Malcom

[Raketa10]

EPL has more and more money.
And in the end, money usually wins, unless if the guy with money is really dumb.

Barca and Real didn't turn into greatest clubs in the world because we are good guys but because we had an insane amounts of money to spend.

EPL clubs have made some dumb moves, but in the last 3-4 years, they were earning more and more and their quality has raised.
When we remove Barca's glasses: Messi and CR7, money, Pep, Xavi and Iniesta were key factors of a success of La Liga in Europe in the last 10 years.
Xavi and Iniesta were lottery gems which won't happen in the next 50 years.
Messi is Messi, he will repeat never again.
Pep is in England.
CR7 is a human, but he is gone also.

What is left in La Liga for the future? Dumbele, Fatzard and Clownicius Junior.
Sounds promising...

3 of the last 4 finalists of a CL are from EPL.
Real is weaker than ever and there are no signs that they will return to top soon.
CR7 is gone. Ramos will be gone soon.
All they have is a bunch of random overhyped, insanely unproven players like Jovic, Vinicius, Rodrygo and similar.
A bunch of players for whom only a usual suspects from our forum (not you) who are hyping every single young player=can think that they actually have a bright future, lol.

Barca?
Dumbele, Malcom (luckily he has found his level in Russia), Alena, Puig, Oriol. No comments needed.
Sevilla is not as good as before.
And Simeone's era is probably coming to an end.

Luckily for us (La Liga fans): Italy is still quite poor.
France is a farmer's league without too many sponsors.
And Bundesliga is a one horse race.
If those 3 leagues weren't that limited in their own ways, there would be a danger that La Liga would drop even more.

Anyway, in a post Messi and post CR7 era, without Xavi-Iniesta lottery generation, La Liga and Spain's strength will probably fall way below a current level.

Seria A was NBA of football in 90s and early 00s. And everyone except a few rare Brasilian superstars (who are historically connected with Barca) wanted to play in Seria A.
Today they can't lure even Rakitic...

So, yes. Times are changing.
EPL is a no1 today and the most likely it will stay on top in the next 5-10 years.

That's a normal cycle. Every league/country has ups and downs. Like you sad Italy was NBA in 90s so was Spain for the last 10 years. EPL is for sure the TOP league right now but Italy is slowly rising again. Many of us thought that Ronalo (R9) was once in a lifetime player and than came Ronaldinho after him came Messi so new kids will come and the circle of life will continue. Neither Barca or Real are doomed they will rise again you'll see.

Cycles always change, Brexit will hurt England for sure, their economy is suffering already so who knows what will happen in the future. One thing is certain though, Barca needs to start preparing for post Messi era and I don't mean only our first team. La Masia is in ruins and if you ask me that's our no.1 problem. We need to change our entire managing structure and return to our old philosophy. There is no way we can keep on like this. We have by far the biggest salary expense in the world of football and that's unsustainable in the long term.

I am not a dreamer, I am perfectly aware that Xavi-Iniesta generation probably won't repeat again in the next 50 years or more but for me it's totally unacceptable that La Masia can't produce at least 5 players in a decade that can compete on the highest level. Sergi Roberto is the last La Masia player who managed to establish himself as a competitive first team player and that's a pure disaster for a club like Barca. FFS he is 27,5 years old! That means that La Masia didn't produce anyone for the last 8 years and that's just horrible! If Alena and Puig fail and it looks like they might it will literally be ZERO players in a decade!

 

[Messi983]

Malcom didn't train with the team today.

 

[Ernesto GOATverde Tejedor]

although i agree there has been somewhat of a power shift recently, the EPL and its players are still incredibly over hyped generally speaking.
There are also obviously players who are genuinely world class eg. KDB, salah, VVD, Silvas, augero etc

People genuinely don't understand the superior level of TECHNIQUE in la liga. That's why EPL's best players like Bale and Coutinho look like a fish out of water here. And that's why I rate a player like Gerard Moreno who cost 1m, higher than EPL strikers who are doing okay and are worth 20-30m.

 

[ebc_99]

Man City and Liverpool are excellent but the rest aren't that strong, La Liga is still the best league overall imo. I remember reading an article in 2007 in the Daily Mirror, A journo was gloating that the so called biggest game in the world, 'El Classico' was being contested by two teams that had been knocked out of Europe and that England would dominate for the next decade, but that didn't happen.

