Football Dominators, 2025/26
An update for my analysis of the "dominant" teams in European football was long overdue (any suggestions I was holding out for my team to get a streak going are purely speculation).
So here's the Top 5 European Leagues all on one page, which is a bit overwhelming, or each league on its own page:
England · Spain · Germany · Italy · France
Netherlands · Turkey ·
How It Works, A Reminder
So, these charts are from an analysis of league finishes.
A "dominant period" is one where:
- A team finished consistently in the top two.
- For at least two years.
- The run must include at least one win.
Those are the rules, and although I have consider tweaking them, I think the harsh simplicity makes the runs more valuable. Also the code is simpler.
So, sorry AS Roma (2005-2007), those three second places on the bounce don't count as a run because you didn't actually win it in a contiguous period (I'm going to guess you still bare a grudge against Internazionale).
And sorry Newcastle United FC (1904-1908), your three wins (1904, 1906 and 1908) in five years were punctuated with two fourth place finishes, so no "dominance" was achieved.
And finally, tough on Liverpool FC for letting Aston Villa and Ipswich get past them in the 1980/81 season, which splits their run into two, from 1972-1980 and 1981-1991.
The Big Five Leagues
In England, Arsenal's win makes their streak of 4 finishes in the gold/silver position count (if slightly flatteringly), and with Pep's tenure ending we can see that his total of six wins in seven years is the sixth longest stretch in England's top flight.
In Spain the duopoly abides - can Atlético Madrid get back in amongst them?
Bayer Leverkusen were unable to extend their run post-Alonso and Bayern have the Bundesliga in their strangle-hold once again.
In Italy, a new Coke/Pepsi combo of Internazionale and Napoli has emerged, although Conte's departure from the latter may make the run short-lived.
PSG's 15 year streak at the top in France is the longest ever in the "Euro 5", besting Real Madrid's 13 year reign from 1956-1969. They haven't let anyone near the top spot since Monaco's win ten years ago, and no recent consecutive runner-ups doesn't bode well.
Elsewhere in Europe
In Portugal, Benfica's run has ended and Sporting have 3 wins in 2 years.
Similarly, Dynamo Kyiv's run in Ukraine ends as Shakhtar Donetsk and LNZ Cherkasy (a new one on me too) take the top two spots. Will either be able to start a run?
AEK Athens and Olympiacos are the two teams in a run in Greece. If AEK can keep in the top two next year, then their run will be fourth longest in the Greece top flight, just behind Olympiacos from 1978-1984.
PSV are up to their sixth year of one/two finishes in the Netherlands.
In Turkey, Fenerbahçe have been held to second for the fifth consecutive year, without a contiguous win, leaving Galatasaray with a four-wins-from-four streak.
Hearts might have been dramatically pipped to the league by Celtic in Scotland, but they did end Rangers run of seven years (with only one win in that time).
Due to the war in Ukraine, I have removed Russia's statistics from this analysis.