If you’re a typical fan of a top-four club in one of Europe’s big four leagues, then the chances are that you think the Europa Conference League is a bit of a laughing stock. Hopefully, that isn’t the majority of football fans. The rest of us, ourselves included, think that the two-year-old competition could be UEFA’s greatest creation in some time.
Ever since the Champions League changed its format to include 16 teams from England, Spain, Italy, and Germany, the competition has become somewhat of a closed shop, especially to Europe’s smaller nations. That is only going to get worse from next year onwards when the competition implements its new ‘Swiss Format’, which will see more of Europe’s traditionally big clubs progress into the tournament at the expense of clubs from perceived smaller nations.
The Europa League has also been heavily dominated by those four leagues as well in recent years. You have to go back twelve years for the last time a country outside of those four won the competition, with FC Porto winning the tournament in 2011. In fact, between 2005 and 2011, four of the competition winners were from outside the traditional top four leagues. Russian sides CSKA Moscow and Zenit Saint-Petersburg claimed the crown in 2005 and 2008, while Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk picked up the trophy in 2009. But since 2012, Spain and England in particular have been in control.
You also only need to look at the front runners for glory this term. Online bookmakers compared by OddsChecker have made Arsenal, Manchester United, and Juventus the favourites for the trophy this year. That’s where the Conference League comes in.
Admittedly, last year, the competition was won by Jose Mourinho’s Roma. But that was an Italian club’s first European trophy since the aforementioned Special One led Inter to the Champions League in 2010. Also, six of the last eight in the inaugural campaign were from outside of Europe’s big four.
Which ‘Big’ Teams Are Left in the Competition?
Heading into the last sixteen of this year’s tournament, only four of the remaining teams are from Europe’s big four leagues, and one of them has already lost the first leg of the two-legged affair. That honour goes to Lazio, who were stunned at the Stadio Olimpico by AZ Alkmaar, with the Dutch side coming back from a goal down to pick up a 2-1 victory. All is still to play for in the second leg.
Two of the other three sides from Europe’s ‘elite’ leagues aren’t clubs you’d traditionally expect to be reaching the latter stages. Last year, West Ham United reached the semifinals of the Europa League and they have built on that success this season by reaching the last sixteen of the Conference League. They were the only side to maintain a 100% record throughout the group stage and they will face Cypriot runners-up AEK Larnaca for a place in the last eight.
Italian side Fiorentina managed to sneak into the competition by finishing seventh in Serie A last term, three points ahead of Atalanta. They finished second in their group behind İstanbul Başakşehir, meaning that they had to face off against a Europa League dropout in order to reach the last sixteen. They handily defeated Portuguese side Braga however, setting up a meeting against Turkish club Sivasspor for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Villareal are the team with the greatest European pedigree competing in the tournament this season. They reached the UEFA Champions League semifinals last season, as well as picking up the Europa League back in 2021. They are expected to progress past the Belgian side Anderlecht.
Elsewhere in the Tournament
Prior to this season, Swedish side Djurgårdens had never made it to the group stage of a European competition. They are the fourth most successful team in the history of Swedish football, and in their maiden European campaign, they managed to top their group ahead of Gent, Molde, and Shamrock Rovers. They will face off against Polish champions Lech Poznań, with both sides seeing the showdown as winnable.
Last year’s Ekstraklasa winners took full advantage of Legia Warsaw’s dismal campaign last term to pick up the Polish title for the first time in seven years, finishing five points ahead of Raków Częstochowa.
Between 2010 and 2017, FC Basel won seven consecutive Swiss Championships and were Champions League and Europa League regulars. They are going through difficult times at the moment and are without a Super League crown in five years. Young Boys Bern and FC Zurich are the ones that have taken over Swiss football in their absence, with the former winning four titles on the spin prior to the latter’s shock success last season. As such, their Conference League tussle against Slovakian champions Slovan Bratislava represents a real opportunity to progress.
The club from the Slovakian capital has reached the group stages of the competition for the second consecutive season. They will be hoping that wingers Aleksandar Cavric and former Sheffield Wednesday man Andre Green can add to the 22 goals they have managed to bag between them already this season.
One of the biggest shocks of the tournament’s knockout round was the progression of Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol. They managed to overturn a one-goal deficit by beating Serbian side Partizan 3-1 in Belgrade. They face another difficult test in the round of sixteen against the French side Nice. The Ligue 1 club endured a difficult start to the current campaign; however, they are starting to hit form at the perfect time and could be genuine contenders for Europe’s third-tier tournament.
The final last sixteen tie is between Turkish Aroup winners A İstanbul Başakşehir and Belgium’s Gent. Neither side is performing particularly well this season, and they are both down in fifth in their respective leagues. The Belgian outfit managed to scrape through to the last sixteen with a penalty shootout victory over Azerbaijani outfit Qarabağ, and they will hope to put in a similar effort against Başakşehir.
