Updated old thread of mine! This shows which league did best in sending its teams to the European Cup quarterfinals. All 3 major competitions since 1955 are included: European Champions Cup/Champions League, European Cup Winners Cup, Fairs Cup (excluding first edition 1955 to 1958) & the UEFA Cup/Europa League. The European Cups Quarterfinals Season - # of teams - best performing league - # of starting teams 1955-56 - No league with more than one team 1956-57 2 SPAIN (of 2) 1957-58 2 SPAIN (of 2) 1958-59 2 SPAIN (of 2) 1959-60 3 SPAIN (of 3), ENGLAND (of 3) 1960-61 3 GERMANY (of 4), ITALY (of 4), ENGLAND (of 3), SCOTLAND (of 3) 1961-62 5 SPAIN (of 5) 1962-63 3 ITALY (of 4), YUGOSLAVIA (of 5) 1963-64 4 ITALY (of 5) 1964-65 4 SPAIN (of 7) 1965-66 5 ENGLAND (of 6), SPAIN (of 6) 1966-67 3 ITALY (of 5), SCOTLAND (of 5) 1967-68 3 ITALY (of 5), GERMANY (of 7) 1968-69 4 ENGLAND (of 7) 1969-70 3 ENGLAND (of 6), ITALY (of 7), EAST GERMANY (of 4) 1970-71 6 ENGLAND (of 8) 1971-72 4 ITALY (of 6) 1972-73 4 ENGLAND (of 6), GERMANY (of 6) 1973-74 4 GERMANY (of 6) 1974-75 4 GERMANY (of 6) 1975-76 4 GERMANY (of 7) 1976-77 4 GERMANY (of 7), SPAIN (of 5) 1977-78 3 SPAIN (of 5), HOLLAND (of 4) 1978-79 5 GERMANY (of 6) 1979-80 6 GERMANY (of 7) 1980-81 3 GERMANY (of 7), ENGLAND (of 6) 1981-82 4 GERMANY (of 6) 1982-83 4 SPAIN (of 7) 1983-84 4 ENGLAND (of 6) 1984-85 4 ENGLAND (of 7) 1985-86 3 GERMANY (of 6), SPAIN (of 5) 1986-87 3 SPAIN (of 5), PORTUGAL (of 5), ITALY (of 6) 1987-88 3 GERMANY (of 6), BELGIUM (of 5) 1988-89 4 GERMANY (of 7), ITALY (of 6) 1989-90 4 GERMANY (of 6), ITALY (of 7) 1990-91 7 ITALY (of 8) 1991-92 4 ITALY (of 6) 1992-93 4 ITALY (of 6) 1993-94 6 ITALY (of 7) 1994-95 5 ITALY (of 7) 1995-96 4 ITALY (of 6) 1996-97 5 SPAIN (of 5) 1997-98 5 GERMANY (of 7) 1998-99 6 ITALY (of 8) 1999-00 5 SPAIN (of 6) 2000-01 7 SPAIN (of 9) 2001-02 4 SPAIN (of 7) 2002-03 4 SPAIN (of 8), ITALY (of 8) 2003-04 4 SPAIN (of 8), FRANCE (of 5) 2004-05 4 ITALY (of 7) 2005-06 3 ITALY (of 7), SPAIN (of 7) 2006-07 4 SPAIN (of 8), ENGLAND (of 8) 2007-08 4 ENGLAND (of 8) 2008-09 5 ENGLAND (of 9) 2009-10 4 ENGLAND (of 7) 2010-11 3 ENGLAND (of 7), SPAIN (of 7), PORTUGAL (of 5) 2011-12 5 SPAIN (of 7) 2012-13 3 SPAIN (of 7), ENGLAND (of 7) 2013-14 5 SPAIN (of 7) SOME RECORDS Best performing league – most frequently 24 times: SPAIN 20 times: ITALY 17 times: GERMANY 15 times: ENGLAND 2 times: SCOTLAND Best performing league – most successive seasons 8 seasons: ITALY [1988-89 to 1996-97] 5 seasons: GERMANY [1972-73 to 1976-77] 5 seasons: SPAIN [1999-00 to 2003-04] 5 seasons: ENGLAND [2006-07 to 2010-11] 4 seasons: SPAIN [1956-57 to 1959-60] 4 seasons: GERMANY [1978-79 to 1981-82] 4 seasons: ENGLAND [2006 -07 to 2009-10] 4 seasons: SPAIN [2010-11 to 2013-14] 3 seasons: ENGLAND [1968-69 to 1970-71] 3 seasons: GERMANY [1987-88 to 1989-90] Highest number