Two Horse Race

Most of the European football leagues are two team leagues. Some are even one team leagues. Consider these facts;

1. The top two teams in the La Liga during the 2009/10 season; Barcelona and Real Madrid amassed 99 and 96 points respectively. Third placed Valencia scored a paltry 71 points. 13 of the last 17 titles were won by those two teams.
2. Since 1989, Bayern has won 12 of the 22 Bundesliga titles. A distant second is Borussia Dortmund with 3 titles.
3. Manchester United won 11 of the last 22 English titles.
4. Olympique Lyon won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles from 2002 to 2008.
5. PSV and Ajax won 11 and 7 Eredivisie titles respectively since 1989. Often, if one is champion, the other is likely to be the runners-up.
6. Only Celtic and Rangers have won the SPL since 1985. Like the Dutch league, the two Glasgow clubs occupy the top two positions of the league most of the time.
7. Serie A has three top teams, Juventus, Internazionale and Milan sharing 82% of the last 22 titles.

With the entry of foreign money, the English league appears to be the most competitive. This season saw Man City and Spurs competing for the forth Champion’s League spot, a position previously reserved for Liverpool. Aston Villa has shown it can last the whole season unlike previously when its challenge dies off in February.

For the other leagues, I doubt the success of Wolfsburg and FC Twente will be repeated. With David Villa in their team, Barcelona is expected to walk away with the Spanish title. Maybe Real can stop them if the self proclaimed ‘Special One’ becomes manager at the Bernabeu …