FOR an age now, an argument has raged over which league is the “best in the world?” Each man has his own opinion, but realistically, there are only three leagues that can stake a claim to being the best, those being the German Bundesliga, the Spanish La Liga and of course, the English Premier League.
While the Bundesliga has the highest average fan attendance of the three, in terms of overall competitiveness and entertainment value, it does not hold a candle in the wind to the other two.
The league does boast a wide array of world renowned stars and World Cup winners; the problem is that most of them play for current champions Bayern Munich, with the other teams lagging behind in terms of star factor.
Over the last two seasons, Bayern Munich has claimed both titles, winning all trophies available in Germany in the 2012 to 2013 season.
Over that two-year period, Munich amassed a massive 181 points, while their closest competitor lies a whopping 44 points behind over the same two-year period. When a team is winning leagues with months to spare, it does not make for entertaining viewing.
Such predictability tarnishes the spectacle, making it almost boring.
The Spanish La Liga undoubtedly has the biggest names. A league of Galacticos (stars), La Liga currently contains the five most expensive and five highest paid footballers of all time.
The problem with that, however, is that most of these massive names are only playing for two teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
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Before last season, these two powerhouses of the Spanish game had shared the title between them for nine years, with Athletico Madrid becoming the first team, other than Barça and Real to win the title since 2004 when they won it earlier this year.
While El Classico (Real Madrid v Barcelona) regularly gets massive attention and even bigger global television audiences, the rest of the league is rather a bit bland with the big two, and I suppose Athletico as well in recent times rarely losing to anyone other than each other.
This season, however, looks promising with the top five only separated by two points; I fear however, that come May next year; we will be seeing the same old names topping the league.
Then we have the Premier League, and while I may be being a bit biased here, based on the fact that I survive off a staple diet of Premier League football, I struggle to see a way in which the Bundesliga and La Liga are “better”.
When a team such as Manchester United — a team that finished no lower than third for 15 years — suddenly finishes seventh, when Liverpool — a team that six months ago was playing unbelievable football — struggles to find the goal against Hull City and Newcastle, when Southampton — only in its third season back and after twice changing its manager — is sitting pretty in second place on the log, it is these kinds of things that make this league the greatest, while a global audience of 4,7 billion people last season speaks for itself.
Yes, the La Liga has all its expensive stars, but need I remind you that the three most expensive players in the world were signed from the Premier League and while the Premier League is admittedly worse off without them, it’s a fact you cannot overlook.
So while all three offer us fantastic entertainment in their own way, I personally believe the world would be a far duller place without the Barclays Premier League.
Twitter: @Thesonofapitch
