In the wake of the elimination of all the English Premier League clubs from the UEFA Champions League in the Round of 16, I have watched and read with amusement as several commentator have come to the conclusion that the EPL is over-rated and only thrives on marketability and hype without any attendant success in Europe’s biggest club competition.

My amusement is based on the fact that these assertions seem a bit over-exaggerated as the facts on ground in recent times prove otherwise. To make my point I will focus on the Champions League in the last decade (2005-2014) with focus on the semi-finals and final stage. (Please note that 2005-2014 actually contains 10 seasons of the UCL, even though we are more like to think of a decade as being 2004-2014.) This season is yet to get to the semi-final stage so I will exclude it for now.

The first point I will make is that in the period in review (2005-2014) three English teams have won the Champions League (Liverpool, 2005; Manchester United, 2008 and Chelsea, 2012) in comparison to two teams from Spain (Barcelona 2006, 2009, 2011; Real Madrid, 2014) and Italy (Milan,2007; Inter Milan, 2010), and one team from Germany (Bayern Munich, 2013). In other words, more teams from England have won the UCL compared to other leagues.

Now let’s take a critical look at the teams that have played in the Champions League Finals between 2005 and 2014.

Champions League Finals:

English teams have played in 7 of the last 10 UCL finals with one being an all English final in 2008. (Liverpool, 2005, 2007; Arsenal, 2006; Man Utd, 2008, 2009, 2011; Chelsea, 2008, 2012).

Compare that with Spanish teams who have played in only 4 finals in the last 10 with an all-Spanish final last season. (Barcelona, 2006, 2009, 2011; Real Madrid, 2014; Athletico Madrid, 2014)

Or Italian and German teams who have both played in 3 finals in 10. (Milan, 2005, 2007; Inter, 2010) and (Bayern, 2010, 2012, 2013; Borrussia Dortmund, 2013)

This clearly shows that teams from the EPL have been more consistent in getting to the UCL finals than every other league in the last decade. What about the semi-finals?

Champions League Semi-finals:

There has been an English team in 8 of the last 10 semi-finals in the UCL. However, the stats get even more interesting.
There were 3 English semi-finalist in 3 consecutive UCL seasons within the period in review.

2007- Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd
2008 – Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd
2009 – Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea

This was 3 seasons of dominance in the UCL by English teams which no one seems to remember. The most the Spaniards have been able to do is 2 Spanish teams qualifying for 4 consecutive semi-finals (2011-2014), but not 3.

Summary:

It is true that Spanish teams have been more successful in this period, winning 4 titles, while England have 3 titles. However, the Spanish La Liga’s successes are largely down to the exploits of Barcelona, buoyed by the amazing talent of the phenomenal Lionel Messi. On the three occasions that Barcelona have won the UCL title in the last decade, they defeated an English side in the final (Arsenal, 2006; Manchester United 2009, 2011)

We must also understand that these things go around from time to time. In the early 90’s the Italian Serie A dominated the UCL, with 2 of their teams (Milan & Juventus) appearing in 6 consecutive finals between 1993 and 1998 winning twice. However, only Inter Milan has appeared in a UCL semi-final in the last 7 seasons.

The EPL teams also had a run of 5 consecutive finals between 2005 and 2009, winning twice. Guess what, the Spanish La Liga teams are yet to have such a run even in the last two decades, despite winning the titles more times. Bayern Munich have practically flown the flag of the Bundesliga, with Schalke 04 being the only other semi-finalist in the period under review. France and Holland have only managed 1 semi-final each in this period (Lyon, 2010; PSV 2005). Greece, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine can at best boast of Quarter-final finishes.

So, is the English Premier League over-rated after all? They may not have won as many UCL titles as the Spanish La Liga in the last decade, but they surely deserve a whole lot more than an “E” for effort.

Exactly my thought. The guy wt d comment above mine has little or no understanding ability. *No insult intended*

Greatihex:
Exactly my thought. The guy wt d comment above mine has little or no understanding ability. *No insult intended*

you also lack understanding ability? is what he wrote rocket science?

Isiterere:
Barcelona alone has won the total number EPL team has won under the year you review. #Fact. Is it not laughable that no team in EPL qualify for quarter final?


English teams have played in 7 of the last 10 UCL finals
with one being an all English final in 2008. (Liverpool,
2005, 2007; Arsenal, 2006; Man Utd, 2008, 2009, 2011;
Chelsea, 2008, 2012).
**played 7, won =3


Compare that with Spanish teams who have played in only
4 finals in the last 10 with an all-Spanish final last
season. (Barcelona, 2006, 2009, 2011; Real Madrid, 2014;
Athletico Madrid, 2014)

**played 4, won =4

maybe I'm bad in ratio, what's the winning ratio here?

