UCL Group A - The Underdogs

UCL Group A

Each year UEFA holds an event to draw all Champions League qualified teams into their group. After it’s concluded and all the groups have filled, we always see discussions on which one is the hardest. This is usually nicknamed “the group of death”. I’ll admit, this time around just like every year I skimmed through the results to form an opinion on which one is the toughest group.

Although, I ended up finding something else before I got to who’s the toughest group conclusion. Group A caught my interest, the group is as follows:

• Atletico de Madrid

• Club Brugge

• Borussia Dortmund

• Monaco

Does anything stand out to you? What stood out to me is that all of these teams are alike in the sense that they have all been overshadowed by a bigger team(s) in their domestic league for the past decade. I found this group super interesting because what was the probability of all these teams with similar domestic finishing to be seeded together? I’m bad at math so I won’t even try to figure that out but you get the point.

In this post I will go over each team individually and show you just what I mean. How they have all been playing catch up to a bigger club in their domestic leagues.

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Atlético de Madrid - La Liga

I’m not sure about everyone else, but every time I think about Atleti, I think about third place. While they might not literally come in third place each year, they seem to always trail behind La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In the past 10 years in La Liga:

Barcelona have won the league 7 times (2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017)

Real Madrid have won the league 2 times (2011, 2016)

Atletico have won the league once (2013)

Now let’s look at where they each placed within the past 10 years in La Liga. The seasons are from 2008-2017.

2008

1. Barcelona

2. Real Madrid

3. Sevilla

2009

1. Barcelona

2. Real Madrid

3. Sevilla

2010

1. Barcelona

2. Real Madrid

3. Valencia

2011

1. Real Madrid

2. Barcelona

3. Valencia

2012

1. Barcelona

2. Real Madrid

3. Atletico Madrid

2013

1. Atletico Madrid

2. Barcelona

3. Real Madrid

2014

1. Barcelona

2. Real Madrid

3. Atletico Madrid

2015

1. Barcelona

2. Real Madrid

3. Atletico Madrid

2016

1. Real Madrid

2. Barcelona

3. Atletico Madrid

2017

1. Barcelona

2. Atletico Madrid

3. Real Madrid

A summary of above:

Barcelona have…

Won - (7) times | Placed 2nd - (3) times | Placed 3rd - (N/A)

Real Madrid have…

Won - (2) times | Placed 2nd - (6) times | Placed 3rd - (2) times

Atletico have…

Won - (1) | Placed 2nd - (1) |Placed 3rd - (4) times

As you can see, Barcelona have overwhelmingly dominated the league in the past decade. Real Madrid have not won as much in this time period but they have consistently been runner ups to Barcelona. While Atletico has come a far way in recent years. This might be easily overlooked, but since they won the league in 2013, they have consistently come in third place or better. The difference is understandable when you realize how much funds Barcelona and Real Madrid have at their disposal year after year comapared to Atleti.

Atletico have actually overperformed these past few years. Even with limited funds compared to the above mentioned, they have been able keep up to a certain extent. I think it’s only a matter of time until they actually start coming even closer to winning La Liga. They have won the Europa League 3 times in the last decade. Slowly but surely they are looking to no longer be the underdog and win it all. It specially helps that they have been been able to keep their biggest stars and continue improving their entire roster year after year.

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Club Brugge - Belgian Pro League

I don’t expect many of you to have heard of this club or where they play. Just so you know, they are a Belgian team that play in the Belgian Pro League. I can’t say I know too much about them but I knew of their existence when looking up their domestic league rival Anderlecht a while ago. Which connects to the rest of this post because Anderlecht have been the team that has dominated this league. Which have also left Club Brugge behind in recent years as a result.

In the past 10 years in the Belgian Pro League:

Anderlecht have won the league 5 times (2009, 2012, 2013, 2016)

Club Brugge have won the league 2 times (2015,2017)

Standard Liege, KRC Genk and KAA Gent have won the league once during this time. (SL 2008, KRC 2010, KAA 2014)

Now let’s look at where they each placed within the past 10 years in the Belgian Pro League. The seasons are from 2008-2017.