7 times in the past 20 seasons, two teams from the same league met in the final, it is a common occurrence now and doesn't mean anything. I think some are reading too much into it, it could very well be an all Spanish final next year, who knows. I remember Liam Brady stating on Irish TV in 2013 that German football could dominate over the next 5 or 6 years but it didn't happen and I don't think English dominance will happen either.

 

[M3ls]

 

[Devils]

I'm speechless.

He's actually going to Russia.

 

[CatalinR10]

wow

 

[Ahmedd]

Man City and Liverpool are excellent but the rest aren't that strong, La Liga is still the best league overall imo. I remember reading an article in 2007 in the Daily Mirror, A journo was gloating that the so called biggest game in the world, 'El Classico' was being contested by two teams that had been knocked out of Europe and that England would dominate for the next decade, but that didn't happen.

7 times in the past 20 seasons, two teams from the same league met in the final, it is a common occurrence now and doesn't mean anything. I think some are reading too much into it, it could very well be an all Spanish final next year, who knows. I remember Liam Brady stating on Irish TV in 2013 that German football could dominate over the next 5 or 6 years but it didn't happen and I don't think English dominance will happen either.

The more competitive teams you have in your league the better it is. I think that Juve, PSG, Bayern didn't reach the holy grail because of that. Last time Bayern was scary Dortmund was very good. Same with Italian football in the 90's and early 2000. The best Barca I saw was when Madrid was up there competing till the end for every title. England always had good teams but it's been a long time since we saw teams as good as City and Liverpool today. If they keep improving like they did it will be hard to beat them.

 

[Adversus]

People genuinely don't understand the superior level of TECHNIQUE in la liga. That's why EPL's best players like Bale and Coutinho look like a fish out of water here. And that's why I rate a player like Gerard Moreno who cost 1m, higher than EPL strikers who are doing okay and are worth 20-30m.

I agree with this but I don't think you understand the superior level of athleticism and pace of the premiership. Last season the English clubs competed for both European finals. When is the last time that happened with any country?

Stupid choice by Malcom. He had an offer from us where he could have hooked up with countrymen Richarlison and Bernard, Portuguese speakers and a Portuguese coach for a club that is obviously very ambitious.

 

[Ernesto GOATverde Tejedor]

I agree with this but I don't think you understand the superior level of athleticism and pace of the premiership. Last season the English clubs competed for both European finals. When is the last time that happened with any country?

Stupid choice by Malcom. He had an offer from us where he could have hooked up with countrymen Richarlison and Bernard, Portuguese speakers and a Portuguese coach for a club that is obviously very ambitious.

No, I actually agree about the athleticism and pace of the EPL. I just value technique far far higher. It's personal preference again , like the Federer Nadal debate, I would take technique over pace and power every day of the week as the better barometer of talent and skill.

True EPL did well in Europe this year but if that is the barometer then given what La liga has done the last 10 years in Europe then unquestionably it is the strongest league OF ALL TIME.

 

[Kul_z]

I agree with this but I don't think you understand the superior level of athleticism and pace of the premiership. Last season the English clubs competed for both European finals. When is the last time that happened with any country?

Stupid choice by Malcom. He had an offer from us where he could have hooked up with countrymen Richarlison and Bernard, Portuguese speakers and a Portuguese coach for a club that is obviously very ambitious.

Dude, last time same country competed/won eu finals:
2014,2015,2016,2018 - spain. Ffs get your facts right

 

[BBZ8800]

Dude, last time same country competed/won eu finals:
2014,2015,2016,2018 - spain. Ffs get your facts right

2014: Real, Atletico, Sevilla, BENFICA
2015: Barcelona, JUVENTUS, Sevilla, DNIRPO
2016: Real, Atletico, Sevilla, LIVERPOOL
2018: Real, LIVERPOOL, Atletico, MARSEILLE

2019: Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal=4 out 4 finalists

Spain had 3 finalists in 2014 and 2016.
And 2 finalists in 2015 and 2018.

I remember Liam Brady stating on Irish TV in 2013 that German football could dominate over the next 5 or 6 years but it didn't happen and I don't think English dominance will happen either.

Money wins.
That prediction had zero sense.
German teams never had a chance to rule Europe without insane amounts of money.

So, it has nothing to do with a current era where we have 6 super rich EPL teams.

