From Bodo To Brentford - Ranking This Season's Biggest Overachievers

ByAlex Bysouth

BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Bodo/Glimt must beryllium nan astir romanticist communicative successful European shot successful decades.

If they scope nan Champions League quarter-finals this week it would beryllium a fairytale up location pinch Jose Mourinho's Porto winning it successful 2004. Just this 1 is forged successful crystal alternatively than hot-blooded knee slides...

You'll apt cognize them by now, tucked distant successful nan Arctic fjords, wherever nan winds expanse down disconnected snow-capped mountains and fans deterioration jumpers arsenic woolly arsenic their scarves. They are section heroes successful superb yellowish who person risen from nan brink of bankruptcy to balling for illustration a frost-kissed Brazil.

The worth of Bodo's mostly section squad whitethorn beryllium little than Manchester City paid for Erling Haaland, yet nan Norwegians count nan 10-time English champions among a reel of caller scalps that besides includes Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Sporting.

But Bodo's toothbrush-waving "fish hippies" are not nan only fans enjoying underdog stories this season, crossed Europe clubs are battling supra their board.

So let's person look astatine nan continent's biggest overachievers - person your say, show america who we've missed and rank nan apical 10 below.

Now what makes a bully underdog story? We're looking for those who person achieved beyond their means, ruffled nan feathers of nan competition's elite. Disruptors, innovators, those offering thing different.

Como 1907 whitethorn good boast nan richest owners successful Italian shot - where's nan romance successful that, you inquire - but they are hardly steeped successful Serie A heritage.

Whether done investment, savvy recruitment aliases nan expertise to build a marque disconnected their iconic lakeside location, they person risen from nan 4th tier little than a decade agone to contending for a Champions League spot.

I Biancoblu are besides playing arguably nan sexiest shot successful Italy this season, possibly unsurprisingly fixed their caput coach is Cesc Fabregas, precocious dubbed a "phenomenon" by erstwhile Serie A midfielder Massimo Orlando.

A triumph against Roma connected Sunday keeps Fabregas' boys fourth, supra Juventus.

From Lombardy to Galicia, nan aforesaid principles use erstwhile it comes to employing an charismatic approach, pinch Celta Vigo's advancement revolving astir putting their spot successful youth. Only Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Barcelona person fixed much minutes to club-trained prospects successful La Liga this term.

Yet boyhood Celta instrumentality Claudio Giraldez's broadside - presently sixth - are connected people for nan club's champion decorativeness successful a decade, and person reached nan Europa League knockouts for nan first clip since a semi-final conclusion by Manchester United successful 2017.

Gaze crossed nan continent and you'll find different over-performers successful France, Germany and Switzerland - Lens, grappling for a first title since 1998, person spent a ample chunk of nan play connected apical of Ligue 1, though missed nan chance to retake nan lead from Paris St-Germain successful a astonishment conclusion astatine Lorient connected Saturday.

Hoffenheim, who person not enjoyed a top-five decorativeness since 2018, are having a stellar play successful nan Bundesliga and beryllium 3rd down Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen.

At this rate, only a 2nd Champions League quality beckons for a nine who successful nan past 2 decades person risen from Germany's location leagues to go an established top-flight outfit nether nan stewardship of billionaire businessman Dietmar Hopp.

Just complete a three-hour thrust south, skirting nan Rhine until you deed nan Swiss border, heading into an Alpine gateway towards nan turquoise waters of Lake Thun, footballing folklore is being scribed.

FC Thun haven't won a trophy successful nan club's 128-year history - moreover though they did scope nan Champions League group stages successful 2005, losing doubly against Arsenal - and were only promoted past summer, but are taking nan Super League by storm.

Literally connected Saturday, it turned out, arsenic their 10,000-capacity Stockhorn Arena was deed by a blizzard hours earlier they put 5 goals past Grasshoppers, nan broadside to person won nan astir titles, to move 17 points clear astatine nan summit.

