italian club finished as runners-up in the Cup Winners Cup. In that time, 5 different Italian clubs have won the Serie A. It was the most dominant period of Italian football.
The decline of Italian football has been gradual. From 2000–01 to 2009–10, three times an Italian club has won and two times Italian clubs have finished runners up in the Champions League, there were zero Italian clubs in the finals of the UEFA Cup/Europa League and the Cup Winners Cup was discontinued in 1998–99. From 2010–11 to 2019–20, no Italian clubs have won a European trophy. Two times an Italian club have finished runners-up in the Champions League and once in the Europa League. As a fan of Italian football, it is a sad decline. Juventus have made it a farmers league by winning it for nine consecutive seasons, the most ever in the history of the league.
The lack of league competition is rubbing off in European competition. There have been some good performances in Europe by Italian clubs in recent seasons but not good enough to win it and get to the finals regularly like they used to do. The teams have lacked the winning mentality and the resilience that was once the trademark of Italian clubs. Money has gone out of the game in Italy as well and they have not been able to afford to sign the best players in the world. Recently things look to be picking up on that front but a lot needs to be done especially mentally and in terms of competition by the teams if they are to get back to where they used to be.
For the upcoming season, it looks unpredictable for a change and I really hope that we get a new champion in Italy next season. It is also not just about next season, in the long term in the next decade, the league has to be as unpredictable as it once was.
There is no doubt that La Liga have been the best league in the world in the last two decades. They have dominated European competition, since 2001, Spanish teams have played against non-Spanish teams in the finals of the Champions League and Europa League 15 times and won all 15 times. The last time a Spanish team lost in a European final was in 2000–01 when Valencia lost on penalties to Bayern Munich in the final of the Champions League and Alaves lost to Liverpool after extra-time in the final of the UEFA Cup.
Between 2000–01 and 2019–20, there have also been two all-Spanish finals each in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup/Europa League. Truly dominant. In La Liga, it’s been more predictable, only three times have a club outside of the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona won the league. This coming season, with the chaos at Barcelona and Real Madrid in transition, there could be an opportunity for someone outside of this duopoly to win the league. Despite Sevilla’s dominance in the Europa League/UEFA Cup, Spanish teams have looked weak for the first time in a long time. After all, nothing lasts forever so the era of Spanish dominance might be reaching its end.
In modern football, I feel no league can truly claim to be the best league in the world. The results in the Champions League and Europa League are unpredictable. You would never know which team from which league would perform well and progress far. In all the domestic leagues, you get one or two teams that too dominant for the rest for the competition, Juventus in Italy, Bayern Munich in Germany, Paris Saint-Germain in France, Real Madrid or Barcelona in Spain and Liverpool or Manchester City in England. My wish is for there to be greater competition in the Top 5 European leagues. It makes the competition very boring and predictable when you know which teams are going to win the league from the start.
