Football Competitions
Charles William Alcock’s proposal in 1871 saw the establishment of the FA Challenge Cup, the first competition in football history. Taking place in 1872, the Wanderers FC (now-deceased team, formerly of Battersea) were the first to take the trophy home, beating the Royal Engineers 1-0 in the final. Today, every domestic football association has one, or even two, cup competitions which run simultaneously with a league. To top it off, there are continental and even world tournaments in existence at both club and international level. Here are a list of the main leagues and cup competitions in British club football, along with a few international competitions to get you up to scratch:
THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE.
Founded:27th May 1992
Region:England
Number of Teams:20
Level:Current champions:Manchester United
Sponsors:Barclays Bank
Official website:
League Overview
The English Premier League is known officially known as the Barclays Premier League (for sponsorship reasons), and often referred to as The Premiership. It falls under the hierarchy of the English Football Association, and is a professional league for the country’s top clubs, and the country’s main football competition. There are currently 20 clubs in the league, with each team playing 28 games. The season runs from August to May, with the club that finishes top of the league being crowned as champions and gaining an automatic entry into the Champions League. Clubs finishing 2-4 are also entered into various European competitions, with additional places available depending on UEFA coefficients. Clubs finishing in the bottom three places are automatically relegated.
League Ranking
UEFA League ranking : 1 st
History
The birth of the Premier League followed on from a very poor 1980s in English football, and the events that succeeded it. Stadiums and facilities were in very poor condition, and the enigma of the “English hooligan” was at its peak, with fights and racist chants prevalent around the country. Additionally, English clubs had been banned from Europe for 5 years following the death of 39 fans in Heysel at the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. There was also the Hillsborough disaster where 96 Liverpool fans died, and in general there was a great dissatisfaction at the state of English football both inside and outside the country. At the time, the “First Division” had been the top level of English football, but it was far behind the level of Italy’sSerie A or Spain’s La Liga. Contrary to the present state of affairs, it was the top English players who were going to the foreign clubs. Something needed to be done, and it began with the post-Hillsborough Taylor report, where stadiums were now required to be all-seaters. Not only was this expensive, but it also reduced the money to be received from gate revenues, and so football started to look for money from external sources. Ten First Division clubs contemplated breaking away to form a “super league”, but eventually were persuaded to stay. But television money, and improved stadiums and facilities saw interest and finance in the game rise, and the threat of a breakaway came once again. The response to that, also taking into consideration the altogether unattractive nature of the first division, was a proposal for the establishment of a new league in 1991 that would bring more money into the game, and allow teams to compete with the rest of Europe and attract talent from around the world, something which was unthinkable at the time. So on 27th May 1992, after several First Division clubs had resigned from the Football League, and the FA Premier League was registered as a privately-held, limited company at the Football Association’s headquarters. The Premier League would be financially independent of the FA, and thereby able to negotiate its own contracts for sponsorship and television rights. This also meant that the structure of the 104 year-old Football Association had to be changed. Previously comprised of four divisions, it now consisted of just three, with the First, Second and Third Divisions being pushed down a tier, the Premier League placed at the top, and the Fourth Division being scrapped. The competition format hence more or less remained the same, with systems of promotion and relegation remaining as before. Although now consisting of 20 clubs, the Premiership then remained faithful to the old First Division format of 22 clubs, and it was the following 22 teams that provided the competition in the inaugural English Premier League season of 1992/93: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.
League Format
The Barclays Premier League currently consists of 20 teams that play each other twice a season (home and away), amounting to 38 games in a season. A proposed idea for a 39th game to be played overseas has been shelved for the moment. The bottom three teams in the Premiership are automatically relegated to the Coca Cola Championship, and are replaced by top two teams in the Championship along with a third (the winner of a playoff between teams 4-6). The team finishing first in the Premiership wins the title, and gains automatic entry into the group stages of the following year’s Champions League. At present, the second placed team also gains automatic entry, with the 3rd and 4th placed teams entering into the qualifiers for the Champions League, and the 5th placed team getting a UEFA Cup entry. However these are determined by UEFA coefficients that change from time-to-time depending on how a country has performed. The 6th place team may also earn a UEFA Cup spot depending on the outcome of domestic cup finals, and other teams might also try to gain entry through the InterToto Cup and the Fair Play Table.
