English Teams Are the Best
By Modupe Ogunbayo
Monday, May 05, 2008
Opinions of experts on European Football support widely held belief that English premiership teams are the most popular around the world
I think English clubs are the best now, not only for what they have done this season but also for their results in recent years." That was Kaka's impression of Chelsea and Manchester United, two English clubs that emerged as the finalists in this year's Champions' League. The Brazilian midfielder and current FIFA Player of the Year, is impressed with the style and finesse which the young and talented players in the English teams have brought to the Champions' League.
Kaka, whose club, AC Milan, was knocked out of the tournament by Arsenal, tipped an English club to lift the European Champions' trophy this year. That proved apt recently when Manchester United and Chelsea, emerged the two finalists of the 2007/2008 Champions' League competition. They would meet in Moscow, Russia, May 21.
Manchester United defeated Barcelona at home to get to the finals while Chelsea defeated Liverpool, 3-2, to also secure a place in the finals.
Alessandro Nesta, Kaka's teammate, expressed the same opinion but was more accurate with his prediction. "I think it could be one of the English teams… If I have to pick one, I would say Manchester United. I think they could do it this year," he said.
Their sentiments revealed why the English league is seen as being the most exciting and most watched league in Nigeria and some parts of the world. In Lagos, Nigeria, the English Premiership teams are so popular that their followers hold regular meetings at designated club secretariats and viewing centres.
The league's popularity also became evident when DSTV, a cable pay-per-view channel, lost the broadcasting right of the English premiership in Nigeria to Hi-tv, another subscription channel last year. Hi-tv subscriptions increased dramatically by 80 percent. Though Kola Kudaisi, a Nigerian football lover, already had DSTV subscription, he still subscribed to Hi-tv because of his love for the English teams and their style of play. Besides, four English teams were in the 2007/2008 Champions' league quarter-finals. These were Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Arsenal and Liverpol squared off in the quarter-finals. It was a game many football lovers eagerly anticipated as the two clubs met for the 200th time in 114 years in the first leg of their UEFA Champions' League quarter-final in London on April 2. But it was their first encounter in the Champions' League. The previous encounters occurred in the Premiership such as Arsenal's 2-0 win at Liverpool in 1989 to snatch the English premiership title.
Liverpool eventually defeated Arsenal by drawing 1-1 away and 4-2 at home. Liverpool, the 2005 champions, achieved this feat even when previous match statistics was against it. Liverpool played a 1-1 with Arsenal at home in the Premier League this season and was eliminated by Arsenal from last season's FA Cup and League Cup.
On the other hand, Chelsea defeated SK Fenerbahce, which was making its first quarter-final in the Champions' League, away 1-0 but The Blues defeated the Turkish side, 2-1 at home. The Turkish team pulled a major upset by defeating Sevilla FC, two-time UEFA Cup winners, to get to the quarter-finals. SK Fenerbahce boasts a large Brazilian contingent and is coached by Zico, the Brazilian football legend.
Meanwhile, the two clubs' advancement to the semi-finals heightened excitement because it meant Liverpool met Chelsea again. In the semi-finals of the last two editions of the Champions' League, both clubs were like magnet and nails because they also played against each other. On both occasions, Liverpool emerged the victor.
Manchester United, however, defeated AS Roma of Italy to secure a place in the semi-finals. The English team's success was also not surprising to Nesta because he said the team, coached by Luciano Spalletti, lacked the necessary experience to pull a win over Manchester United.
The only Champions' League quarter-final match that does not feature an English club at all was the encounter between FC Schalke 04 of Germany and Barcelona of Spain, April 1. Barcelona, winners of the tournament in 1992 and 2006, defeated the German team to play against Manchester United. After ManU, as the club is popularly called, secured a goaless draw with Barca, Barcelona's nickname, away. The English club got a 1-0 win over the Spanish club to get to the finals of the 2007/2008 Champions' League where it would meet Chelsea.
In agreement with Nesta, Kudaisi said that the English clubs' dominance in the Champions' League demonstrates the fact that English clubs are the best. "They have been popular for ages…they are the only clubs on betting coupons round the world when my grandfather lived and in my own generation now. The English clubs have the largest following. It is no surprise the final of this year's Champions' League would be played between two English sides," he said.
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