I am not a dreamer, I am perfectly aware that Xavi-Iniesta generation probably won't repeat again in the next 50 years or more but for me it's totally unacceptable that La Masia can't produce at least 5 players in a decade that can compete on the highest level. Sergi Roberto is the last La Masia player who managed to establish himself as a competitive first team player and that's a pure disaster for a club like Barca. FFS he is 27,5 years old! That means that La Masia didn't produce anyone for the last 8 years and that's just horrible! If Alena and Puig fail and it looks like they might it will literally be ZERO players in a decade!

About La Masia
1. we started it first.
When other teams started to copy us, we had less talents available to pick. In the past we were buying insane amount of kids.
2. we cheated. We were breaking the rules with Kubo and 10s of similar kids.
Since we can't do that anymore, we have way less talent to pick from and we are left mostly with a Spanish talent.
And since RM, Sevilla, AM and everyone are scouting players today, that means that there is even less free talent in Spain.
So, basically, compared to 1995 or 2000, we have way smaller pool of players to chose from. Both with foreign talents and Spanish talents.
3. the level of quality in football has raised.
That means that Gabri and Oleguer were good enough to play in 2005 or 2006.
Today they would be way weaker players than back then.
So, it is harder to get a starter today.
But even to get a squad player due to a higher quality in football and due to a smaller pool of players to pick from in the first place.

Just saying: maybe the board has gave up from La Masia (investing less money) because that idea is just not as profitable and successful as in 2000 due to factors mentioned above?

 

[Kul_z]

2014: Real, Atletico, Sevilla, BENFICA
2015: Barcelona, JUVENTUS, Sevilla, DNIRPO
2016: Real, Atletico, Sevilla, LIVERPOOL
2018: Real, LIVERPOOL, Atletico, MARSEILLE

2019: Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal=4 out 4 finalists

Spain had 3 finalists in 2014 and 2016.
And 2 finalists in 2015 and 2018.



Money wins.
That prediction had zero sense.
German teams never had a chance to rule Europe without insane amounts of money.

So, it has nothing to do with a current era where we have 6 super rich EPL teams.



About La Masia
1. we started it first.
When other teams started to copy us, we had less talents available to pick. In the past we were buying insane amount of kids.
2. we cheated. We were breaking the rules with Kubo and 10s of similar kids.
Since we can't do that anymore, we have way less talent to pick from and we are left mostly with a Spanish talent.
And since RM, Sevilla, AM and everyone are scouting players today, that means that there is even less free talent in Spain.
So, basically, compared to 1995 or 2000, we have way smaller pool of players to chose from. Both with foreign talents and Spanish talents.
3. the level of quality in football has raised.
That means that Gabri and Oleguer were good enough to play in 2005 or 2006.
Today they would be way weaker players than back then.
So, it is harder to get a starter today.
But even to get a squad player due to a higher quality in football and due to a smaller pool of players to pick from in the first place.

Just saying: maybe the board has gave up from La Masia (investing less money) because that idea is just not as profitable and successful as in 2000 due to factors mentioned above?

Oh sorry, could you please get from that years how many head to head duels spanish clubs had in semi's and qf's? Thank you

 

[ebc_99]

English clubs have had more money for 20 years, occasionally they will get it right but I don't see them dominating at all. And the new La Liga TV deal from 2019-22 has closed the gap significantly to the Premier League TV deal which is smaller than it was. There are only so many people Sky can sell subscriptions to, it has already started to level off and has even dropped a little.

The Premier League's TV deal from 2016 - 19 was £5.1bn, it is now £4.6bn for the season's 2019-22. La Liga's TV deal has increased to €3.4bn from €2.6bn, so La Liga clubs have gone from being £2.5bn behind per year to now only about £1.5bn. So as of now, Spanish clubs are in a much better place financially compared to the English clubs than at any time over the past decade.

And it is not just money, look at Man Utd as the perfect example, they have spent almost as much as anyone and have nothing to show for it, the difference between them and Liverpool, Spurs and Man City is their managers, when they leave those three clubs will drop like a stone.

 

[BADGERBHOY]

No, I actually agree about the athleticism and pace of the EPL. I just value technique far far higher. It's personal preference again , like the Federer Nadal debate, I would take technique over pace and power every day of the week as the better barometer of talent and skill.

True EPL did well in Europe this year but if that is the barometer then given what La liga has done the last 10 years in Europe then unquestionably it is the strongest league OF ALL TIME.

Winners of CL last 10 years: Spain 7 v England 2
Winners of EL last 10 years: Spain 6 v England 3

Shows the dominance of both countries in last 10 years, with Spain way in front in terms of total wins.