League Trophies
The Barclays Premiership trophy is an interesting looking cup, with a gold-plated, crowned top, and gold-plated lions atop either handle. It is arguably the most prestigious trophy in English football, although some people consider the FA Cup to be worth more because of its rich tradition and history. Manchester United currently hold the record for the most titles with 9. They won the very first season of the Premiership in 1992/93, and after a dry spell of 3 years, they reclaimed it last season (2006/07). They are also the only team to have achieved three titles back-to-back from 1998-2001, as well as the prestigious “Treble” in 1999 (winning the Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup in the same season). Arsenal have the second highest number of trophies with 3, and have done the “Double” in 1998 and 2002 (winning the Premier League and FA Cup in the same season). They have also set numerous records along the way – in 2002, they completed their league campaign without losing a single game away from home. In 2004 they went a step better and won the league without losing a single game, and went on to set an unbeaten run of 49 consecutive games from May 2003 to October 2004.
Recognition and Awards
Most League Goals of All Time
Most League Appearances
Confederation:
UEFA
Founded:
27th May 1992
Region:
England
Number of Teams:
20
Level:
Current champions:
Manchester United
Sponsors:
Barclays Bank
Official website:
League Overview
The English Premier League is known officially known as the Barclays Premier League (for sponsorship reasons), and often referred to as The Premiership. It falls under the hierarchy of the English Football Association, and is a professional league for the country’s top clubs, and the country’s main football competition. There are currently 20 clubs in the league, with each team playing 28 games. The season runs from August to May, with the club that finishes top of the league being crowned as champions and gaining an automatic entry into the Champions League. Clubs finishing 2-4 are also entered into various European competitions, with additional places available depending on UEFA coefficients. Clubs finishing in the bottom three places are automatically relegated.
League Ranking
UEFA League ranking : 1 st
History
The birth of the Premier League followed on from a very poor 1980s in English football, and the events that succeeded it. Stadiums and facilities were in very poor condition, and the enigma of the “English hooligan” was at its peak, with fights and racist chants prevalent around the country. Additionally, English clubs had been banned from Europe for 5 years following the death of 39 fans in Heysel at the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. There was also the Hillsborough disaster where 96 Liverpool fans died, and in general there was a great dissatisfaction at the state of English football both inside and outside the country. At the time, the “First Division” had been the top level of English football, but it was far behind the level of Italy’sSerie A or Spain’s La Liga. Contrary to the present state of affairs, it was the top English players who were going to the foreign clubs. Something needed to be done, and it began with the post-Hillsborough Taylor report, where stadiums were now required to be all-seaters. Not only was this expensive, but it also reduced the money to be received from gate revenues, and so football started to look for money from external sources. Ten First Division clubs contemplated breaking away to form a “super league”, but eventually were persuaded to stay. But television money, and improved stadiums and facilities saw interest and finance in the game rise, and the threat of a breakaway came once again. The response to that, also taking into consideration the altogether unattractive nature of the first division, was a proposal for the establishment of a new league in 1991 that would bring more money into the game, and allow teams to compete with the rest of Europe and attract talent from around the world, something which was unthinkable at the time. So on 27th May 1992, after several First Division clubs had resigned from the Football League, and the FA Premier League was registered as a privately-held, limited company at the Football Association’s headquarters. The Premier League would be financially independent of the FA, and thereby able to negotiate its own contracts for sponsorship and television rights. This also meant that the structure of the 104 year-old Football Association had to be changed. Previously comprised of four divisions, it now consisted of just three, with the First, Second and Third Divisions being pushed down a tier, the Premier League placed at the top, and the Fourth Division being scrapped. The competition format hence more or less remained the same, with systems of promotion and relegation remaining as before. Although now consisting of 20 clubs, the Premiership then remained faithful to the old First Division format of 22 clubs, and it was the following 22 teams that provided the competition in the inaugural English Premier League season of 1992/93: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.
