{"id":1224855,"date":"2021-09-22T18:04:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T17:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1224855"},"modified":"2021-09-29T15:00:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T14:00:33","slug":"fallen-giants-european-football","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/fallen-giants-european-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Early &#8216;fallen giants&#8217; frontrunners for each of Europe&#8217;s top five leagues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src='\/\/asset.fwcdn2.com\/js\/storyblock.js'><\/script><br \/>\n    <fw-storyblock\n      channel=\"squawka\"\nplaylist=\"5L00K5\"\n      mode=\"pinned\"\n      autoplay=\"true\"\n    ><\/fw-storyblock><\/p>\n<p><b>The landscape is changing across Europe&#8217;s top five leagues this campaign.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Around Europe, footballing giants (by which we mean both on historical merit and based on recent successes) are falling off their perches. It&#8217;s business as usual in some leagues, but there is a script-defying feel to some of the continent&#8217;s top-flight tables. The general consensus is that these struggling heavyweights will pick up eventually, but for now the crisis klaxons are raising their decibel levels.<\/p>\n<p>So, who are these struggling giants trying to get to grips with the new campaign? Read on below.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Juventus<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Division:<\/strong> Serie A<br \/>\n<strong>Current standing:<\/strong> 18th<\/p>\n<p>Juventus ruled Serie A before the <em>Calciopoli<\/em> scandal, then after a brief sojourn in Serie B they went right back to ruling Serie A, with nine titles won in a row, including one &#8220;invincible&#8221; season. Juve were unstoppable. Until suddenly, Inter stopped them last season.<\/p>\n<p>The mishmash nature of their squad and the sheer number of mediocre players that the club continue to tolerate saw them finally drop the title last season, and then&#8230; they lost Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer. That move could have been liberating but it appears to have damned Juve, who are currently 18th and winless in Serie A this season, and looking like a side at sixes and sevens under what should have been the reassuring tactics of a familiar face in Max Allegri.<\/p>\n<p>One can&#8217;t see them winning Serie A this season or for the foreseeable future if they keep going as they are.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Juventus have dropped seven points from winning positions in the league this season, Burnley are the only side in Europe&#39;s top five divisions that have dropped more (8).<\/p>\n<p>They have two points from their first four games. ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fMCGR6foaG\">pic.twitter.com\/fMCGR6foaG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Squawka (@Squawka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka\/status\/1439691965470285825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Barcelona<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Division:<\/strong> La Liga<br \/>\n<strong>Current standing:<\/strong> 8th<\/p>\n<p>Barca are relatively new to the status of a fallen giant, in that since 2004 they have basically been one of the three biggest clubs in world football for one reason or another (first because of Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi, then Pep Guardiola and Messi, and then just Messi). They&#8217;ve won 10 out of 18 available league titles since then, but now Messi is gone, and they haven&#8217;t won La Liga in two years, and don&#8217;t look like winning it this year.<\/p>\n<p>Barca are in decent health, really. Their new president is slowly rebuilding the club&#8217;s finances; the squad has more absurd young talent than almost any other club around; and they are only really lacking a great coach and an elite goalscorer to be truly competitive again.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Barcelona have failed to register a single shot on target in a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UCL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UCL<\/a> game for the first time since 2003\/04.<\/p>\n<p>Uncharted territory. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bIOft2AewS\">pic.twitter.com\/bIOft2AewS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Squawka (@Squawka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka\/status\/1437906755879587845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Of course, the issue is that Barcelona have Ronald Koeman as coach and the goalscorers they signed this summer were the ghost of Sergio Aguero and Luuk de Jong. Moreover, they got battered 3-0 by Bayern Munich recently with the <em>Bavarians<\/em> rarely having to get out of first gear. So, look, it&#8217;s gonna be a lean year or two for the <em>Blaugrana<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>And the pressure appears to be getting to an under-fire Koeman, who refused to answer questions in his latest Barca press conference ahead of the club&#8217;s trip to Cadiz on Thursday night. He simply read out a brief statement, which urged for patience from the fans.<\/p>\n<h2>William Hill offer: Joshua to win 25\/1<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"\/en\/go\/william-hill?q=gb-all-con-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1224191 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"651\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win.jpg 651w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-110x169.jpg 110w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-100x154.jpg 100w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-42x65.jpg 42w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-80x123.jpg 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-180x277.jpg 180w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-156x240.jpg 156w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-390x600.jpg 390w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-240x369.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-650x999.jpg 650w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-85x131.jpg 85w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-13x20.jpg 13w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/16123444\/1224182_1224182_aj-usyk-win-330x507.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 651px) 100vw, 651px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><a href=\"\/en\/go\/william-hill?q=gb-all-con-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CLICK HERE<\/a>. 18+ only. New customers only. UK &amp; Ireland only. Play Safe. New customers using EPAJ25. Mobile only. Applies to bets placed from 17:00 on 9th September until 22:30 on 25th September 2021. Max \u00a31 bet at 25\/1. Returns paid as 5 x \u00a35 free bets (30 day expiry). Player &amp; currency restrictions &amp; terms apply. GambleAware.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Koeman said: &#8220;<span>We count on your support in these difficult times. <\/span><span data-reactid=\".kptd6dyy9a.