 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 31 August 2012 08:43 |
UEFA rankings: Portugal continue to climb coefficients tableExcellent European results maintain upward trend  Liga ZON Sagres clubs are showing no let-up in their rise up the UEFA rankings table. Having secured fifth place at the end of the last season, Portugal now has its sight set on leapfrogging Italy into fourth spot in the rankings.
The eight matches played by Marítimo, Braga and Sporting in the qualifying and playoff stages of the Champions League and Europa League resulted in five draws and three victories, and saw all three clubs achieve their goal of reaching the group stage of their respective competition. As well as more entertainment, more sports betting, what does this mean for Portuguese football?
While Portugal does not have the financial clout to compete for or retain the best players in Europe, clubs continue to punch above their weight thanks to good scouting and an eye for a bargain, allied to excellent coaching and a smattering of local talent.
Portugal now has its sights set on overhauling Italy as the fourth strongest league in Europe, according to the coefficients; an unthinkable notion in years past.
To see the updated rankings table click here.
|
Serie A now only having 3 CL spots will cause clubs to concentrate further in league play to get into the CL money and prestige. Yes, young stars like Portuguese clubs because they get to show themselves at a high level of play.
In France, although PSG is spending the rest of the clubs have become sellers. They, could take a hit as well.
I just hope that our clubs do well, and that means advance past the group stages. After that it's luck of the draw.
While Italy still has the same number of teams in Europe at the moment, so far this year they have collected less points due to Udinese not making it to the CL group stage and going to the EL group stage. Another example is Benfica brought in 23.3666 points for Portugal for their run to the Q-finals of the CL and Sporting got 22.3666 for the semi's of the EL (also the EL has an extra round after the group stage). So there is a bit of a difference in the competitions.
However if our teams come 3rd in the group and to the semi's of the EL, that's better then getting knocked out in the first round of the CL from a point perspective.
Overall we're looking good to surpass Serie A this year which would be amazing for the profile of our liga. The great thing is that Benfica and Porto do have a good amount of depth to continue to be competitive. Braga continues to get a bit stronger each year, and eventually all these young signings for Sporting should make them stronger. There greatest thing would be getting that 4th spot and being able to keep it. The long you hold it the more money the liga will see which will make it even stronger.
One of the reasons our country coefficient is so good is because our clubs have done so well in the Europa League in recent years.
So even if FCP, SLB & Braga all come 3rd in the CL this season, they can still pick up more points in the Europa and give us a good points score this season. They would be more likely to go deep in that competition than the Champions League of course so all would not be lost from that point of view, although from a prestige perspective we would of course rather see our teams progress out of the CL group stages.
Italian sides have been garbage in the Europa League in recent years, and therefore there ranking is taking a big hit. CL points alone will not keep your ranking high. Italians are paying the price for not taking the Europa League seriously enough.