Is Premier League The Best In The World?
Well, let’s be honest the answer is always going to be between the EPL and La Liga so I’ll go straight to my point.
Real Madrid has just defeated Liverpool 0 - 1 in Paris – at the Champions League (UCL) 2022 final. But before this game virtually all English pundits predicted a victory for Liverpool. Fair enough. I watched game on BT Sport. Michael Owen is one of the pundits who predicted a ‘comfortable’ victory for Liverpool. They lost. But Owen would not give up. He says:
Liverpool is still the best team in Europe. On Twitter he doubled down:
Would you back Madrid if they played again next week? …
Liverpool are better
Simon Jordan is a popular pundit/presenter at Talk Sport. He fancies himself some football intellectual. He has (amongst an immense pile of garbage) this to say (you can search YouTube for the full videos):
Liverpool are better than Real Madrid, and are the best team in Europe
I can ignore that, but he goes on...
I don’t think Real Madrid would win our premier league. I do think, with no English arrogance, that if you do put Liverpool and Man city into La Liga they would win that league… but when you get these one-off finals in the champions league Real Madrid do find the wherewithal to win these games
These are just two sample points that epitomize a thoroughly baseless arrogance of some in England of a superiority of their league, allowing them scoff and sneer at others, while wallowing in militant ignorance. The idea is that since their league is superior, others like Madrid, can only beat them with some luck, in one-off games.
Luck. Really?
How can one really believe that top EPL teams would win the La Liga, when the same La Liga teams beat them in almost all competitive matches, whenever they meet, regardless of the level? Let us look at all major European finals between English and Spanish clubs since 2006 (Please feel free to add any I may have missed)
- Sevilla 4-0 Middlesbrough | UEFA Cup 2006
- Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal | Champions League 2006
- Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United | Champions League 2009
- Atlético de Madrid 2-1 Fulham | Europa League 2010
- Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United | Champions League 2011
- Atlético de Madrid 4-1 Chelsea | European Super Cup 2012
- Sevilla 3-1 Liverpool | Europa League 2016
- Real Madrid 2-1 Manchester United | European Super Cup 2017
- Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool | Champions League 2018
- Villarreal 1 (11) - 1 (10) Manchester United | Europa League 2021
- Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid | Champions League 2022
In eleven consecutive finals, Spanish clubs have beaten English clubs eleven times. Is it possible this is down to luck?
Let us assume an ‘unfair’ equal winning probability of ½ for each league’s team at a final match. This is unfair because going by the presumption of the EPL being a better and stronger league, its teams should have higher winning odds, and La Liga teams lower, thereby reducing the likelihood of La Liga victory even further.
Anyways, for eleven consecutive finals, the odds of Spanish teams winning purely by luck = 0.5^11 = 0.0004883 or 1/2048. For perspective, about as likely as your next baby growing a tooth in its mother’s womb!
| Real Madrid lifting the 2022 UCL in Paris |
The Rise of Arrogant Idealistic Modern Managers
It cannot be inherently bad that a manger or club prefers some certain style or philosophy. But it is repulsive to try to pontificate to others on how they should play. Consider Jurgen Klopp’s words after getting dumped by Atletico in the UCL two years ago - a typical example of this kind of dangerous rhetoric.
It’s so difficult to play against a side like that. I don’t understand with the quality they have that they play this kind of football, I don’t understand to be honest..
When I see players like Koke, Saul, Llorente, they could play proper football, but they sat deep in their own half and have counter attacks…
This is an arrogant, sore, and idealistic EPL manager almost outrightly demanding his opponents play a certain way. A way in which his side is better drilled and superior at by orders of magnitude. It is like a burglar demanding I leave the doors open for him tonight when he shows up. How arrogant and careless! We have also seen this kind of behaviour sometimes with some Barcelona managers.
The old school type managers like Ancelotti, Mourinho, Emery, and Conte never seem to have this idealistic arrogance. They understand that their job is to win football games. I am full of admiration for how they get on with their jobs, try to outsmart you to win games, rather than flirting with educating you on how you should play.
What does it mean to be better, and why play tournaments?