2008

1. Standard Liege

2. RSC Anderlecht

3. Club Brugge

2009

1. RSC Anderlecht

2. KAA Gent

3. Club Brugge

2010

1. KRC Genk

2. Standard Liege

3. RSC Anderlecht

2011

1. RSC Anderlecht

2. Club Brugge

3. KRC Genk

2012

1. RSC Anderlecht

2. SV Zulte Waregem

3. Club Brugge

2013

1. RSC Anderlecht

2. Standard Liege

3. Club Brugge

2014

1. KAA Gent

2. Club Brugge

3. RSC Anderlecht

2015

1. Club Brugge

2. RSC Anderlecht

3. KAA Gent

2016

1. RSC Anderlecht

2. Club Brugge

3. KAA Gent

2017

1. Club Brugge

2. Standard Liege

3. RSC Anderlecht

A summary of above:

RSC Anderlecht have…

Won - (5) times | Placed 2nd - (3) times | Placed 3rd - (3) times

Club Brugge have…

Won - (2) times | Placed 2nd - (3) times | Placed 3rd - (5) times

Standard Liege have…

Won - (2) times | Placed 2nd - (3) times | Placed 3rd - (0) times

KRC Genk have…

Won - (1) time | Placed 2nd - (1) times | Placed 3rd - (1) times

KAA Gent have…

Won - (1) times | Placed 2nd - (1) times | Placed 3rd - (2) times

SV Zulte Waregem have…

Won - (0) times | Placed 2nd - (1) times | Placed 3rd - (0) times

As you can see, Brugge have come in at third place 5 times over the last 10 years.

That’s pretty consistent being half of the decade. Anderlecht have been the most dominating team while Brugge has been the team that has trailed the winners most. They have placed in the top 3 each year I’ve accounted for and have placed in the top three 5 more times than the next club which is Standard Liege at a total of 5. What’s amazing about Brugge is that starting from 2013 and onwards, they have consistently been progressing until eventually winning the league. In 2013 they placed third, in 2014 they placed second and in 2015 they finally won the league. In the past three years, they have won the league twice. They are current champions at the moment. As of right now, it seems as if they have managed to no longer be the underdog and be a favorite to win the league each year. Two championships in three years proves that. This is what I expect from Atletico Madrid in the future, to finally win La Liga more frequently than not.

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Borussia Dortmund - Bundesliga

Having won seven Bundesliga titles in a row, Bayern Munich are the obvious giants in the league. Dortmund, just like every other German teams have struggled to keep up and have fallen behind significantly. They had early success in the past 10 years under magical circumstances but have not taken a big step forward since.

In the past 10 years in the Bundesliga:

Bayern Munich have won the league 7 times (2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)

Dortmund has won the league 2 times (2010, 2011)

And VfL Wolfsburg have been the only other club to win a title (2008)

Now let’s look at where they each placed within the past 10 years in the Bundesliga. The seasons are from 2008-2017.

2008

1. VFL Wolfsburg

2. Bayern Munich

3. VfB Stuttgart

2009

1. Bayern Munich

2. Schalke 04

3. Werder Bremen

2010

1. Borussia Dortmund

2. Bayer Leverkusen

3. Bayern Munich

2011

1. Borussia Dortmund

2. Bayern Munich

3. Bayer Leverkusen

2012

1. Bayern Munich

2. Borussia Dortmund

3. Bayer Leverkusen

2013

1. Bayern Munich

2. Borussia Dortmund

3. Bayer Leverkusen

2014

1. Bayern Munich

2. VfL Wolfsburg

3. Borussia Monchengladbach

2015

1. Bayern Munich

2. Borussia Dortmund

3. Bayer Leverkusen

2016

1. Bayern Munich

2. RB Leipzig

3. Borussia Dortmund

2017

1. Bayern Munich

2. Schalke 04

3. 1899 Hoffenheim

A summary of above:

Bayern Munich have…

Won - (7) times | Placed 2nd - (2) times | Placed 3rd - (1) time

Borussia Dortmund have…

Won - (2) times | Placed 2nd - (3) times | Placed 3rd - (1) time

I won’t mention the other teams that featured in this since only VfL Wolfsburg have won the league title besides the Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich and Dortmund. No other team has placed in the top 3 as consistently as Dortmund in the past decade (apart from Munich, the champions). Bayern Munich have historically been league leaders in the Bundesliga. Something interesting happened for Dortmund in 2010 & 2011 when they managed to become champions twice in a row. This was largely due to the performances of promising manager Jurgen Klopp & emerging superstar striker in Robert Lewandowski among other great players. Unfortunately, after both of these guys left, Dortmund has not won a league title since.