Levski Sofia, meanwhile, do person a rich | history of silverware, pinch only metropolis rivals CSKA winning much than their 26 Bulgarian titles - it's conscionable that nan past 1 came almost 2 decades ago.

That tin beryllium mostly attributed to nan emergence of Ludogorets, nan most-dominant nine successful Europe, who person won 14 connected nan trot since earning promotion to nan apical formation nether billionaire proprietor Kiril Domuschiev.

As Bulgarian journalist Teodor Borisov said: "If you person a kid who was calved successful 2012, they person ne'er seen thing successful their life extracurricular of Ludogorets being champions!"

The Razgrad broadside only request 1 much title for a world record, but aft 26 games it is Levski who are 9 points clear of nan perennial winners and connected people to wreck that streak. Teenagers successful nan bluish half of Sofia mightiness yet spot a caller sanction etched connected nan trophy.

Can we see an full section here? Well, we're going to, because Poland's top-flight Ekstraklasa is some sublime and ridiculous this play - chaotic, competitory and overachieving successful compelling narratives.

With 9 games remaining, conscionable 19 points abstracted apical and bottom-placed 18th, meaning theoretically anyone could still triumph nan title aliases spell down.

Legia Warsaw, Poland's most-successful club, are connected a six-game unbeaten tally but find themselves successful nan relegation area alongside Widzew Lodz, who past summertime spent 20 times much connected transfers than existent leaders Zaglebie Lubin.

Zaglebie, who person doubly been down to nan 2nd tier and backmost since past clinching nan title, lead connected extremity quality from Lech Poznan, who hit them connected Sunday, but Jagiellonia Bialystok - who hit Fiorentina successful nan Conference League past week - tin jump to nan aforesaid points by winning their crippled successful hand.

Just different 8 teams are wrong 5 points of a European adventure…

The headline-grabber from a uncommon caller question and reply pinch Brentford proprietor Matthew Benham was, speech from talking up Everton striker Beto, that nan Bees missed opportunities to motion Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, Omar Marmoush and Mykhailo Mudryk.

Those attackers each leaped retired connected Benham and Brentford's data-led scouting models, which besides helped them observe Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa, who were cashed successful connected past summertime for much than £100m profit.

The beauty of nan attack is Brentford already had a ready-made goalscoring replacement successful Igor Thiago.

Likewise, erstwhile long-serving leader Thomas Frank near for Tottenham nan nine promoted from wrong - nan Bees' algorithm doesn't exclusively service up managers pinch awesome hairsbreadth but those who tin seamlessly slot in.

Keith Andrews has done that and past some, guiding nan westbound London outfit to seventh spot connected nan Premier League's lowest costs fund and making himself an early contender for head of nan season.

North of nan border, different gyration pinch its roots successful betting analytics is successful progress.

Hearts person benefited from nan power of Tony Bloom, whose usage of Jamestown Analytics helped found Brighton arsenic a Premier League broadside and took Union Saint-Gilloise from nan 2nd tier to Belgian champions.

Bloom said erstwhile he invested successful Hearts he wanted to "disrupt" nan Old Firm power and saw nan Edinburgh nine winning nan title wrong a decade.

Derek McInnes' broadside stuttered astatine nan play but dream to present connected that committedness a batch earlier than planned to return nan Premiership crown distant from Glasgow for nan first clip since 1985. The Jambos past won it themselves successful 1960.

All they really request is Claudio Braga…

And truthful backmost to Bodo. It shouldn't beryllium imaginable successful today's ambiance for a squad from nan Arctic pinch an 8,000-capacity, artificially turfed stadium to beryllium muscling successful connected Europe's elite, ne'er mind 1 who little than a decade agone were successful Norway's 2nd tier.

But if Kjetil Knutsen's squad tin clasp connected to their 3-0 first-leg lead against Portuguese giants Sporting connected Tuesday, they will proudly guidelines among nan continent's apical 8 having not moreover started their ain convention play yet. A occurrence sketched successful nan Northern Lights.

We‘ve ordered our apical 10 overachievers beneath - you tin rank yours, too.