Aston Villa’s triumph in the Europa League, Crystal Palace’s dream and the arrival (again) of 9 English teams in European cups. British domination is a reality and should force UEFA to reflect.
Half the English championship in Europe and it wouldn’t be anything new. On the contrary. The Premier League monopolizes the football of the Old Continent, thanks to the pounds poured into the overseas tournament which earns from the sale of domestic and, above all, international TV rights, figures that are out of reach for all the others. A factual situation that now also affects the habits of hundreds of millions of fans because the English teams occupy militarily (sporting speaking) the cups organized by UEFA. And they win them, even if for now the Champions League is missing, which has been missing since 2023 (Manchester City) and overall has been won “only” four times in the last fifteen years.
The triumph ofAston Villa in the Europa League final against Freiburg, which wasn’t even too close given the obvious disparity in strength on the pitch, he anticipated the attempt by Crystal Palace in the Conference and that ofArsenalfresh from having won the national title again after almost a quarter of a century, in the most important cup that Arteta’s men will have to try to wrest from reigning holders PSG.
Three finalists in three cups, the historic record of the Premier League
Three finalists in three competitions, a result never seen before and which could lead to the repetition of a paradoxical situation, namely that in August there will be 9 English teams at the starting line of the European season organized by UEFA, 6 of which directly in the Champions League. A scenario already seen this year which exactly photographs the British dominance well beyond the numbers of the UEFA ranking which assign the Premier League a seasonal 28,347 not even close to the 22,093 of the Spanish La Liga which follows in the standings.
The super league has already existed for some time and also makes the panorama of football in the Old Continent a little monotonous. The Super League clumsily attempted in 2021 was ultimately an attempt to respond to this drift, rejected even before UEFA by English football itself which scuttled it by quickly exiting after joining. After all, London and its surroundings didn’t need it, on the contrary.
And if it is true that the Champions League is the business of potentates who also expand outside of England, but are increasingly restricted, what is happening in the upper-middle class of European football is a progressive and evident transformation on the periphery of the Empire. Translated: raising the cup of big ears remains a feat even for those coming from the very rich Premier League because around Europe multinationals such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich resist and have turnovers from… English football, but for all the others it is becoming difficult if not impossible just to make their way to emerge.
Here’s how the Premier League can qualify 9 teams in Europe
It’s enough to take a look at what happened this season. The Premier League has already started with 6 teams in the main competition and 5 of these (Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City) qualified directly to the round of 16, then joined by Newcastle who passed through the playoffs after finishing the first phase in 12th. In the Europa League Aston Villa won and Nottingham Forest had to stop in the semi-finals only because they were paired with their compatriots, while in the Conference League Crystal Palace will play for the trophy against Rayo Vallecano.
A year ago the “other” two cups compared to the Champions League were owned by Chelsea and Tottenham. In short, a now cyclical domination whose end is difficult to see and not only for the ramshackle Serie A. If the results of the last round of the Premier League are favourable, the scenario will repeat itself in the coming months.