At the moment, I don’t really see Dortmund having a chance of clinching a title. The first and most important reason is because Bayern Munich seem to be in a universe of their own in Germany. Last year alone, Munich won by 21 more points than the nearest rival. Dortmund seems to have turned their business model into buying promising players for cheap, developing and selling for a large profit on initial investment. A few established and promising players have been sold in recent years like Dembele, Mor, Hummels, Mkhitaryan and Gundogan among many others. They no longer seem to be interesting in winning the domestic league and only doing enough to clinch a top 4 finish for the Champions League. But in the world of soccer, you just never know. I personally would love to see Dortmund win the title for a chance to end Bayern’s dominance (even if it’s only temporary).

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Monaco - Ligue 1

This is definitely an interesting league. PSG has historically done poorly in Ligue 1. Although, this all changed when they were acquired by a Qatari investment group which has pumped enough money into the club to have purchased Neymar for a record $200+ million deal in 2017, and Mbappe for $130+ million a year later. In the same year they bought PSG in 2012, they brought in the likes of Javier Pastore, Kevin Gameiro, Mohamed Sissoko and Blaise Matuidi among many others. Sure enough, thanks to ridiculous funding they were able to win their first Ligue 1 title in 18 years! They have dominated Ligue 1 ever since and have won 5 league titles in the past 6 years.

In the past 7 years in Ligue 1:

PSG have won the league 5 times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017)

Monaco have won the league once (2016)

Montpellier is the only other club to have won (2011)

Now let’s look at where they each placed within the past 10 years in Ligue 1. The seasons are from 2011-17. The years 2008-11 will not be accounted for since both PSG and Monaco failed to reach the top 3.

2011

1. Montpellier

2. PSG

3. Lille

2012

1. PSG

2. Marseille

3. Lyon

2013

1. PSG

2. Monaco

3. Lille

2014

1. PSG

2. Lyon

3. Monaco

2015

1. PSG

2. Lyon

3. Monaco

2016

1. Monaco

2. PSG

3. Nice

2017

1. PSG

2. Monaco

3. Lyon

A summary of above:

PSG have…

Won - (5) times | Placed 2nd - (2) times | Placed 3rd - (0) times

Monaco have…

Won - (1) time| Placed 2nd - (2 ) times | Placed 3rd - (2) times

As I mentioned earlier, PSG have catapulted into success due to the amount of funds they have been handed. Their strategy seems to just buy the best players in the world recently. After Monaco won the league title in 2016, PSG responded with purchasing Neymar and bringing in Mbappe on initial loan with obligation to buy. It’s no surprise to anyone that they managed to win the league this year again with that amount of talent. Monaco’s business model seems to be the same as Dortmund's: buy promising players, develop and sell for profit. In 2017, they sold Benjamin Mendy for $57+ million, Bernardo Silva for $50+ million and Tiemoue Bakayoko for $40 million among many other player sales. That’s just outright ridiculous! And they used this money to bring other promising talent like Keita Balde, Youri Tielemans and Pietro Pellegri. In the last transfer window, they got the remainder of the money from PSG for Mbappe which totalled $135+ million, sold Thomas Lemar for $70+ million and sold Fabinno for $45+ million among other players. Although unlike Dortmund, Monaco seem to have been more successful at maintaining their level in recent years to stay near the top and continue to develop really promising players. They are making a ton of money from player sells and it seems like they will continue to be good enough to come out in a top four spot for years to come. Unfortunately, due to this I don’t see them being able to win the league again in the near future.

I hope that at the end of this, you can understand my interest in this special UCL group. They are are similar in a lot of ways and I can only hope that these teams continue to make advances until they can win their domestic leagues again. This is the group of The Underdogs.

Thanks for reading!