Which Team Has Gone Furthest In Europe While Being Relegated In The Same Season? | The Knowledge

6 days ago

“What’s nan furthest a squad has gone successful Europe while being relegated successful nan aforesaid season?” wonders Matt Reilly.

This mobility was astir apt asked successful reference to Tottenham, who were still successful nan Champions League astatine nan time, but it’s still applicable to immoderate of this year’s quarter-finalists. Nottingham Forest are 3 points supra nan relegation places successful nan Premier League; Fiorentina only person a five-point cushion successful Serie A.

Celta Vigo, who beryllium sixth successful La Liga and will play Freiburg successful nan Europa League quarter-final, are surely safe. But that hasn’t ever been nan case. “Celta Vigo went from 4th successful La Liga successful 2002-03 to 19th nan adjacent year, crashing consecutive backmost down to earth,” writes Ciaran Hannigan. “But successful nan Champions League they hit Slavia Prague, came 2nd successful a group pinch Milan, Club Brugge and Ajax, earlier being put distant by Arsenal successful nan information of 16.”

Perugia reached nan past 16 of nan Uefa Cup successful nan aforesaid play earlier going retired to PSV Eindhoven. European occurrence was not replicated successful Serie A: they grounded to triumph immoderate of their first 22 games and were yet relegated via a playoff. Two years later, Juventus – who had reached nan quarter-finals of nan Champions League – were demoted because of their portion successful nan Calciopoli scandal. (Marseille were relegated successful 1993-94, but were banned from playing successful Europe that season.)

The different squad to beryllium relegated successful nan aforesaid play they played successful nan newfangled Champions League are Villarreal in 2011-12. The Spanish broadside took zero points from a group pinch Manchester City, Napoli and Bayern Munich; successful La Liga, a tie pinch Atlético connected nan last time would person kept them up, but Radamel Falcao’s precocious victor sealed their fate. Thanks to Pete Tomlin for that and respective different examples.

Edin Dzeko celebrates an ain extremity from Carlos Marchena successful Villarreal’s Champions League conclusion astatine nan Etihad successful 2011.

In modern times location person astir apt been much astonishment relegations successful La Liga than immoderate of nan different large 5 leagues. As Tom Reed points out, respective Spanish sides person gone down aft playing successful nan Uefa Cup aliases Europa League nan aforesaid season.

Real Zaragoza 2001-02, first round; 2007-08, first round
Alaves 2002-03, 2nd round
Celta Vigo 2006-07, past 16
Real Zaragoza 2007-08, first round
Real Betis 2013-14, past 16
Espanyol 2019-20, past 32

The Best League successful nan World™ has besides demonstrated its competitiveness via nan mean of melodramatic freefall, pinch 3 examples (okay, 2 and a 4th arsenic nan Intertoto Cup doesn’t really count) astatine nan move of nan century.

Blackburn Rovers 1998-99, Uefa Cup first round
Bradford City 2000-01, Intertoto semi-final
Ipswich Town 2001-02, Uefa Cup 3rd round

Most of these relegated teams were eliminated beautiful early successful Europe. But arsenic Dirk Maas points out, successful nan first property of European shot earlier 1992, a full big of quarter-finalists went down successful nan aforesaid season.

Ruda Hvezda Brno 1960-61, Cup Winners’ Cup
Dynamo Zilina 1961-62, Cup Winners’ Cup
Espanyol 1961-62. Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Napoli 1962-63, Cup Winners’ Cup
Bayern Munich 1962-63, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
1. FC Magdeburg 1965-66, Cup Winners’ Cup
Lyn 1968-69, Cup Winners’ Cup
Beroe Stara Zagora 1973-74, Cup Winners’ Cup
Real Betis 1977-78, Cup Winners’ Cup
Bologna 1990-91, Uefa Cup

Like Juventus successful 2005-06, Bayern’s relegation successful 1962-63 was not based connected their convention capacity that season. “Despite finishing 3rd successful nan Oberliga Süd,” writes Dirk, “Bayern were relegated owed to a debased position connected nan 12-year ranking that was utilized to find which teams would suffice for nan inaugural Bundesliga season.”

Unbeaten and eliminated

“Viktoria Plzen sewage knocked retired of nan Europa League contempt not losing a crippled successful nan tournament,” reports Dean Whearty. “Has this happened earlier successful European competition?”

This peculiar shape of shot injustice has happened dozens of times some earlier and aft nan preamble of a group stage. In 1970-71, for example, nan European Cup holders, Feyenoord, went retired connected distant goals successful nan first round: they drew 1-1 astatine location to UTA Arad and 0-0 successful Romania.

Huge acknowledgment to Knowledge regulars Kalen Kasraie and Dirk Maas for doing nan dense lifting connected this. We’ve concentrated connected unbeaten teams who played nan astir games earlier being eliminated.

Ten games is nan grounds for an eliminated unbeaten squad successful nan Champions League, shared by Rangers successful 1992-93 and nan holders Manchester City successful 2023-24, but spare a thought for Espanyol. They went 15 games without conclusion successful nan 2006-07 Uefa Cup – and still didn’t triumph it.

First information Artmedia Bratislavia (2-2 away, 3-1 home)
Group shape Sparta Prague (2-0 away), Zulte Waregem (6-2 home), Ajax (2-0 away), Austria Wien (1-0 home)
Last 32 Livorno (2-1 away, 2-0 home)
Last 16 Maccabi Haifa (0-0 away, 4-0 home)
Quarter-final Benfica (3-2 home, 0-0 away)
Semi-final Werder Bremen (3-0 home, 2-1 away)
Final Sevilla 2-2 (1-3 pens)

Espanyol’s Luis Garcia (R) has his punishment saved by Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop.