***The fact still remain EPL is overrated. (should we delve into Ballon d'or too?

ALL IZZ WELL

Guy, let's put aside sentiments and club affiliations for a minute and be objective for just 60 seconds. How can you say with the above that the EPL is overrated? Or has the meaning of the word overrated changed?

No doubt the Spanish La Liga is more technical and has had more success in the UCL in recent times. But after La Liga which League comes next. Now we all know that Spain and England are not the only countries with leagues in Europe. How much success have the Italians, Germans or the French achieved? Where are the Dutch, the Portuguese or the Turks?

Should we now say that Germany, Italy, Spain or Argentina are overrated in global football, simply because Brazil has won the World Cup more times.

Give credit where it is due, even if grudgingly. The EPL is in no way overrated.

homesteady:


you also lack understanding ability? is what he wrote rocket science?

Haba, Homesteady you too? Objectivity is the key word bro.

Of course it's overrated. UCL is even fair compared to their disastrous europa league record within the same time frame.

homesteady:


you also lack understanding ability? is what he wrote rocket science?

is what he wrote nt a prove that the statement "epl is overrated" a fallacy.

When ppl talk abt the best league i wonder what they use to rate it. For me, the success in continental competition does nt count for the perf. in d league. That two or three clubs frm a league are doin wel in continental competition does nt represent the overall perf. of d entire clubs of d league. Rating of the best league is done frm what is happening n d league and nt outside it.

Isiterere:


Kudos to you for this thread. I really liked your side of the argument....





ALL IZZ WELL

Well, one can hardly blame the English for packaging their league in such a manner that it is highly marketable. Their history was not a very pleasant one as they were more famous for hooliganism. But today that has changed.

Thanks for your kind comments.

Greatihex:
When ppl talk abt the best league i wonder what they use to rate it. For me, the success in continental competition does nt count for the perf. in d league. That two or three clubs frm a league are doin wel in continental competition does nt represent the overall perf. of d entire clubs of d league. Rating of the best league is done frm what is happening n d league and nt outside it.

What's dis one sayin ?? Epl can be compared to d south african league in Africa . They are really good at promoting their league and have a lot of money to spend but when it comes to the continental league , they collapse below what they have made te continent believe bout how strong their league is. Most local African players would prefer the south African league because of the popularity compared to other leagues in Africa

Their national team as well reminds me of the three lions

cr7lomo:



What's dis one sayin ?? Epl can be compared to d south african league in Africa . They are really good at promoting their league and have a lot of money to spend but when it comes to the continental league , they collapse below what they have made te continent believe bout how strong their league is. Most local African players would prefer the south African league because of the popularity compared to other leagues in Africa

Their national team as well reminds me of the three lions

oga, undastd a comment b4 u quote it. What dat comment meant is that what happens in the league hv no interpretation of what happens outside of it. That the league is hot does nt guarantee success for the teams in it outside d league. Chelsea won d ucl in 2012, bt 5nished 6th in dia domestic league. Gerrard neva won d epl, bt won d ucl wt liverpool. Besides that, are you saying that english do nt do wel in the european stage?

cr7lomo:



What's dis one sayin ?? Epl can be compared to d south african league in Africa . They are really good at promoting their league and have a lot of money to spend but when it comes to the continental league , they collapse below what they have made te continent believe bout how strong their league is. Most local African players would prefer the south African league because of the popularity compared to other leagues in Africa

Their national team as well reminds me of the three lions

I found an interesting article on this issue on Goal.com. Check out this excerpt:

My first thought is that the EPL is the most competitive league of the top three leagues in Europe (EPL, Bundesliga & La Liga). Let us go to the ‘tale of the tape’; in the years under my review (2010/11 to 2013/14), the EPL league winner had the lowest winning percentage, 78%. The Spanish league winner had 87% and German league winner had 82%; this is calculated as the average winner points in the years in consideration, against points possible in all games played (114 in EPL and La Liga, 102 in Bundesliga). This tells me that winning the EPL is a lot tougher than any of the other leagues in Europe.
This is the final league table (top 5) for English, Spanish and German leagues for years 2011 to 2014

*Please check the link to see table*

The point table shows that in the EPL, the top team has a nearly five game advantage over the number four team on the points table. The average is 14 points in the years considered. In the Spanish league, the difference between first and fourth is a huge 32 points ( 11 game spread), and the German league with fewer games than the other two leagues being compared has a 25 points spread between point leader and number four on table.
Numbers we say do not lie, so I want to believe that the EPL is a lot more competitive than any other leagues in Europe.

http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/8472/the-patrick-omo-osagie-column/2015/03/21/10040642/why-the-epl-is-failing-in-europe-key-numbers-to-consider