You play tournaments to win. Nothing else. If you can achieve this with an aesthetic style or some panache, more power to you; if you cannot or will not, more power to you too, as you must still find a way to compete. The end justifies the means. While everyone is entitled to their opinions, a manager surely knows to be careful with his words for the weight that they carry.
Liverpool plays an expansive, high pressing, hyper-attacking brand of football. It is very pleasing to my eyes. Manchester City play a possession-focused attacking game. It is very pleasing to my eyes. Both teams have played for years now with their respective styles, which has brought them significant success. They are well drilled in their respective styles. Their teams are stacked with world class talent suited to their styles. They would dominate the attacking stats in almost all games they play – possession, shots, etc. They would be deemed the ‘better’ team in most games they play, just by the swagger of their style.
Okay. So, should other clubs all give up then, since they are going to be deemed ‘lucky’ even if they beat the afore-mentioned two anyway? Must we all now play Gegen pressing, going toe-to-toe with teams better at Gegen pressing? Or are teams allowed to compete by finding a way to their own victory? If a team can best compete by sitting back and playing on the counter, should the manager be shot to death?
Even what we call attractive football is subjective. I stand convicted of this bias myself. I was surprised to learn that Atletico Madrid has quite a large population of non-Spanish fans around the world. I did not understand how someone not born in Madrid can support them.
How do you enjoy watching this every weekend
I asked in my ignorance.
But not everyone enjoys watching Man City hoard 70% of the ball possession I have learned. Not everyone enjoys seeing Alexander Trent-Arnold spam a hundred crosses each game. Some people enjoy a tactical but highly technical chess game – preferably with Steve McManaman’s commentary voice off. We must respect that.
Real Madrid and the great AC Milan of the 2000′s
Anyone who watched football in the early and mid 2000’s can surely see the similarities between the current Champions League winning Real Madrid team and the Milan team of the time, both coached by the admirable father figure and gentleman – Mr Carlo Ancelotti. He has a pragmatic but elegant Italian style that emphasizes compactness and efficiency, while maximally exploiting the individual qualities of the players within it. He gets the best from his players by his excellent man management skills, creating a relaxed and happy dressing room atmosphere, and helping forge players beaming with confidence, and who genuinely love their manager. The Champions League wining Milan team of 2007 was a joy to watch, not because of an expansive gegenpressing system, but due to the ruthless efficiency and elegance of this team which was set up to exploit the genius of the great Kaka. Football has now lost all the romance of old. The kids now care only of your stats – goals, assists, expected goals, and the rest of that garbage. This modern pathology is for me one of the reasons for the current tyranny in football – where everyone is expected to conform to the current ‘ideal’ of high pressing, fast-paced, physical style common in England. I reject it.
| AC Milan UCL Squad 2006/2007 |
Money talks
Perhaps the influx of money into the EPL in part fuels this increasing arrogance. I admire and even envy the marketing and packaging brilliance of the EPL, aided in part by the advantage of the universality of English. I wish La Liga could match this. But I must also express my reservations for nation-state funded clubs (including the isolated case in France). It doesn’t seem like they play by the rules. And EPL fans don’t seem to care, they just enjoy the influx of cash into their clubs. I do not blame them, but there is nothing distinctly English about this kind of success. I fear for the future of football.
Conclusion
- The idea that EPL top teams would dominate La Liga and that La Liga top teams would not do the same in England is just nonsensical waffle, pulled from thin air, and has only arrogance and ignorance to back it up, literally. Every available data points to the superior competitive strength of La Liga teams relative to their English counterparts, and therefore it is far more statistically likely that La Liga teams will destroy the EPL if they play there. Just for a minute imagine that it was English teams who have beaten Spanish teams in 11/11 European finals, what would the conversation be like?
- EPL managers and pundits must refrain from flirting with educating others on how to play football. If your style is superior, the results would vindicate you. Else, just shut up.
- What you deem a better footballing style is subjective, does not grant you any rights to victory, and cannot deny others agency in choosing how to compete.
- Spirit of sportsmanship is important. Respect your opponents. Loose with grace and try again next time. These are basics.
- And yes, Real Madrid is the pinnacle of football. It is the perfect and ultimate form of a footballing institution. All others are imperfect copies who can only aspire to reach its heights.
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