Features
Reasons why the Premier League is still the best in the world
Despite our woes on the continent in recent years, I still think the Premier League is the best and most entertaining football league in the world.
The quality of the Premier League has once again been called in to question in recent weeks after just one team [Leicester City] made it through to the quarter finals of the Champions League this season.
It’s safe to say English sides have under-performed in Europe this campaign with Arsenal humiliated by Bayern Munich to make it six years without getting past the last-16, Tottenham crashing out of both the Champions League and Europa League while Manchester City were undone in a thriller with Monaco.
However, despite our woes on the continent in recent years, I still think the Premier League is the best and most entertaining football league in the world.
This doesn’t necessarily mean England has the best teams as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus are arguably the best four sides in Europe right now. Our top teams have proven they aren’t capable of beating the very best right now and I’m sure the managers are working hard to put that right. However, unlike La Liga, the Bundesliga or Serie A, the Premier League has huge depth with as many as six teams usually battling it out for the title each season.
In Spain, it’s always Madrid, Barca or occasionally Atletico Madrid that win the title, in Germany it’s Bayern or Dortmund and Juventus are on course to winning their fifth consecutive title in Italy. In England, we’ve had four different league winners in the last four years alone, and this is a prime reason why it’s still the best league in the world. Nobody can match our unpredictability. Where else would Leicester City have won the title?!
The Premier League is also one of the most culturally diverse in the world with 106 non-UK nations represented in the division since it’s inception in 1992/93. For more on this, check out 888sport top Premier League facts where they look at many interesting aspects of the league including how foreign influence has increased over the years.
With clubs bringing in the best talent from all over the world, it means the quality of teams within the division is far stronger than in other comparable league’s. It’s well known that there are no easy games in the Premier League as every team is capable of beating one another on any given day.
In Spain, we regularly see Real and Barca thrashing the lower teams 5-0 or 6-0, the same can be said of Bayern Munich in Germany, but it’s almost unheard of here in England. Every game is well-contested and teams give their all to fight for every point no matter the opposition. For example, lowly Burnley drew with Manchester United at Old Trafford this season. This is another reason why we produce the most exciting matches, week-in, week-out.
So while the likes of Barcelona, Madrid and Bayern are the best individual teams right now, I still think their league’s are behind the Premier League when it comes to overall quality and entertainment.