Accustomed to winning in the league and playing in Europe, there are many famous clubs that this year are in the low areas of the ranking. Risking more than just a crooked vintage …
May is approaching and the last verdicts are starting to arrive. There are those who have already won the championship, and those who have had to deal with an early relegation decreed by arithmetic. But there are also those who, in these last days, struggle to remain in the top flight, floating in an area that does not belong to them due to history and tradition. Between nightmare and apprehension, several clubs once “noble” and used to other placings, are trying frantically to get back on their feet, trying to make up for the bankruptcy season they are experiencing in extremis.
TURKEY – Among the most sensational cases, there is undoubtedly that of Fenerbahçe. A habit to see him win at home, a habit of seeing him permanently in Europe. But this year, thanks to a not simple corporate situation and a staff that is beginning to show the signs of the times, Fenerbahçe is living its worst season ever, more disastrous than the 1980-81 when it closed tenth. To date it is even just above the relegation zone. And not by much, given the only 5 points that separate him from the third last Erzurumspor.
GERMANY – Less thunderous than the collapse of the Yellow Canaries (but still surprising), is the slow decline of Schalke 04, which from the Champions played until November (with little success), today sees the ghost of relegation playout after a very poor season in terms of realization (only 32 goals). Among the few goals and the poor performance of the new signings, Schalke risks big. But the umpteenth disastrous season of Stuttgart (which deserves an honorable mention, given the Meisterschale won in 2007) holds out a hand right at Schalke, which remains at +6 with four days still to play.
FRANCE – Among the most talked about situations there is undoubtedly that of Monaco. Party with Jardim, ferried by Henry and returned with Jardim in a tremendously troubled season. The second place in the last Ligue 1 bode well, despite the (heavy) transfers of Mbappé, Lemar and Fabinho, which turned out to be real boulders on the team’s ambitions and potential. Today the ranking goes like this: Monaco +4 on Dijon (third last) 5 games from the end. In short, not the best of scenarios
SPAIN – In Iberian territory, the fight for non-relegation is among the most exciting in Europe, with four races still to be played and 5 teams enclosed in 3 points. Among these, Villarreal stands out, in the Europa League quarter-finals up until a few weeks ago and coming from far from disappointing placings. Yet, to date, the Girona is only 5 points. And in a league with such a surprisingly fluctuating performance it could be a margin that is too small to breathe a sigh of relief …
THE OTHER CASES IN EUROPE – In addition to the great championships, there are many other “decadent” nobles who are going through a very different moment from the glories of the past, in which a simple crooked year risks coinciding with the worst possible epilogues. Like the one the Grasshopper of Zurich is destined for, the most successful Swiss club in history, today last in the Super League and condemned to a relegation that had been missing for 70 years. Of little better is the situation of Dinamo Moscow, once a great force of Soviet football, today one step away from the relegation playout, a single point away (and with one more game). Virtually except is instead the Rapid Vienna, which despite registering a second and third place in the last two years, today still languishes in the Austrian “relegation crane”, which for a club like Rapid (32-time Austrian champion) is a genuine exception.
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