By Robbie Butler
The graphic below is the best way I could illustrate the fluctuation of Premier League clubs influence on the destination of the UEFA Champions League since Liverpool's famous recovery in Istanbul back in 2005. The good news for supporters of English clubs is, given the evidence of the past week, it's likely we will see a Premier League club crowned champions of Europe sooner rather than later.
Starting with the 2004/5 competition, I illustrate the percentage success rate for Premier League clubs in reaching the last 16 of the competition, QF, SF, Final and being crowned winners. A Champions League trophy icon marks the three occasions this happened (2005, 2008 and 2012).
Where a bar is fully red it means 100% of Premier League clubs that could get to that stage did. For example, if the Last 16 bar is all red, the four clubs representing England reached the knockout stage of the competition. This happened on 6 occasions. The final bar in the graphic actually corresponds to 5 clubs as Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs have all reached the knockout stage. In fact, there is a decent chance that all 5 could make the last 8 of the competition. Liverpool and Man City are probably guaranteed to be there already following the first leg of their Last 16 round matches.
The graphic below is the best way I could illustrate the fluctuation of Premier League clubs influence on the destination of the UEFA Champions League since Liverpool's famous recovery in Istanbul back in 2005. The good news for supporters of English clubs is, given the evidence of the past week, it's likely we will see a Premier League club crowned champions of Europe sooner rather than later.
Starting with the 2004/5 competition, I illustrate the percentage success rate for Premier League clubs in reaching the last 16 of the competition, QF, SF, Final and being crowned winners. A Champions League trophy icon marks the three occasions this happened (2005, 2008 and 2012).
Where a bar is fully red it means 100% of Premier League clubs that could get to that stage did. For example, if the Last 16 bar is all red, the four clubs representing England reached the knockout stage of the competition. This happened on 6 occasions. The final bar in the graphic actually corresponds to 5 clubs as Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs have all reached the knockout stage. In fact, there is a decent chance that all 5 could make the last 8 of the competition. Liverpool and Man City are probably guaranteed to be there already following the first leg of their Last 16 round matches.
Does not control for the draw and previous all-English QFs in which case red bar would be even higher
It should be evident from the graphic that the dominant days of the Premier League clubs in the Champions League ran from around 2007 to 2009 and are marked clearly by more red than yellow. All four English clubs qualified for the last 16 in 2007, 2008 and 2009. All four progressed to the QF stage in 2008 and 2009.
The semi finals in 2007, 2008 and 2009 each had three English clubs, therefore an all-English semi-final and by extension an English club in the final. 2008 is probably the high point of dominance, and the only all Premier League Final to date, with Chelsea lining up against Manchester United.
Barren years did follow, and despite Chelsea's success in the competition in 2012, much of the red disappears in the second half of the graphic. In reality this represents the rise of the Spanish in the form of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. A low point was reached in 2013 when just two English clubs made the knockout stage with neither progressing to the QF. In fact, since Chelsea's win in 2012 only two Premier League clubs have reached the semi-finals (Chelsea 2014 and Man City 2016).
I believe that trend is about to change. Don't discount two or even three English clubs in the semi-finals (depending on the draw) and even the possibility of a repeat of 2008 - an all-English Final.
The semi finals in 2007, 2008 and 2009 each had three English clubs, therefore an all-English semi-final and by extension an English club in the final. 2008 is probably the high point of dominance, and the only all Premier League Final to date, with Chelsea lining up against Manchester United.
Barren years did follow, and despite Chelsea's success in the competition in 2012, much of the red disappears in the second half of the graphic. In reality this represents the rise of the Spanish in the form of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. A low point was reached in 2013 when just two English clubs made the knockout stage with neither progressing to the QF. In fact, since Chelsea's win in 2012 only two Premier League clubs have reached the semi-finals (Chelsea 2014 and Man City 2016).
I believe that trend is about to change. Don't discount two or even three English clubs in the semi-finals (depending on the draw) and even the possibility of a repeat of 2008 - an all-English Final.
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