Shane Kersh on the Dominance of English Teams in Europe

Source: Flickr | El Ronzo

Shane Kersh is a football expert and someone who we were fortunate enough to speak to just last week. During our chat we spoke at length about the fact that both European finals this year would be all-English affairs, and would this signal a period of English dominance in Europe, something which we haven’t seen since the 80s. Shane has contributed to a great many newspapers and magazines over the years and he was certainly happy to discuss this subject with us. We wanted to surmise what Shane had to say on the subject, have a read and let us know what you think.

Why?

We asked Shane why he believed that 4 English teams had made the finals his year and his response was pretty simple, the toughness of the league. Pep Guardiola has stated that the English Premier League is the hardest competition he has ever played in and Shane reeled off the list of other leagues in Europe to indicate how much more difficult the EPL is. In Germany 2 teams battle it out, in France there is just 1, 2 at most, in Spain it comes down to 3, but generally just 2 and in Italy there is just one team in Juventus who win almost every year. Shane believes that the reason why English teams are doing so well is because of the toughness of their domestic league.

One Off?

When speaking Shane refused to believe that this would be a one-off, although he did concede that 4 teams from one country may not happen again for a while. The presence of English teams in the finals of European football however is going to happen again and again, especially when looking at the abilities of clubs like Man City and Liverpool, when pitted against the likes of Madrid, Juve, PSG and Bayern Munich. Two of the aforementioned clubs in Bayern and Real also need to go through a complete overhaul which Shane says may or may not prove to be successful.

Long Period Of Dominance?

Something which Shane did stress was that given the money in the game these days and the power which owners have, the days of a single nation or single team being dominant in Europe are long gone and that what Real Madrid did in winning 3 back-to-back Champions Leagues will likely never be seen again. England for Shane however appear to have the best chance of having at least 4, perhaps 5 teams in the latter stages of the Champions League for some years to come and that it will be the English teams leading the way for at least the next decade, they will be the clubs to beat.

And so an unlikely nation in England having all four teams in the finals of the European Cups, how do you feel about it, do you think this will start a period of English dominance or do you lean towards what Shane is saying? Let us know in the comments below.