of teams in all quarterfinals in one season 7 teams: ITALY [1990-91] 7 teams: SPAIN [2000-01] 6 teams: ENGLAND [1970-71] 6 teams: GERMANY [1979-80] 6 teams: ITALY [1993-94] 6 teams: ITALY [1998-99] 5 teams: SPAIN [1961-62] 5 teams: SPAIN [1965-66] 5 teams: ENGLAND [1965-66] 5 teams: GERMANY [1978-79] 5 teams: ITALY [1994-95] 5 teams: SPAIN [1996-97] 5 teams: GERMANY [1997-98] 5 teams: SPAIN [1999-00] 5 teams: ENGLAND [2008-09] 5 teams: SPAIN [2011-12] 5 teams: SPAIN [2013-14] Overall number of times a league's clubs competed in quarterfinals 161 times: SPAIN 139 times: GERMANY 136 times: ITALY 132 times: ENGLAND Percentage 46.67 % SPAIN (161 of 345) 42.17 % ENGLAND (132 of 313) 39.88 % ITALY (136 of 341) 39.27 % GERMANY (139 of 354)
This shows which league did best in sending its teams to the European Cup semi finals. All 3 major competitions since 1955 are included: European Champions Cup/Champions League, European Cup Winners Cup, Fairs Cup & the UEFA Cup/Europa League. The European Cup Semi Finals Season - # of teams - best performing league - # of starters 1955-56 - No league with more than one team 1956-57 - No league with more than one team 1957-58 3 ENGLAND (of 3) 1958-59 2 SPAIN (of 2) 1959-60 3 SPAIN (of 3) 1960-61 3 ITALY (of 4) 1961-62 4 SPAIN (of 5) 1962-63 2 ITALY (of 4), YUGOSLAVIA (of 5) 1963-64 3 SPAIN (of 5) 1964-65 3 ENGLAND (of 4), ITALY (of 6) 1965-66 5 ENGLAND (of 6) 1966-67 3 SCOTLAND (of 5) 1967-68 3 ITALY (of 5) 1968-69 2 ENGLAND (of 7), CZECHOSLOVAKIA (of 4) 1969-70 3 ENGLAND (of 6) 1970-71 4 ENGLAND (of 8) 1971-72 2 ENGLAND (of 6), ITALY (of 6), SCOTLAND (of 5) 1972-73 4 ENGLAND (of 6) 1973-74 3 GERMANY (of 6) 1974-75 3 GERMANY (of 6) 1975-76 3 GERMANY (of 7) 1976-77 2 GERMANY (of 7) 1977-78 2 BELGIUM (of 4), HOLLAND (of 4) 1978-79 5 GERMANY (of 6) 1979-80 5 GERMANY (of 7) 1980-81 2 GERMANY (of 7), ENGLAND (of 6), HOLLAND (of 6) 1981-82 3 GERMANY (of 6) 1982-83 2 ITALY (of 5), BELGIUM (of 5) 1983-84 4 ENGLAND (of 6) 1984-85 2 ENGLAND, ITALY (of 7) 1985-86 3 SPAIN (of 5) 1986-87 2 SPAIN (of 5), GERMANY (of 6) 1987-88 2 SPAIN (of 5), GERMANY (of 6), HOLLAND (of 5), BELGIUM (of 5) 1988-89 3 ITALY (of 6) 1989-90 4 ITALY (of 7) 1990-91 3 ITALY (of 8) 1991-92 3 ITALY (of 6) 1992-93 3 ITALY (of 6) 1993-94 4 ITALY (of 7) 1994-95 4 ITALY (of 7) 1995-96 3 FRANCE (of 5) 1996-97 3 ITALY (of 7) 1997-98 4 ITALY (of 7) 1998-99 4 ITALY (of 8) 1999-00 3 SPAIN (of 6) 2000-01 4 SPAIN (of 9) 2001-02 2 SPAIN (of 7), ITALY (of 7), GERMANY (of 7) 2002-03 4 ITALY (of 8) 2003-04 3 SPAIN (of 8) 2004-05 2 ITALY (of 7), ENGLAND (of 7), HOLLAND (of 6) 2005-06 3 SPAIN (of 7) 2006-07 3 SPAIN (of 8), ENGLAND (of 8) 2007-08 3 ENGLAND (of 8) 2008-09 3 ENGLAND (of 9) 2009-10 2 ENGLAND (of 7), SPAIN (of 7), GERMANY (of 6) 2010-11 3 SPAIN (of 7), PORTUGAL (of 5) 2011-12 5 SPAIN (of 7) 2012-13 2 SPAIN (of 7), GERMANY (of 7) 2013-14 4 SPAIN (of 7) SOME RECORDS Best performing league – most frequently 20 times: ITALY 18 times: SPAIN 16 times: ENGLAND 13 times: GERMANY 4 times: HOLLAND 3 times: BELGIUM 2 times: SCOTLAND Best performing league – most successive seasons 7 seasons: ITALY [1988-89 to 1994-95] 5 seasons: ENGLAND [1968-69 to 1972-73] 5 seasons: SPAIN [2009-10 to 2013-14] 4 seasons: GERMANY [1973-74 to 1977-76] 4 seasons: GERMANY [1978-79 to 1981-82] 4 seasons: ENGLAND [2006-07 to 2009-10] 3 seasons: SPAIN [1985-86 to 1987-88] 3 seasons: SPAIN [1999-00 to 2001-02] 3 seasons: ITALY [1996-97 to 1998-99] Highest number of teams in all semi finals in one season 5 teams: ENGLAND [1965-66] 5 teams: GERMANY [1978-79] 5 teams: GERMANY [1979-80] 5 teams: SPAIN [2011-12] 4 teams: SPAIN [1961-62] 4 teams: ENGLAND [1970-71] 4 teams: ENGLAND [1972-73] 4 teams: ENGLAND [1983-84] 4 teams: ITALY [1989-90] 4 teams: ITALY [1993-94] 4 teams: ITALY [1994-95] 4 teams: ITALY [1997-98] 4 teams: ITALY [1998-99] 4 teams: SPAIN [2000-01] 4 teams: ITALY [2002-03] 4 teams: SPAIN [2013-14] Overall number of times a league's clubs competed in semi finals 102 times: SPAIN 91 times: ITALY 89 times: ENGLAND 84 times: GERMANY Percentage 29.56 % SPAIN (102 of 345) 28.43 % ENGLAND (89 of 313) 26.69 % ITALY (91 of 341) 23.73 % GERMANY (84 of 354)
Confirms how great Serie A was during the late 80s to mid 90s, a peak that in my opinion no other European league has achieved before or since. PS: Diego Maradona the best/most iconic player of the league during the first half of that time span
That is pretty much undisputed. But also shows that it was the late-1980s when Serie A started to steamroll the other leagues, not the mid-1980s, which is often said.
Interesting little tidbit from the season just concluded (2013-14). Of Spain's seven representatives in Europe only Real Sociedad failed to make it out of the group stages (finshing fourth in their group behind Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk). Of the six that reached the knockout rounds, NONE of them were knocked out by foreign opposition: Betis - knocked out by Sevilla Barcelona - knocked out by Atlético Madrid Valencia - knocked out by Sevilla Sevilla - won Europa League Atlético Madrid - knocked out by Real Madrid Real Madrid - won Champions League Has any other country come close to this interesting summary?
I think the closest would probably be West Germany in 1979/80, with only 2 teams (out of 7) eliminated by foreign teams - Hamburg in the European Cup Final and Fortuna Dusseldorf in the first round of the Cup Winners Cup. All four semi finalists in the UEFA Cup were German, and Kaiserslautern were beaaten by Bayern in the quarter finals. Along similar lines, in both the 2008 and 2009 Champions League, the only non English club to eliminate an English team was Barcelona.