Football is by far the most popular sport in the world. People start playing it at a very early age and many of them go on to become great professionals. Others simply remain die-hard fans for the rest of their life. Even the USA slowly becomes fond of the sport as the country hosts a number of box office friendly matches every summer during the off-season. Their stadiums are full and sports bars are crowded as well – not everywhere yet, but it’s a nice start. The raising popularity of football across the USA is mainly due to the extensive coverage of the English Premier League that TV networks provide there. English football is considered (by many) to be the best championship in the world. It is said to be the most dynamic and unpredictable tournament among all other domestic competitions. The game there has a lot of flare, beautiful goals, tenacity and big crowds.
But there is something a little disturbing of late. English teams have a hard time playing well and with good results in the European club tournaments such as Europa League and the Champions League. The latter is the most highly paid, most expensive sport tournament in the world. It is also the most (World cup aside) prestigious football tournament to win. If you are looking to establish your dominance or cement your legacy as a football player, coach, president or owner grabbing this title must be your main goal. We had to clarify this because many people suggest that English teams just don’t care about European Trophies because winning everything in England is a greater achievement. Frankly this isn’t true. First off let’s discuss the money. The Champions League is the most sponsored tournament of them all. Also it has the most viewers in every country across Europe and some parts of the world. The financial reason is a very good one for this title to be pursued. Even if you are a club making a lot of money in your domestic championship you simply can’t pass the financial injection that UEFA will give you if you win it all In Europe. Another good reason is the opportunity to really prove you are the best football club there is. In order to win the Champions League you need to beat the best teams from the top countries. And there are some of the best start players who play in these teams. We simply need to mention Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who play for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. And then there are the giants of Bayern Munich, arguably the best team in Europe. There are other top class Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and French teams you need to eliminate in order to become a champion. In short it’s a merciless marathon after which you will deservingly be pronounced an undisputable champion if you win it. So we simply cannot fathom how can anyone defend the idea that there’s nothing to play for in Europe.
So the reasons for English clubs failings in Europe need to be found elsewhere. First comes recruitment. Many footballers play in England for enormous salaries that many say they don’t deserve. A lot of “stars” come and go. And this problem exists together with the other problem – young players. Every English team is forced to use at least 3 players under the age of 21 in their first team. This affects coaching a lot. Every team needs to dig out decent enough English players although it’s hard to believe that great cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, London and Birmingham can’t produce great football talent. Famous well-paid players see England as a transition place. They come and go. Team chemistry is rarely built. Spanish and German players tend to stay and play at their domestic championships for years.
Another thing is the game itself. English football isn’t very well tactically built. It’s fine when two English teams clash because they play the same. When you meet a very well prepared Paris Saint-Germain you can’t expect to have an easy game. Furthermore technical skills aren’t top priority in English football. People play with more physicality, more fouls and speed. You will rarely see beautiful moves – it’s mostly pushing and jumping with hard fouls. Also Premier league teams play a very attacking football. The mindset is simply not defensive and this is why very few superstar defenders play there. Furthermore defensive backs usually embrace the role of wingers and this allows many teams to leave empty spaces on the sides when it comes to defense.
In short the reasons are:
- Bad tactics
- Lackluster defense
- A lot of money, not much class
- Competitiveness of the EPL
- Complacency
- Lack of game intelligence
- Bad recruitment
It hasn’t been all bad though. Between the year 2005 and 2009 there was always at least one English club playing in the final of the Champions League. And in 2008 two English clubs squared off – Manchester United vs. Chelsea. The 2005 final needs to be specially noted because of Liverpool’s outstanding return from 0-3 against Milan. The English team finally claimed the title after a penalty shootout. The last time a Premier Team won it all was in 2012 when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich again after penalties. But we are talking about English football in general. The fact that one team made it to final and the rest lost in the 1/8 final round isn’t one to be proud of.
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