​I took advantage of the competitive break caused by the last scheduled matches of the EURO 2024 pre-tournament and analyzed the important European championships until November 13 from the perspective of the teams that once ruled the domestic competitions and even the European Cups, as they are now struggling in a deepening crisis results and productivity. In the life of every team there are glory years, but sometimes there is also a reverse side of the coin. The reasons for the decline are diverse: from poor financing, lack of inspiration in the transfer market, wrong choice of coaches and even other external socio-political factors. See below for Betano’s analysis of the teams that rose to fame in European football but are now living with memories of success from another era.

Premier League – Manchester United and Chelsea

The two English teams that have played in the Champions League final and dominated English football are Manchester United and Chelsea London respectively. One inspired by the presence of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson on the bench of technical specialists, the other by the huge investments of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The disappearance of both from the environment of the clubs they represented was equal to their exit from the spotlight. Manchester United have 20 English titles to their name, but their last one was a decade ago and they are now just six away from a top division dominated by local rivals City. Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the team has still not found a new identity to achieve high results, even with big names such as Louis van Gaal or Jose Mourinho taking over as coach. Ferguson’s shadow still hangs over the Theater of Dreams.

In the case of Chelsea, the fall is even steeper. From the team that brought Abramovich the big dream of winning the Champions League to the platoon team in the Premier League, it all happened almost instantly. “Chelsea” has six titles in its history, the last won in 2017. The decline of the “blues” began with the departure of Abramovich from the team in the spring of 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine. “Chelsea” ended the season in a disappointing 12th place, not getting into the European Cups, but they are not doing too well in the new season of the championship either. Only tenth place in the Premier League for a team whose lot is now worth 990 million euros!

League 1 – Olympique Lyon

It seems that Olympique Lyonnais have dominated the French league like never before when we look at the current Ligue 1 standings. After 11 stages of the 2023/24 season, Lyon themselves sit last in the hierarchy with just 7 points. And to complete the picture of the debacle of the former Hexagon champions, Olympique Lyonnais are the only French Ligue 1 side to have a single win. 1:0 with “Rennes” at the last stage before the break of the championship. We are talking about a club that won no less than seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles between 2001 and 2008, that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2010 and 2020. Now “Lyon” is fighting for salvation from relegation!

La Liga – FC Sevilla

In a league dominated by powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​whose hegemony is rarely interrupted by Atletico Madrid or Valencia, Sevilla remain a major disappointment at domestic level. The Andalusian group has only one title, and it was won in the 1945-46 season. Sevilla have made a name for themselves in European football by becoming the team with the most UEFA Cup/Europa League trophies with 7 between 2006 and 2023. Sevilla are only 13th in La Liga this season after 13 stages with just two wins. . “Sevilla” is not doing better in the Champions League, where it has only two points in four matches.

Bundesliga – Borussia Mönchengladbach

The team that dominated German football in the 70s and produced the winner of the 1977 Ballon d’Or (Dane Allan Simonsen) cannot take part in the battle at the top of the Bundesliga hierarchy. Borussia Mönchengladbach has won five Bundesliga titles, but the last one was in 1977. The last trophy won Die Borussen it was the German Cup in 1995. Gladbach finished last season in 9th place, where they still are after 11 rounds, with just three wins and a big goal difference (23-23). Since their last title, Borussia Mönchengladbach have been relegated twice, returning to the 1.Bundesliga in 2008. Their best finish since then was third in 2014/15, but they haven’t finished higher than eighth in the past four years.

Serie A – Lazio Roma

Twice champions of Italy, in 1974 and last in 2000, Lazio are still living in the memories, sitting tenth in the Serie A table after 12 rounds of the current season. From the last one Scudetto with the Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson, when football stars like Ferbando Couto, Nestor Sensini, Sinisha Mihajlovic, Diego Simeone, Pavel Nedved, Roberto Mancini, Marcelo Salas or Alen Boxic played for Lazio, passionate Lazio fans consoled themselves with four Italian Cups and more three Super Bowls. Lazio’s best finish in recent years is second place at the end of the 2022/23 season, with the title going to Napoli, another big Italian side hungry for results.

Eredivisie – Ajax Amsterdam

One of the big disappointments of this season in European football is Ajax Amsterdam, the former European champions who once finished last in the Dutch league. The Lancers have the most titles in Batavian football (36), being the only club with three stars on their jersey, but currently sit in just 12th place with 12 points, seven of which have come in their last three stages with the appointment of a new coach in the person of John van’t Schip. Despite Ajax winning the last Eredivisie title in 2022, the fans could not take the humiliation of the current season and stopped the derby with Feyenoord after the opposition led 3-0 at half-time. Ajax is far from the first place, having 24 points in light years from the leader PSV Eindhoven.

The above examples show that the line between glory and decline in football is extremely thin. Football is indeed about money and investment, but it’s not just about that. We also need sound management policies with a vision for the present, but especially with an emphasis on the future, so that productivity does not remain just a beautiful memory in the history books.