So many people talk about which league is the most overrated, whether it be the Serie A or the EPL or whatever league of your choice, and people usually have their own opinions about the subject and you'll never be able to change their mind. But so little talk is devoted to the most underated leagues of this world, for obvious reasons.
The Bundesliga has always struck me as one of those underated "close but no cigar" leagues because of the dominance of Bayern Munich and the usual lack of decent contenders for the title. But looking at the Bundesliga as a whole in terms of factors not involving play on the pitch...the Germans have the greatest average attendances out of all the top leagues in Europe. Even a club such as Borussia Dortmund who have been struggling over the years with massive debts and terrible performances still have very high attendance averages at the Westfalenstadion. Something also has to be said about the drama on German football pitches...not sure about league booking averages however whenever I watch the Bundesliga there is some scuffle between players or a dismissel that livens up the matches. People also say the brand of German football is lacking somewhat, and while that is up to personal opinion I believe the football is just as enterntaining as the English most of the time.
I'm not sure if you could label the Eridiviste an underated league, however looking at the performances of teams such as Ajax and PSV in the past one could make a case otherwise. If you are talking about brands of football the Netherlands certainly has something to be proud of...personally I have only really watched the league for two seasons due to TV constraints, however while I was fortunate enough to watch it I found the matches to be very exciting...and it just boggles my mind why some people take exception to Clockwork football.
Ligue 1 is probably slightly underated as well, however with Lyon completely dominating for the past half decade I'm not so sure about the depth of the league despite Monaco reaching the Champions League Final in 2004. Personally I think it falls in line next to the Bundesliga despite Guy Roux's perposterous comments about how French clubs would dominate those of the Serie A or whatever.
Then one must look across the pond to where the brightest stars of the world's game originate...South America. I never see much respect given to the Brazilian or Argentinian LEAGUES, and while it's obvious these two institutions lose quality when the stars move to Europe they still have loads of talent. I would personally like to see the best of the two match up against the better Ligue 1 or German clubs in some sort of league competition.
I might even go on a limb and say the Belgian League could perhaps be underated with the success of Anderlecht in the Champions League (number seven all-time in points, even above Liverpool). There is also Portugal with Porto and Benfica's success, so perhaps they could play in an underated league that also features Boavista and Sporting Lisbon*.
Ukraine and Mother Russia? Shakhtar Donetsk is an awesome club in my opinion and with CSKA winning the UEFA Cup last year, as well as Spartek and Dinamo making rather big purchases in recent years, the Russian League is obviously improving by the match.
So what leagues are underated in your opinion and deserve more respect?
The Bundesliga has always struck me as one of those underated "close but no cigar" leagues because of the dominance of Bayern Munich and the usual lack of decent contenders for the title. But looking at the Bundesliga as a whole in terms of factors not involving play on the pitch...the Germans have the greatest average attendances out of all the top leagues in Europe. Even a club such as Borussia Dortmund who have been struggling over the years with massive debts and terrible performances still have very high attendance averages at the Westfalenstadion. Something also has to be said about the drama on German football pitches...not sure about league booking averages however whenever I watch the Bundesliga there is some scuffle between players or a dismissel that livens up the matches. People also say the brand of German football is lacking somewhat, and while that is up to personal opinion I believe the football is just as enterntaining as the English most of the time.
I'm not sure if you could label the Eridiviste an underated league, however looking at the performances of teams such as Ajax and PSV in the past one could make a case otherwise. If you are talking about brands of football the Netherlands certainly has something to be proud of...personally I have only really watched the league for two seasons due to TV constraints, however while I was fortunate enough to watch it I found the matches to be very exciting...and it just boggles my mind why some people take exception to Clockwork football.
Ligue 1 is probably slightly underated as well, however with Lyon completely dominating for the past half decade I'm not so sure about the depth of the league despite Monaco reaching the Champions League Final in 2004. Personally I think it falls in line next to the Bundesliga despite Guy Roux's perposterous comments about how French clubs would dominate those of the Serie A or whatever.
Then one must look across the pond to where the brightest stars of the world's game originate...South America. I never see much respect given to the Brazilian or Argentinian LEAGUES, and while it's obvious these two institutions lose quality when the stars move to Europe they still have loads of talent. I would personally like to see the best of the two match up against the better Ligue 1 or German clubs in some sort of league competition.
I might even go on a limb and say the Belgian League could perhaps be underated with the success of Anderlecht in the Champions League (number seven all-time in points, even above Liverpool). There is also Portugal with Porto and Benfica's success, so perhaps they could play in an underated league that also features Boavista and Sporting Lisbon*.
Ukraine and Mother Russia? Shakhtar Donetsk is an awesome club in my opinion and with CSKA winning the UEFA Cup last year, as well as Spartek and Dinamo making rather big purchases in recent years, the Russian League is obviously improving by the match.
So what leagues are underated in your opinion and deserve more respect?
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