League Format
The Barclays Premier League currently consists of 20 teams that play each other twice a season (home and away), amounting to 38 games in a season. A proposed idea for a 39th game to be played overseas has been shelved for the moment. The bottom three teams in the Premiership are automatically relegated to the Coca Cola Championship, and are replaced by top two teams in the Championship along with a third (the winner of a playoff between teams 4-6). The team finishing first in the Premiership wins the title, and gains automatic entry into the group stages of the following year’s Champions League. At present, the second placed team also gains automatic entry, with the 3rd and 4th placed teams entering into the qualifiers for the Champions League, and the 5th placed team getting a UEFA Cup entry. However these are determined by UEFA coefficients that change from time-to-time depending on how a country has performed. The 6th place team may also earn a UEFA Cup spot depending on the outcome of domestic cup finals, and other teams might also try to gain entry through the InterToto Cup and the Fair Play Table.
League Trophies
The Barclays Premiership trophy is an interesting looking cup, with a gold-plated, crowned top, and gold-plated lions atop either handle. It is arguably the most prestigious trophy in English football, although some people consider the FA Cup to be worth more because of its rich tradition and history. Manchester United currently hold the record for the most titles with 9. They won the very first season of the Premiership in 1992/93, and after a dry spell of 3 years, they reclaimed it last season (2006/07). They are also the only team to have achieved three titles back-to-back from 1998-2001, as well as the prestigious “Treble” in 1999 (winning the Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup in the same season). Arsenal have the second highest number of trophies with 3, and have done the “Double” in 1998 and 2002 (winning the Premier League and FA Cup in the same season). They have also set numerous records along the way – in 2002, they completed their league campaign without losing a single game away from home. In 2004 they went a step better and won the league without losing a single game, and went on to set an unbeaten run of 49 consecutive games from May 2003 to October 2004.
Recognition and Awards
Most League Goals of All Time
Most League Appearances
THE SERIA A
Confederation:
UEFA
Founded:
1898
Region:
Italy
Number of Teams:
20
Level:
1
Current champions:
Sponsors:
[TIM] Telecom Italia Mobile
Official website:
History
Serie A League Overview
Some of the best football clubs and players in the world play in the Italian Serie A league, the first division of football in Italy. 20 clubs currently play Serie A. The league has a main sponsor, TIM, a telecommunications company and the official name of the league is ‘Serie A TIM’. Serie A has produced the largest number of European Club Championships finalists.
The league has been played with current format since 1929. Before that the competition was divided into regional tournaments. When a club wins the title it wears the Scudetto with the Italian colours on its uniform the following season. Clubs that finish in the top four spots of the league qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The first an second places qualify directly to the group stage. CluBs that finish in the fifth and sixth place respectively, qualify for the UEFA CUP, together with the Coppa Italia winners. The three clubs with the least amount of points by the end of the season are relegated to the Serie B – the Italian second division.
League Ranking
3rd Best League in the World
3rd Best League in Europe
(According to the IFFHS)
3rd Best League in Europe
(According to the IFFHS)
Serie A History
From 1898 to 1928 an Italian League, divided into regional groups was the format used to determine the best football teams in the country. In the 1929-1930 season the organizations that ruled the regional tournaments were unified to form one single national championship.
As from the 1924/25 season, a club that wins the Italian Serie A receives the right to wear the Scudetto – a type of coat of arms with the Italian colors, green, white and red – on the their shirt for the following season to show that they are the title holders. Juventus of Turin is the club with the most number of Serie A titles with 27 followed by AC Milan with 17, Inter Milan with 15, Genoa with 9, Torino, Bologna and Pro Vercelli – currently in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, former Serie C2, with 7 titles each.
In May of 1949 a tragedy marked the history of the Italian Serie A when the airplane transporting the entire Torino FC squad, 4 time league champions, crashed into the hill where the Basilica Superga – a church near Turin - is located.
All the 31 people onboard were killed including the 18 Torino players, club officials, journalists and the airline crew. The team was returning from Protugal where they played a friendly match against Benfica and with only four matches left to concluding the season Torino was forced to play with his youth team. In respect to the tragedy all their opponents also used their youth players against Torino and the young ones were able to carry on the club’s lead in the competition and with the title. After Roma’s 200-2001 scudetto, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan have dominated Serie A in the recent years. Juventus won in 2001-2002 and 2002-2003, AC Milan 2003-2004 and Inter Milan won the last two seasons of the Serie A. The late Umberto Agnelli, one of the most influential entrepreneurs and politicians in Italy, introduced in 1958 the Golden Star for Sports Excellence to be a recognition to the clubs that win multiple championships. In Italy the Golden Star is added to a teams crest when the club wins ten scudettos. Currently only three clubs in the Italian Serie A have this honour: Inter Milan, 1 star (15 scudettos); AC Milan 1 star (17 scudettos); Juventus 2 stars (27 scudettos).
