Biggest clubs per league

TheReligion

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Some are easy, like England, Germany, Spain but others a little more tricky.

Interested to see what the Caf thinks.

Basically the biggest clubs in terms of size, fanbase, history, European pedigree, trophies etc.

England
Liverpool and United

Spain
Barca and Real

Germany
Bayern and Dortmund

Scotland
Rangers and Celtic

Portugal
Benfica and Porto

France
PSG and Marseille (only French team to win the EC and equal titles with PSG)

Italy
AC Milan and Juventus (although Inter have one more EC than Juve)

Holland
Ajax and PSV (Of note Feyenoord have a EC themselves so equal with PSV on that count)

Norway
Rosenborg and Molde

Greece
Olympiakos and Panathinaikos (if we include basket, then Aris too).

Serbia
Partizan and Red Star

Northern Ireland
Glentoran and Linfield.

Turkey
Galatasaray and Fenerbache

Argentina
Boca and River Plate

Feel free to add other leagues and change around.
 
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TheReligion said:
Some are easy, like England, Germany, Spain but others a little more tricky.

Interested to see what the Caf thinks.

Basically the biggest clubs in terms of size, fanbase, history, European pedigree, trophies etc.

England
Liverpool and United


Spain
Barca and Real

Germany
Bayern and Dortmund

Scotland
Rangers and Celtic

Portugal
Benfica and Porto

France
PSG and Marseille (only French team to win the EC and equal titles with PSG)

Italy
AC Milan and Juventus (although Inter have one more EC than Juve)

Holland
Ajax and PSV (Of note Feyenoord have a EC themselves so equal with PSV on that count)

Feel free to add other leagues and change around.
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Why not Man Utd and Liverpool or are you trying to say Liverpool are the bigger club ?
 
Greece
Olympiakos and Panathinaikos (if we include basket, then Aris too).

Serbia
Partizan and Red Star

Portugal
I guess similar to Italy, we can add Sporting too?
 
Germany; Bayern. Full stop.
Dortmund is in Schalke, Hsv, Werder level.

Croatia; Hajduk and Dinamo
 
Who is the biggest in Turkey out of the big 3? I would have said Galatasaray and then Fenerbahce, Besiktas. Argentina, Boca Juniors and River Plate
 
TheReligion said:
Added your suggestions. Portugal is on but Porto and Benfica?
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I meant in the original post, similar to how you mention in Italy (inter) and in the Netherlands a 3rd team (feyenoord) , we could add Sporting next to Porto and Benfica. Like in brackets or something or just a mention.
 
led_scholes said:
I meant in the original post, similar to how you mention in Italy (inter) and in the Netherlands a 3rd team (feyenoord) , we could add Sporting next to Porto and Benfica. Like in brackets or something or just a mention.
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I can add them mate. I didn’t because they haven’t won a EC.
 
Why does it have to be 2? Is it to stop the arguing?
 
jrsenior said:
Norway
Rosenborg and Vålerenga
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What, surely you can't be Norwegian?

Vålerenga isn't close to a top 2 club in Norway, despite being a capital club.

They belong on a list of the biggest failures when it comes to capital clubs in Europe, not one of the biggest/best clubs.
 
Who is it in Brazil? I presume Flamengo. Host of other clubs to choose from though
 
Ukraine - Dynamo Kyiv far away in first place. Shakhtar didn't win a single soviet league title (though they had occasional challenges and good times) compared to Dynamo's 13 and only started to become consistently the stronger of the two over the last 12 years. Kyiv still have more Ukrainian league titles.

Russia - Spartak still quite comfortable overall historically, but have been mostly a badly run underachiever and frequent laughing stock in their European efforts since the '90s Romantsev era. Gazprom era Zenit are solidly established now as the richest, strongest modern big money era club over the past 15 years, but were significant underachiever below the moscow clubs (even torpedo and arguably lokomotiv) before that.

Belarus - Dynamo Minsk still comfortable historically, especially as the only Belarusian soviet top league team (even winning once), but they are another team that lost a lot of their standing since the 90s. BATE Borisov became dominant since mid '00s.

