Europes top tem least competitive leagues

[Gazza_8 233]

From TalkSport.

 

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have rather surprisingly dropped points in the opening weeks of La Liga's 2011/12 season and, shock, horror, after four games neither side feature in the top three. Premier League pundits sometimes dismiss the relative strength of Spanish football on the basis that it's "a two-team league", conveniently ignoring Man United and Chelsea's dominance of the title over here.

 

Here at talkSPORT, we thought we'd attempt to settle the debate about which major European leagues are truly the least competitive.

 

Using the top 20 European domestic competitions, as dictated by UEFA's 2011 coefficient, we've drawn up a list of the ten nations whose leagues have been dominated for the longest by just two teams...

 

1. SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 26 YEARS OF RANGERS AND CELTIC

 

Not since the 1984/85 season, when Alex Ferguson led Aberdeen to the top spot, has a side other than Rangers or Celtic finished Scottish champions. Celtic have picked up nine titles and Rangers have won 17 in that period, while Rangers are 7-6 ahead of Celtic since the SPL's formation in 1998/99.

 

2. UKRAINIAN PREMIER LEAGUE: 19 YEARS OF SHAKTAR DONETSK AND DYNAMO KYIV

 

Kyiv walked away with nine titles in a row after dislodging Tavriya Simferopol as champions in 1992/93. They lead current holders Shakhtar Donetsk 13-6 in total titles won during the past 19 seasons.

 

3. GREEK SUPER LEAGUE: 17 YEARS OF PANATHINAIKOS AND OLYMPIACOS

 

Panathinaikos and Olympiacos have shared all 17 Greek league trophies since AEK Athens finished top in 1993/94, while Olympiacos have dominated within that period with 13 titles.

 

4. (JOINT) PORTUGUESE PRIMEIRA LIGA: NINE YEARS OF PORTO AND BENFICA

 

Porto have won seven of the nine league titles in Portugal since 2002/03, while Benfica have picked up the other two in 2004/05 and 2009/10. Sporting Lisbon finished above both sides in 2001/02, a year after Boavista won the title (becoming only the second team, after Belenenses in 1946, other than Porto, Benfica or Sporting to be crowned Potuguese champions).

 

4. (JOINT) CROATIAN PREMIER LEAGUE: NINE YEARS OF DINAMO ZAGREB AND HAJDUK SPLIT

 

Dinamo have dominated in Croatia recently, collecting the last six league titles and seven of the last nine, with Hajduk Split winning back-to-back trophies from 2002/03. NK Zagreb were the last team to break their dominance in 2001/02.

 

6. SWISS SUPER LEAGUE: EIGHT YEARS OF FC BASEL AND FC ZURICH

 

Reigning champions FC Basel have won five of the last eight Super Leagues while rivals FC Zurich picked up the other three. Grasshopper Club beat FC Basel to the trophy in 2002/03.

 

7. (JOINT) SERIE A: SEVEN YEARS OF AC MILAN AND INTER

 

Juventus' 2002/03 title winning campaign was the last time neither of the Milanese sides officially won Serie A. Juve thought they'd won it in 2004/05 and 2005/06, but they were stripped of their titles and relegated when they were found guilty of match fixing. The 2005 title was subsequently awarded to nobody, but Inter were given the 2006 trophy, meaning that since 2003 the latter have racked up five championships, while Milan have won two.

 

7. (JOINT) PREMIER LEAGUE: SEVEN YEARS OF MAN UNITED AND CHELSEA

 

Arsenal's unbeaten 'Invincibles' clinched the 2003/04 Premier League, but it's been all Man United and Chelsea from then onwards. The Blues topped the tree in 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2009/10, while the Red Devils have picked up the other four. In that time, only Arsenal (once in 2005) and Liverpool (once in 2009) have managed to break these two clubs' monopoly of the top two places.

 

7. (JOINT) LA LIGA: SEVEN YEARS OF BARCELONA AND REAL MADRID

 

Rafael Benitez at Valencia was the last manager to deny Barcelona and Real Madrid La Liga's top prize in the same year. Real Madrid have been crowned champions twice and Barcelona five times in the past seven seasons.

 

10. DANISH SUPERLIGA: SIX YEARS OF FC COPENHAGEN AND AaB

 

Copenhagen beat OB to their third Danish title on the spin last season and they've won five of the last six in total. AaB picked up their first league trophy since 1998/99 to put the brakes on their rivals dominance back in 2007/08.

 

Only the German league and the Dutch league are competitive really.

[Guest Dutchy]

But if Romanov hadn't sacked Burley, it may have read diffirently, so I wouldn't put all the blame on the OF for trying to win as much as possible. Still, the OF are dominating and I don't see any chance of that changing in the future.