League Format
Serie A TIM starts in August and ends in May. Each team plays 38 matches. The teams play eacher other twice, once at home and once away. The winner is the club with the most number of points after the regular season. In case of two teams finishing with the same number of points the winner will be determined by their head-to-head confront, if the tie persists the goal differential is next deciding criterium. The top 2 teams automatically qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Third and fourth place will enter the Champions League in the third round of the qualifying process and must play and win a two-legged knock out match to enter the group phase. The teams that finish fifth and sixth qualify for the UEFA Cup.
League Trophies
Juventus (27): 1905, 1925–26, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03
A.C. Milan (17): 1901, 1906, 1907, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04 Inter Milan (15): 1909–10, 1919–20, 1929–30, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1970–71, 1979–80, 1988–89, 2005–06, 2006–07
Genoa (9): 1898, 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1914–15, 1922–23, 1923–24
Torino (7): 1927–28, 1942–43, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1975–76
Bologna (7): 1924–25, 1928–29, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1963–64
Pro Vercelli: 1908, 1909, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22*
Roma: 1941–42, 1982–83, 2000–01
Lazio: 1973–74, 1999–00
Fiorentina: 1955–56, 1968–69
Napoli: 1986–87, 1989–90
Cagliari: 1969–70
Sampdoria: 1990–91
Hellas Verona: 1984-85
Spezia: 1944
Casale: 1913–14
Novese: 1921-22*
THE BUNDESLIGA.
Founded:1963
Region:Germany
Number of Teams:18
Level:1
Current champions:FC Bayern Munich
Sponsors:Deutsche Telekom/T-Com - http://www.t-mobile.com
Official website:
History
League Overview
The German Fussball Bundesliga actually comprises the top two divisions of German football- 1. Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. However, the 1. Bundesliga has come to be known simply as the Bundesliga. “Die Bundesliga” was founded in 1962, and began in 1963. It runs from early August to late May, in line with most other major European leagues, but has a long winter break of about 6 weeks.
18 teams from around Germany play in this league, although this number was originally 16. The rules for the continued admission of clubs to the league are very strict. Teams require a license to play, which can only be obtained by meeting certain organisational requirements and being in good financial standing.
The teams currently in the league are: DSC Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, FC Bayern München, VfL Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, MSV Duisburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, Energie Cottbus,Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin, FC Hansa Rostock,Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, FC Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart,Werder Bremen, VfL Wolfsburg.
League Ranking
UEFA League ranking: 5th
History
The German Bundesliga was in fact the first face of professional football in Germany. Prior to its formation in 1963, German football was only ever played at an amateur level. The governing body for German football, the Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB), had been founded in the 1900 with 86 member clubs in Liepzig, but they had not instituted any kind of professional setup. Football was played across a large number of often disjointed and disconnected regional leagues. The winners of these regional leagues would then compete in a series of playoff matches to decide the eventual champions of Germany. The first recognised national champions wereVfB Leipzig. They beat DFC Prague 7-2, on May 31st 1903 in Hamburg.
There were obvious political and structural complications with trying to institute a concrete structure for a league system, but it became a pressing concern in the 1950s when the international team had started to suffer. Professional leagues in other countries were starting to show superiority, and Germany’s best players were also being lured away to them. The last straw broke in the 1962 World Cup, when West Germany lost 1-0 to Yugoslavia in the quarter-final. It was a poor performance, and later that summer, in Dortmund, DFB president Hermann Neuberger announced the creation of a new professional league. It would be modelled on the English professional setup, and featured 16 teams. The existing amateur leagues would continue to exist (and still do), but the various Regionalligen are now more organised and sit below the Bundesliga levels in the German Football League system.
