Euro Bites: Why Money Doesn’t Always Buy Happiness

After Everton’s defeat in Kiev, England have failed to produce a European quarter-finalist for the first time since 1993. Kate Partridge asks if a strong domestic league means continental weakness.

I feel sorry for Manuel Pellegrini. Hang on. Before you start baying about how much money he earns and how much his club has spent on players, let me say this. Money can buy almost immediate domestic success – but it can’t buy Europe.

Sir Alex Ferguson was the most successful manager in British football history. He won 22 domestic titles and two Champions Leagues – including a unique Treble – in 26-and-a-half years at Manchester United.

No one with any gumption would argue his wasn’t a brilliant career. No one with any gumption would have argued with him at all. Though his European record should be highlighted to ease the pressure on current big-club bosses, whose tenures are often far shorter.

Manchester United is one of the world’s richest clubs – and won Europe’s top prize just three times in their illustrious history. Real Madrid is also one of the richest – and been crowned European champions ten times. Why?

United’s wealth comes from history, gate receipts, shrewd commercial investment – and especially the lucrative TV deals and sponsorship that grew in tandem with the Premier League.

But what makes the English top flight such a globally loved good watch is its competitiveness: last weekend, third-bottom Burnley beat defending champions City 1-0. One befuddled journalist even asked Sean Dyche about his title hopes. Would all this happen elsewhere? Probably not.

Levante are now third-bottom in Spain. Their record this season against the champions is a 3-1 defeat at Atletico, plus two 5-0 hammerings by Barcelona, as well as 5-0 and 2-0 losses to Real Madrid. The only surprises there are Real scored just twice and Cristiano not at all.

The Bundesliga season has been a Bayern formality since Dortmund’s self-destructive start. Juventus are set for a fourth straight scudetto, and the French league is a competition between Lyon, PSG and Marseille to decide which nonchalant grandee actually wants it enough to stop drawing. All great for the big clubs’ fans, but a collective snore for the neutrals.

Not so England: Leicester 5-3 Manchester United, Newcastle pipping Chelsea, Stoke’s first-half stroll past Arsenal, the new-manager revivals at Aston Villa, West Brom and Crystal Palace, plus the extraordinary top-spot separation of Chelsea and City by alphabetical order. Thrilling stuff! But then there’s Europe.

All this blood and thunder takes its toll. Europhiles and the skiing fraternity might tut about the hectic yet beloved Christmas programme, though a winter break is a given elsewhere. But the real issue is surely the other big teams in Europe have fewer rivals. Did Ronaldo break sweat against Levante? It might also explain why Celtic have managed so many epic European nights at Parkhead.

Two weeks of watching Europe’s premier club competitions have been revealing, but not shocking. Chelsea’s turgid 120 minutes against ten-man PSG was indicative of a formidable though unchanged side that has been battling valiantly on four fronts, winning the League Cup and becoming England’s champions-elect, but stumbling in the FA Cup and on the continent.

With U2 looking on, Arsenal staged a big band performance at Monaco but ultimately succumbed to another French side due to first-leg goals – leaving the Gunners out at the last-16 stage for the fourth year in a row, and Arsene Wenger chuntering about rule changes. And City were outclassed 1-0 by Barcelona, nutmegged by Lionel Messi, and owe Joe Hart a bonus for a respectable scoreline.

So, three years after Chelsea lifted their first European Cup – and twelve years since billionaire Roman Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge – there are no English teams in the last eight of the Champions League. Yet back home, all three clubs are title contenders; Arsenal could still do the Double.

In contrast, Europe’s leading teams followed form. Rubbing salt into his P45, former City striker Carlos Tevez bagged two and set up one as Juve trounced Dortmund. Bayern’s early fillip of a red card against Shakhtar Donetsk all but gave them a bye into the last eight. And Porto, who have lost once since mid-December, swept aside Basel with the same kind of steeliness that tournament-winning former manager Jose Mourinho warned about. How ironic.

Spain’s finest toiled but made it. Last season’s finalists Atletico edged Bayer Leverkusen on penalties, that man Fernando Torres with the decisive strike. And holders Real nervously held on against a swashbuckling young Schalke side as the home fans at the Bernabeu waved white hankies. Undignified, but history recalls winners not narrow margins (John Terry’s slip was United’s third title).

And so to the Europa League – the only trophy Sir Alex didn’t win. Modestly financed Everton’s domestic form is on the up after sinking lower than a millipede’s flip-flop. They had also been England’s last beacon of joy in a tournament otherwise enjoyed by half of the considerably less lucrative Serie A.

Yet a tenth game in the competition in addition to domestic commitments was a bridge too far, as Dynamo Kiev tore up their defence. For the first time since 1993, England had failed to produce a European quarter-finalist. Roberto Martinez took over from Pellegrini as the manager under the stifling spotlight.

In contrast, the last manager of an English team to win the Europa League was Rafael Benitez in 2013 during his unloved time in charge of Chelsea. The Spaniard has now led Napoli to the last eight. Three more wins, and his side are in next year’s Champions League, though could also do it in Serie A.

Watch out, Rafa – you might earn an England recall. With plenty of money. Plus cold Christmases at work, unrelenting scrutiny and pressure, the club medics on speed dial, and facing Mourinho again. And then there’s having to finish in the top four. And then reaching the European quarter-finals…

Italy has never looked richer.

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