Georgia - Dynamo Tbilisi by a very long way. The only team from smaller republics to often challenge for the soviet title and win a European trophy, though they were famous for almost always eventually falling short and finishing third/fourth. Another team that lost that absolute dominance after '90s, but not nearly to the extent of others. They've still won far more Georgian league titles than anyone else.

Armenia - Ararat Yerevan and Pyunik. Ararat Yerevan were their dominant soviet era team, even managing a league win and a spell as one of the best teams during the first half of the '70s. Armenian league era they only managed one title, and Pyunik eventually became the dominant team, winning 15 titles and almost completely sweeping the '00s.

Azerbaijan - Neftci Baku at the top as their only regular soviet league representative, and with 9 titles since, though Qarabag have matched that and were dominant over the last decade.
 
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Netherlands you have too have the big 3 and in Portugal you have to have the big 3.

In Portugal All three have won European cups and only 2x did another team win the league besides those 3.

Inter as well has to be on that list.
 
PSG isn't the biggest club in France.

Those are Marseille and Saint Etienne.

Given their recent history, PSG should be third, at the same tier of Olympique Lyon...not second or first.

This is like saying City is bigger than Liverpool, cause they are more successful than Liverpool since Abu Dhabi bought the club.
 
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Nice thread.

My additions

Denmark: FCK (Copenhagen) and Brøndby

Mexico: Chivas Guadalajara and America

Lay said:
Who is it in Brazil? I presume Flamengo. Host of other clubs to choose from though
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Brazil must be the toughest country to do this for. While Flamengo might be close to a lock, the next spot is almost impossible to call. Palmeiras, Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Santos, Vasco...
 
SportingCP96 said:
Netherlands you have too have the big 3 and in Portugal you have to have the big 3.

In Portugal All three have won European cups and only 2x did another team win the league besides those 3.

Inter as well has to be on that list.
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Sporting haven’t won the EC have they? Porto and Benfica have?
 
TheReligion said:
It doesn’t really although most leagues do have two as the above shows?
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Serie A is undisputedly a triumvirate in the eyes of Italians.
The three striped teams from the north vs the rest.

I'd love to hear from an Argie:
are the historically istitutional Cinco Grandes (Boca, River, Independiente, Racing, San Lorenzo) still a thing in general perception?
With a second group of five (Estudiantes, Huracan, Newell's Old Boys, Rosario Central, Velez) each claiming to be el Sexto Grande?
 
In France historically it's OM, ASSE and then PSG, Lyon, Monaco and Bordeaux roughly at the same level.
 
Romania

Definitely Steaua. But Dinamo should be included too, even though now they are in the second divsion..
 
TheReligion said:
Sporting haven’t won the EC have they? Porto and Benfica have?
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They won the European Cup Winners Cup (prior name of the Uefa cup and now Europa league).

It was the second major European trophy at the time.
 
China
Who ever has the most money in the pocket
 
United and Liverpool as the 2 biggest clubs in the Premier League are generally accepted.

Much more controversial would be 2 biggest clubs in the Championship? And League 1? A lot of sleeping giants in English football.
 
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I have many German friends who laugh at the notion of "Der Klassiker", as if Dortmund are somehow THE 2nd biggest club in Germany...
They're not considered bigger than Schalke and Leverkusen by any means... just recently more successful.

In Israel (yeah I'm from there, don't wanna talk about it) we have 4 big clubs in Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv & Beitar Jerusalem.
The first two are still successful recently, still dominant and still rich.

The latter two are akin two what's become of AC Milan after Berlusconi left- or how United would be without the money.
They still have massive crowds and pride themselves to be a big club, but they are middle - to - bottom half-teams more often than not for the past decade or so.

Former days of glory really are a bitch.
 
ScholesyTheWise said:
I have many German friends who laugh at the notion of "Der Klassiker", as if Dortmund are somehow THE 2nd biggest club in Germany...
They're not considered bigger than Schalke and Leverkusen by any means... just recently more successful.
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How do you write something like this? Like have you heard someone laugh at "Der Klassiker" and then you just made up the rest in your head and dropped it like it's wisdom in this thread?
 
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A lot of those can definitely be narrowed down to one per league. Eg Crvena zvezda are bigger than Partizan in almost every metric.

You can add Slovenia - Maribor.
 
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