The Italian and French leagues are in decline in Europe, I think. On the contrary, the German, Ukrainian and Russian leagues are in the upswing. I'm afraid the process is irreversible, and it will take some time (5-10 years) to change things around. I think in the next 3-5 years we'll see the EPL first, La Liga lagging behind, the Bundesliga third overtaking the Italians, who will be fourth, and then the Russians followed by the French and the Ukrainians fighting for #6. The money moves to where the money is. What's happened to the Eredivisie must be a cautionary tale to all other mid-size leagues.
I don't think I'll ever witness a french team winning a european trophy . And I'm only 20 .. The fact is , our teams sucks compared to other teams in different leagues . Always disappointing in Europe , ALWAYS !!
I think if any one of OM, Bordeaux, PSG were mid table in the league then they would have had a better chance of going further in Europe. They all were/are fighting for a Champions League spot and that makes it too tough for them to prioritize Europe especially since the financial rewards of the UEFA Cup arent too great.
well, apparently i've given too much rep to SB333 recently (strange, we don't often see eye-to-eye ) but he sure deserves some here. these three teams have come together this year, and really could have done it. but even finishing 4th in a CL group is more lucrative than winning the UEFA cup, so if you have a shot at both...
If the season ended today you'd have the same 3 teams in the Champions League for 2 years in a row and I dont think thats ever happened in the league before. You'd also have PSG back in the UEFA Cup. You have a much better chance of success if you have all these same teams back again. Certain countries send the same teams to Europe year after year and not surprisingly a lot of them seem do well.
I doubt Russia will overtake France, let alone Ukraine. For Russia, so far only CSKA and Zenit ever really convinced in European competition - and even they didn't every year. For the UEFA ranking, that's enough if you only play with 4 teams, especially if one of the other manages not to completely emberass itself. For Ukraine, it's similar, maybe even more extreme - despite Metalists astonishing success this season. France has a balanced league, maybe there aren't more clubs that can reach semis, and less that win UEFA Cups, but very few drop out in first round, and usually, most still play in spring. Russia will have to play with 6 teams next season, Ukraine one season later. We'll see if Amkar Prem or Metalurh Donetsk can do as good as teams like PSG or St Etienne. I don't think so.
what i see (unless one of platini's ideas can meet with some acceptance, dream on) is the EPL getting so far ahead of everyone else that the whole show becomes almost completely devoid of interest. we're over halfway there now.
A plummeting British Pound, coupled with a new tax code, will help prevent this. The English economy is in complete shambles, and this will affect their league.
I think we can all forget about Marseille now having European ambitions. I'm sure you've read whats being reported over there. The manager will be leaving in June because he and the owner cant agree on a new deal. The president might resign soon as well. The owner (Dreyfus) reportedly wants to reduce the payroll next season. If you thought OM being the champion this year would try to add more to its team next year to try to make a strong European run then it looks like you were wrong. They should enjoy their title this year because it will be another 15 years before they get one. Aulas at Lyon would never let a situation like this happen. Looks like we're back to Lyon carrying the flag for France in the Champions League again.