In nan last astatine Hampden Park, Espanyol missed 3 of their 4 penalties against Sevilla. Their play had a happy ending of sorts, mind you, erstwhile they stopped their rivals Barcelona winning nan title.

A not dissimilar misery descended upon Benfica successful nan Europa League successful 2013-14. They were unbeaten passim nan title but mislaid connected penalties successful nan last to, yep, Sevilla. Benfica played only 9 games to Espanyol’s 15, though, and were parachuted into nan Europa League aft finishing 3rd successful their Champions League group. Espanyol, Juventus (Fairs Cup, 1970-71) and Arsenal (Cup Winners’ Cup, 1979-80) are nan only genuinely unbeaten losing finalists successful nan men’s game.

The longest futile unbeaten tally we could find successful nan women’s crippled was 9 games by Montpellier successful nan 2009-10 Champions League. After an fantabulous 0-0 tie distant to nan Swedish broadside Umeå IK – WCL royalty successful nan first decade of nan title – Montpellier seemed to beryllium cruising into nan semi-finals erstwhile they led 2-0 successful France pinch 5 minutes remaining. Emma Åberg Zingmark and Sofia Jakobsson had different ideas.

Let’s decorativeness pinch a database of teams who were unbeaten successful Europe astatine nan clip they were eliminated. (In different words, sides who were defeated successful nan Champions League and past went retired of nan Europa League without losing successful that competition are not included.) We’ve listed them successful ascending bid of games played, pinch Espanyol clear astatine nan top.

8

Feyenoord Cup Winners’ Cup 1991-92 (W2 D6)
Lost connected distant goals to Monaco successful nan semi-final.

AEK Athens Champions League 2002-03 (W2 D6)
Eliminated astatine nan group shape aft six draws. Were beaten later that play successful nan Europa League.

AC Milan Uefa Cup 2008-09 (W4 D4)
Lost connected distant goals to Werder Bremen successful nan past 32.

Valencia Uefa Cup 2008-09 (W3 D5)
Lost connected distant goals to Dynamo Kyiv successful nan past 32.

Chelsea Champions League 2014-15 W4 D4)
Lost connected distant goals to PSG successful nan past 16.

9

Montpellier Women’s Champions League 2009-10 (W5 D4)
Lost connected distant goals to Umeå IK successful nan quarter-final.

Arsenal Cup Winners’ Cup 1979-80 (W5 D4)
Lost connected penalties to Valencia successful nan final.

10

RWD Molenbeek Uefa Cup 1976-77 (W4 D6)
Lost connected distant goals to Athletic Bilbao successful nan semi-final.

Rangers Champions League 1992-93 (W6 D4)
Finished 2nd down Marseille successful their group.

Manchester City Champions League 2023-24 (W8 D2)
Lost connected penalties to Real Madrid successful nan quarter-finals.

12

Juventus Inter-Cities Fairs’ Cup 1970-71 (W8 D4)
Lost connected distant goals to Leeds successful nan final.

15

Espanyol Uefa Cup 2006-07 (W11 D4)
Lost connected penalties to Sevilla successful nan final.

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“Saturday’s one-sided FA Cup necktie betwixt Chelsea and Port Vale was nan first competitory fixture betwixt nan teams successful 97 years. Is this a record?” asks John Benstead.

We had this mobility successful 2019, erstwhile Newport and Manchester City met for nan first clip successful 56 years. Here’s what we said backmost then.

Port Vale's Ben Garrity looks dejected aft Chelsea's Tosin Adarabioyo scores their 4th goal

double quotation mark“Even if you doubled Newport v City it wouldn’t hit nan spread betwixt fixtures for Chorley and Stockport County,” declared Gary Fairclough. “Before Stockport’s 3-0 convention conclusion to Chorley successful November 2014 nan 2 sides had not played each different competitively for 114 years. Their past gathering was successful 1900; Britain was successful turmoil complete nan 2nd Boer War and crossed Europe caller shot teams were taking their first steps successful nan crippled pinch unusual names for illustration Ajax, Lazio and Bayern Munich. They astir apt ne'er amounted to much.”

But that tin beryllium topped. Here’s Michael Knaggs: “My champion conjecture is connected 24 August 2016, Accrington hit Burnley 1-0 successful nan EFL Cup. It was their first competitory gathering since 1893, 123 years prior, erstwhile Victoria had 8 years to spell arsenic Queen of nan empire, Dvorak’s New World Symphony premièred and Arthur Conan Doyle revealed that Sherlock Homes had died. If anyone tin hit that, I extremity my chapeau to them.”

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Can you help?

“Marc Guéhi has now played against Liverpool 5 times this play and won each crippled (including a shootout successful nan Community Shield),” notes Tim Spargo. “What are nan records for astir appearances and astir wins against a azygous nine successful 1 season?”

“Which nine has nan highest ratio of Champions League aliases European Cup titles compared to convention titles?” asks David Sauter. “And which teams person won a awesome European trophy without ever winning their home league?”

“At 1 constituent successful their caller friends against Zambia, Argentina fielded 5 left-footed players,” notes Tim Dockery. “This sewage maine wondering (i) which squad has had nan astir lefties connected nan section astatine nan aforesaid clip and (ii) considering some teams, which crippled featured nan astir lefties connected nan section astatine nan aforesaid time?”

“Lisa Forrest scored doubly for Glasgow City against Rangers successful nan Women’s League Cup final, joining her brothers Alan and James successful scoring against nan Gers. Are location immoderate different footballing families who person a favourite squad to torment?” asks John Law.