46 teams applied for admission to the Bundesliga from the regional Oberligen, and eventually 16 teams were selected based on their success, history, economic health and representation of the various regions of Germany. Sometime later, the first ever German professional games kicked off on August 24, 1963.
East Germany had maintained a separate 14 team league through this period, the DDR-Liga, which had operated under the Soviet system. However after reunification in 1990, the league ran for one last season, with clubs then being absorbed into the various levels of German football. They top two clubs from East Germany, Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden both joined the Bundesliga. Futher structure will be added to the system from 2008/09 onwards, with a 3. Bundesliga being added to the Bundesliga levels, and the regional leagues morphing into 3 separate divisions.
League Format
The German Football Bundesliga is decided by a conventional double round robin system. Each team plays the other twice, home and away, for a total of 34 games in the season. The title is based strictly on league play, and there are no playoffs of any kind. The team with the most points at the end of the season is the German Football League champion. The bottom 3 teams are automatically relegated, and replaced by the top 3 teams in the 2. Bundesliga.
If teams are tied for any of these spots, then the following factors are taken into account as deciders (in order): goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head results, head-to-head goal difference. If all of these are equal, then the two teams play a tie-breaker on a neutral ground, but this have never happened in the history of the Bundesliga.
The Bundesliga currently has three UEFA Champions League spots (two automatic), and three UEFA Cup spots. Match squads have 7 substitutes (where a standard 3 can be use). Match squads are currently limited to 5 non-EU players, although clubs are not restricted in the amount of non-EU players they can have at the club.
League Trophies
The German Bundesliga boasts the highest average attendance of any league in Europe. This is partly due to the fantastic enthusiasm shown by German fans, but also due to the tickets being moderately priced, especially in comparison to the Premier League. The Bundesliga is also one of the few remaining top leagues in Europe that allows clubs to have “terraces” or standing areas in the ground.
The Bundesliga boasts some historic grounds, as well as someone fantastic modern ones. Additionally, the hosting of the 2006 World Cup in Germany saw many stadia being built, as well as many older ones being refurbished and upgraded.
Bayern Munich have their Allianz-Arena, a magnificent, futuristic looking stadium which has become a landmark in football. The exterior shell of the stadium is composed entirely of lighting panels, and so the colours of the stadium can be changed. Previously, they played in Munich’s historic old Olympic Stadium. Dortmund have the legendary Westfalenstadion (Signal Iduna Park). This ground has a combined seating and standing capacity of over 80,000 and is known to be one of the most intimidating in Europe.
Dortmund’s local rivals Schalke play in the impressive Arena auf Schalke, which replaced their old Parkstadion. The Arena auf Schalke, known for sponsorship reasons as the Veltins Arena, is another seating and standing combined stadium, with a capacity of just over 60,000. It is another ground famous for its heated atmosphere, something which Schalke fans have become famous for over the years.
Recognition and Awards
Giants Bayern Munich are by far the most powerful and victorious Bundesliga team. In the 44 years of the Bundesliga, they have captured 19 titles from 1969 to 2003. Unlike certain other teams (Dortmund, Hamburg) that have had “golden eras” but done little else otherwise, Bayern have consistently managed to win titles over the entire history of the Bundesliga.
Most League Goals of All Time
Most League Appearances
Confederation:
UEFA
Founded:
1963
Region:
Germany
Number of Teams:
18
Level:
1
Current champions:
FC Bayern Munich
Sponsors:
Deutsche Telekom/T-Com - http://www.t-mobile.com
Official website:
History
League Overview
The German Fussball Bundesliga actually comprises the top two divisions of German football- 1. Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. However, the 1. Bundesliga has come to be known simply as the Bundesliga. “Die Bundesliga” was founded in 1962, and began in 1963. It runs from early August to late May, in line with most other major European leagues, but has a long winter break of about 6 weeks.
18 teams from around Germany play in this league, although this number was originally 16. The rules for the continued admission of clubs to the league are very strict. Teams require a license to play, which can only be obtained by meeting certain organisational requirements and being in good financial standing.
The teams currently in the league are: DSC Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, FC Bayern München, VfL Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, MSV Duisburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, Energie Cottbus,Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin, FC Hansa Rostock,Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, FC Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart,Werder Bremen, VfL Wolfsburg.
