Fact or fiction: Serie A is the third best league in Europe (behind Premiership and La Liga)

They're all focusing on Serie A, that's the reason for the bad results

 

The irony is that while the money in the Europa League is pitiful compared to the money in the CL, both tournaments pretty much contribute equally to the UEFA coefficient.

 

With such a poor attitude towards the Europe league it was inevitable. I didn't want to believe it but its true.

Napoli didn't even play Cavani against Villareal and he's Serie A's top 3 goalscorer.

Oh well.

 

In the last years the UEFA has changed the point systems towards more and more bonus points in the CL. So the EL excuse is childish IMHO. Serie A clubs have to blame themselves, the top clubs played in the last years with many players past their prime.

Currently a change can be watched with young players getting chances to prove themself, but it will take a few years for them to grow. I expect Serie A to win the 4th CL spot back in a few seasons.

 

well since serie a dun take the UEFA system seriously why shd UEFA give them 4 CL places anyway.

 

German teams make it far but rarely win it all. Maybe this year.

 

I think it's pretty conclusive now that Serie A is not the 3rd best league now. Unfortunately, spanish team results are a cause for concern for La Liga fans too.

 

I don't think so. German clubs have outperformed Italian clubs consistently in Uefa Cup/Europa League for more than 6/7 years. Its taken its toll and now they have the 4th spot as a result.

Well I believe in balance between young and old but you're mostly right. There used to be a time when younger Italian players were good enough to relieve more experienced first team players but now its not the case. Italy especially is hurting for home grown talent in CL.

It might tale a lot longer than 4 seasons depending on how well Germany performs.

Ultimately, baring any serious luck or mega superstar budding talent, I don't see a Bundesliga team outside of Bayern winning the Champions League.

Four spots or three spots once Juve gets their act together Serie A has three brand name clubs that have the resources to contend every year or every other year.

 

It's not going to change back quickly too. We're not talking about a couple of points here or there that can be blamed on the system. The gap in terms of points between Germany and Italy now is huge already. Impossible to correct over one season. What's worse for Italy, it will only get bigger since the points that will be deduced next season (points from five seasons ago) were in Italy's favour.

 

There is also this season though, imagine if all 3 Italian clubs go out this round which is likely. If that happens, Germany could potentially go up from 8.2 to 10 by the end of this season. It will take time for Italy to get their spot back imo.

 

Apart from the possibility that Italian clubs might start to care about the EL again (it happened to us Germans after we lost our 4th CL berth, after all), there's also the possibility that Spain will get into reach... Yes, Real and Barcelona are going to stay CL favourites for years to come (well, Real only if/when they finally get their act together and survive the 2nd round again ^^), but I get the impression that the rest of the league can't keep up. And since 07, they didn't collect much more points than Germany anymore. Right now, less. Which could make it a three way race if/when Italy comes back.

Certainly true in the immediate future. In the long run (5-10 years and after) I wouldn't be too surprised about Dortmund or Hamburg becoming at least a good outside bet (somewhat like Lyon and at times Roma in the last couple of seasons).

 

I wouldn't bet a penny on Hamburg becoming anything. They are forever in the 1.Bundesliga, they are forever one of the richest clubs but that doesn't translate into much. Yes, they always have decent teams but thats about it. Don't know why, guess its the constant restlessness somewhat like Schalke. In no way comparable to Porto or Lyon.

Dortmund may turn into a big club again, if their current run translate into increased revenue and they keep their team together. The potential is there, no doubt.

 

I agree with you but such things are hard to predict, Leverkusen nearly won the CL in 2002 and they weren't a "big team" either.
Dortmund might be able to pull a similar surprise because there is actually some "mega superstar" talent in that team.
Not that I expect it, a lot of things have to happen in order to surprise like Porto or Leverkusen did in the past.

 

silly making cross comparisons, but if inter lost to bayern at home and dortmund beat them in bavaria, dortmund should be able to take a couple of good results from next years cl i could imagine.

who are the dortmund stars in the making? i havent paid much attention to them for a good 8 or 9 years.

 

Mario Götze (18) is Germany's version of Jack Wilshere, but more offensive minded than Wilshere.
Nuri Sahin (22) is a very intelligent deep-lying playmaker. He's the heart of Dortmund's midfield.
Mats Hummels (22) is Germany's best Centreback prospect.

However, players like Neven Subotic (CB), Sven Bender (DM) and Shinji Kagawa (OM) deserve to be mentioned too. It's a very young squad with many very talented players. Obviously, some of them still lack especially international experience, which is a very important factor in the Champions League.

 

...On the other hand, Dortmund didn't even survive EL group stage... for EL, it was a difficult group (PSG and Sevilla), but it doesn't really bode well for CL.

@Dortmund players: like smithfan said... and it can hardly be exaggerated how young that squad is, in the starting 11 against Bayern on Saturday, there were only 2 players older than 22 - Pisczcek (25) and Barrios (26) ^^

 

I would say that Dortmund, Sevilla, PSG and a fourth mystery team would form a pretty decent CL group. Not one of the strongest but also not one of the weakest.

 

That's true about Leverkusen but the Champions League has taken on a rigid shape where enormous brand enterprises that can afford massive squads on big salary are the best bet to win. I'd say any 4 of the top English teams that enter can win, the 4th team likely being either Liverpool or Man City. I don't see a Spanish team outside of Barca or Real winning the whole thing, not until the former greats like Valencia and Deportivo find better ownership. The Milan's will always be in the mix to win and Juventus is a brand that can't die, I expect them to get back to where they were eventually, they're part of the FIAT family afterall.

Maybe a German side outside of Bayern can win depending on the money commitment; I mean sure, the responsible money management and overall solvency that German clubs are practicing has made the Bundesliga a well oiled, fully functional market brand. However success in Europe takes a little more financial lunacy and gambling for results then what domestic revenues permit. In other words, can you afford that 20-30 million dollar player, even if he turns out to be a bust? Can you afford to lose and comeback the next year? That's what a European brand essentially is.

 

There's a piece on Dortmund and the Bayern game in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/feb/28/borussia-dortmund-bayern-bundesliga

 

Cross-comparisons are okay IMO if you have a whole season of results to compare. Dortmund winning the Bundesliga comfortably shows they are a better team than Bayern.