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-8.0\">The club with me as a coach is in a situation of rebuilding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".kptd6dyy9a.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-9\"><span data-reactid=\".kptd6dyy9a.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-9.0\">&#8220;The financial situation of the club is connected to the sporting activities and vice-versa. This means we have to rebuild the team without being able to make any big financial investments. This needs time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".kptd6dyy9a.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10\"><span data-reactid=\".kptd6dyy9a.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.0\">&#8220;We must ask for patience.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\".kptd6dyy9a.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10\">Of course, as we know, patience is a commodity very rarely afforded to struggling coaches in an obsessively results-driven industry, so the pressure on Thursday night for Koeman is monumental.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Arsenal<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Division:<\/strong> Premier League<br \/>\n<strong>Current standing:<\/strong> 8th<\/p>\n<p>Granted Arsenal have been on a steep decline for some time now, perhaps best underlined by the fact they missed out on European football this season owing to an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League last term. They&#8217;re eighth as things stand, so it&#8217;s not so much a &#8216;giant&#8217; plummeting, as a &#8216;giant&#8217; plateauing.<\/p>\n<p>But, having spent more money in the summer than any club in the division (around \u00a3130m worth of talent), and given their general status as a traditional &#8216;Big Six&#8217; side, last season&#8217;s &#8216;blip&#8217; felt like it was going to be just that: a &#8216;blip&#8217;. However, they are now in dangerous territory of turning an anomaly into normality if they don&#8217;t pick up soon.<\/p>\n<p>It would be almost unthinkable for Arsenal to miss out on European football for consecutive seasons, a predicament bordering on the impossible only three years ago when Arsene Wenger was still at the helm, but a sluggish start in terms of points, coupled with some very abject, almost pedestrian displays, has just made that nightmarish possibility move closer to reality, unless Arteta can turn the tide.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">For the fourth time in their history, Arsenal have failed to win each of their first three games to start a top-flight league season:<\/p>\n<p>\u25c9 1921\/22<br \/>\u25c9 1923\/24<br \/>\u25c9 1954\/55<br \/>\u25c9 2021\/22<\/p>\n<p>Ouch. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kTNaiVd5CY\">pic.twitter.com\/kTNaiVd5CY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Squawka (@Squawka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka\/status\/1431608208389443591?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>RB Leipzig<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Division:<\/strong> Bundesliga<br \/>\n<strong>Current standing:<\/strong> 12th<\/p>\n<p>This is a relative bit of felled gigantism, as there is only one giant in German football and they&#8217;re not going to fall anytime soon. But Leipzig have the financial clout to emerge as rivals to Bayern&#8217;s shadow, and for a while it looked like they may do just that &#8212; but they never quite managed to actually win the title.<\/p>\n<p>Then this past summer Bayern Munich signed their manager (Julian Nagelsmann), their best defender (Dayot Upamecano) and their captain (Marcel Sabitzer), cutting them off at the knees just as Bayern have done to every other opponent who rises to challenge their Bundesliga supremacy. The result? Leipzig are 12th in the league with just one win to their name. They&#8217;ve already lost three times and in truth it&#8217;s hard to see them mounting a credible challenge this season, so thoroughly have Bayern salted their earth.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1224925\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-110x73.jpg 110w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-66x44.jpg 66w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-361x240.jpg 361w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-902x600.jpg 902w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-85x57.jpg 85w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-30x20.jpg 30w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2021\/09\/20185638\/1224855_1224855_yussuf-poulsen-rb-leipzig-cologne-2021-330x219.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Lille<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Division:<\/strong> Ligue 1<br \/>\n<strong>Last league title:<\/strong> 15th<\/p>\n<p>When Lille famously won the Ligue 1 title in 2011 the core of their group stayed on at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Rudi Garcia remained at the helm, Eden Hazard stuck around for another season before moving to Chelsea, while fresh talent was added in Dimitri Payet and Lucas Digne. The result: a respectable third-placed finish the following campaign.<\/p>\n<p>This time around? Lille&#8217;s squad has been completely pillaged and ransacked by Europe&#8217;s covetous elite. Mike Maignan has joined Milan to succeed Gianluigi Donnarumma, Leicester picked up midfield fulcrum Boubakary Soumare, and even the manager called it a day, with Christophe Galtier joining Nice.<\/p>\n<p>With the revolving door in full motion, that instability both in the dugout and on the pitch has culminated in a tumultuous start for <em>Les Dogues<\/em>, with now-manager Jocelyn Gourvennec overseeing just one win to leave the French champions languishing precariously outside the relegation zone by a single point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The landscape is changing across Europe&#8217;s top five leagues this campaign. Around Europe, footballing giants (by which we mean both on historical merit and based on recent successes) are falling off their perches. It&#8217;s business as usual in some leagues, but there is a script-defying feel to some of the continent&#8217;s top-flight tables. The general&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":1224921,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Early 'fallen giants' frontrunners for each of Europe's top five leagues","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The landscape is changing across Europe's top five leagues this campaign, with some elite clubs struggling to get to grips with 2021\/22.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1224855","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Early &#039;fallen giants&#039; frontrunners for each of Europe&#039;s top five leagues<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The landscape is changing across Europe&#039;s top five leagues this campaign, with some elite clubs struggling to get to grips with 2021\/22.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/fallen-giants-european-football\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Early &#039;fallen giants&#039; 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