League Ranking
UEFA League ranking: 5th
History
The German Bundesliga was in fact the first face of professional football in Germany. Prior to its formation in 1963, German football was only ever played at an amateur level. The governing body for German football, the Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB), had been founded in the 1900 with 86 member clubs in Liepzig, but they had not instituted any kind of professional setup. Football was played across a large number of often disjointed and disconnected regional leagues. The winners of these regional leagues would then compete in a series of playoff matches to decide the eventual champions of Germany. The first recognised national champions wereVfB Leipzig. They beat DFC Prague 7-2, on May 31st 1903 in Hamburg.
There were obvious political and structural complications with trying to institute a concrete structure for a league system, but it became a pressing concern in the 1950s when the international team had started to suffer. Professional leagues in other countries were starting to show superiority, and Germany’s best players were also being lured away to them. The last straw broke in the 1962 World Cup, when West Germany lost 1-0 to Yugoslavia in the quarter-final. It was a poor performance, and later that summer, in Dortmund, DFB president Hermann Neuberger announced the creation of a new professional league. It would be modelled on the English professional setup, and featured 16 teams. The existing amateur leagues would continue to exist (and still do), but the various Regionalligen are now more organised and sit below the Bundesliga levels in the German Football League system.
46 teams applied for admission to the Bundesliga from the regional Oberligen, and eventually 16 teams were selected based on their success, history, economic health and representation of the various regions of Germany. Sometime later, the first ever German professional games kicked off on August 24, 1963.
East Germany had maintained a separate 14 team league through this period, the DDR-Liga, which had operated under the Soviet system. However after reunification in 1990, the league ran for one last season, with clubs then being absorbed into the various levels of German football. They top two clubs from East Germany, Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden both joined the Bundesliga. Futher structure will be added to the system from 2008/09 onwards, with a 3. Bundesliga being added to the Bundesliga levels, and the regional leagues morphing into 3 separate divisions.
League Format
The German Football Bundesliga is decided by a conventional double round robin system. Each team plays the other twice, home and away, for a total of 34 games in the season. The title is based strictly on league play, and there are no playoffs of any kind. The team with the most points at the end of the season is the German Football League champion. The bottom 3 teams are automatically relegated, and replaced by the top 3 teams in the 2. Bundesliga.
If teams are tied for any of these spots, then the following factors are taken into account as deciders (in order): goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head results, head-to-head goal difference. If all of these are equal, then the two teams play a tie-breaker on a neutral ground, but this have never happened in the history of the Bundesliga.
The Bundesliga currently has three UEFA Champions League spots (two automatic), and three UEFA Cup spots. Match squads have 7 substitutes (where a standard 3 can be use). Match squads are currently limited to 5 non-EU players, although clubs are not restricted in the amount of non-EU players they can have at the club.
League Trophies
The German Bundesliga boasts the highest average attendance of any league in Europe. This is partly due to the fantastic enthusiasm shown by German fans, but also due to the tickets being moderately priced, especially in comparison to the Premier League. The Bundesliga is also one of the few remaining top leagues in Europe that allows clubs to have “terraces” or standing areas in the ground.
The Bundesliga boasts some historic grounds, as well as someone fantastic modern ones. Additionally, the hosting of the 2006 World Cup in Germany saw many stadia being built, as well as many older ones being refurbished and upgraded.
Bayern Munich have their Allianz-Arena, a magnificent, futuristic looking stadium which has become a landmark in football. The exterior shell of the stadium is composed entirely of lighting panels, and so the colours of the stadium can be changed. Previously, they played in Munich’s historic old Olympic Stadium. Dortmund have the legendary Westfalenstadion (Signal Iduna Park). This ground has a combined seating and standing capacity of over 80,000 and is known to be one of the most intimidating in Europe.
Dortmund’s local rivals Schalke play in the impressive Arena auf Schalke, which replaced their old Parkstadion. The Arena auf Schalke, known for sponsorship reasons as the Veltins Arena, is another seating and standing combined stadium, with a capacity of just over 60,000. It is another ground famous for its heated atmosphere, something which Schalke fans have become famous for over the years.
Recognition and Awards
Giants Bayern Munich are by far the most powerful and victorious Bundesliga team. In the 44 years of the Bundesliga, they have captured 19 titles from 1969 to 2003. Unlike certain other teams (Dortmund, Hamburg) that have had “golden eras” but done little else otherwise, Bayern have consistently managed to win titles over the entire history of the Bundesliga.
Most League Goals of All Time
Most League Appearances
UEFA Champions League/The European Cup
Champions League Trophy
Could easily be considered the greatest prize in club football worldwide, the Champions League is connected to the old European Cup. Whereas the old Cup was established in 1955, the Champions League renaming took place in 1992 as a response to the total restructuring of the format.
The old knockout style solely including the winners of each domestic league was replaced by a dramatically different system involving 32 teams. This was preceded by three qualifying rounds with two-legs each. Once into the full competition, a group stage takes place (8 groups with 4 teams in each). Each team plays home and away, the top two of each qualifying for the knockout stages, which are at first drawn from two groups (representing those who finished 1st and 2nd respectively) but then done randomly for the rest of the competition. Ties at this point are two-legged, with the away goals rule applied along with extra-time and penalties if necessary. The final is naturally a single-leg affair.
The exclusivity of the old European Cup was thrown out the window for the Champions League, as now the admitted sides represent the top teams in a country. The number of teams permitted depends on the strength of the league. For example, La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy and the Premiership in England are all given four spots in the Champions League. Ligue 1 in France, the Bundesliga in Germany and the Portuguese Liga in Portugal each receive 3 spots. All other representatives are given two places or a single spot.
The Champions League’s popularity with clubs stems from its prestige and the monumental financial benefits. Sponsorship and television money means the rewards are phenomenal. In the 2005/2006 season, teams were given a cumulative total of 430 million Euros, the figure for each club being decided based on their performance in the competition (e.g. Liverpool FC received 30 million Euros for winning in 2004/2005).
The most successful leagues are, unsurprisingly, the strongest leagues in Europe, Spanish teams having been victorious 11 times, followed by their English and Italian counterparts with 10 trophies each. The single most dominant side is Real Madrid with 9 Cups, way ahead of AC Milan in second, who have won 6 times.
UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Cup is the bridesmaid to the bride that is the Champions League in European club football. First played in 1971, the tournament has seen many changes, not least being merged with the Cup Winners Cup in 1999. It is now seen as a very lowly second to the Champions League mainly due to the growth of that tournament in numbers as well as in wealth.
Domestic Cup winners gain entry to the UEFA Cup along with the highest placed league team who failed to qualify for the Champions League. Teams enter the competition depending on the strength of their UEFA coefficients. Teams from countries ranked lower than 18th enter in the first qualifying round and teams from nations ranked between 9th and 18th enter in the second qualifying phase. There are also spots in this round for the lucky winners of the Fair Play Draw as well as entrants from the Intertoto Cup.
In the first round proper the teams that have qualified from highly ranked coefficient nations join the qualifiers meaning 80 teams will play in the first round. These games are played over two legs and the winners advance to a group phase of eight groups consisting of five teams each. The top three in each group progress after a round-robin stage where they are joined by the eight 3rd placed teams in the Champions League and a straight two-legged knock-out format ensues until the final, which is played at a neutral arena in a one-off game.
Juventus are the most successful UEFA Cup entrant having won the tournament on three occasions and have been beaten finalists the same amount of times again. Sevilla are the current holders and have won it in back-to-back years.
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
If there’s one thing which brings out all the casual fans, it’s the World Cup. Whereas all the aforementioned competitions take place annually, the World Cup only happens once every four years and has done since 1930 (with a break between 1942 and 1946 due to World War II). Nevertheless, seven countries have won the trophy, Brazil being the most successful with 5 victories (England’s only victory came in 1966).
This figure of just seven victors is all the more remarkable when you consider that 198 nations tried to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. This figure is trimmed down to 32 for the Finals themselves. The qualification process is organised in the six FIFA continental zones (see below for more details). Qualification takes some two years and is achieved via a single group stage (the terms of which depend on the particular zone). The number of places for each zone is decided by FIFA, although the host nation never have to qualify.
The Finals themselves are composed of a group stage (8 groups with 4 teams in each, the top two qualifying after every team plays each other once) and a straight-up knockout stage, concluding with a final.
I hope that this information has helped you.
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