Why Are French Clubs So Bad In Europe?

Whether it's the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League, or their predecessors the European Cup and the UEFA Cup, teams from Ligue 1 have routinely faltered in relation to their La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Premier League counterparts.
Marseille are the only Ligue 1 team to have won a major European competition, having done so in 1993, meaning Scottish and Romanian teams have won the Champions League as many times as French teams.
In this video, HITC Sevens investigates why that is the case, what has historically held Ligue 1 sides back, and whether PSG will be able to buck that trend.

[@FootballDrawn]

I remember a time before Lyon's dominance in late 2000's when if you won the league, you would've had to fight mid-table mediocrity the next season, even relegation in case of Nantes. That meant there was no "established" strong clubs that usually fight for the title. It's mad though at how much talent the French Football produced so far ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽

[@moumenrezaei1330]

true

[@sbtgamil5536]

Yep...and it doesn't help that they can't sustain their best players after the initial success

[@7bucksnutrition303]

You got sick content bruv 🔥🔥

[@brianharley1811]

That was a great Lyon team till rangers thrashed them at home in the champions league. Hadn’t been beaten at home in any comp in 3 years till that point lol

[@Outkast-sv9es]

Stop shilling your channel kient

[@Caiser]

PSG now and Lyon in the 2000's were definitely periods of sustained success at least domestically

[@konstantinkelekhsaev302]

Or Saint-Etienne in the 60s/70s

[@jamesfilosa6277]

Yes but not over as many decades as Mil/Juv/Int or RM/Bar or MU/Liv or Bayern.

[@nijimuraokuyasu8830]

Also om in the 90s the only team to win the ucl

[@mike04574]

and didnt do jack in the ucl

[@alexojideagu]

PSG won the Cup Winners Cup in 1996. That was a major European competition.

[@ivailobumbovski4286]

French league is probably the best league for developing young players but because of their finances they are not able to compete with top 4 leagues and they have to sell their best player to their competitors.

[@janarichter7928]

Bundesliga is better for that

[@Rafael-ou3fn]

The same could be said about the Portuguese League! Despite the Portuguese league having much less money they still have managed to win the Champions League 4 times, UEFA cup 1, Europa cup 1, UEFA Super Cup 1, and World Club Cup Champions 2 times. The Dutch league has more or less achieved the same things as the Portuguese league as well and I believe they also have less money than the French League, but I'm not sure about it.

[@valeriudragalin8800]

@@Rafael-ou3fn True, but Portuguese league has 3 great teams + braga. In France there are more good teams, so if you focus on Europe you risk to lose your position in France, so french teams prefer to concentrate on the national competition

[@Rafael-ou3fn]

​@@valeriudragalin8800 Maybe that it's true or not. But still they should have more International titles by now.

[@NB-pg3rz]

@@valeriudragalin8800 absolutely true, most teams in France « give up » the european cups and focus on the championship to secure european spots. It looks paradoxical but when you look at lyon who were the only ones to seriously play their european games (with psg because they have the necessary team to play both the ligue 1 and the ucl) , they finish 7th the year they reach the semis and now they fail to reach european spots in one out of every two years.

[@GreekHouseEffect]

I believe that if Marseille hadn't been relegated after their 1993 CL win, they could have establish themselves as a top team in Europe. Back then, they were signing very high quality players such as Voller, Boksic, Francescoli, Stojkovic, Waddle and they had some of the best french players around and I feel if it wasn't for the scandals they could have kept most of them

[@ShahPhilLeotardo]

They were a top team because of Match Fixing rigged a place into the 91 European Cup Final, Both legs of that semi final against Milan are shady as f**k.

[@AblemanSy]

@@ShahPhilLeotardo Yeah, we know that. That's not what is under discussion though.

[@Thetruthmademan]

@@ShahPhilLeotardo match fixing against small clubs in France, yes. Against Berlusconi's Milan, that's called being delusional😂 . Also, that team was filled with monsters who didn't need much fixing to win, i remember clearly the 2 legs against Milan and Marseille was just better in both games

[@Thetruthmademan]

Marseille was pretty much 2/3 of the French National team + some foreign superstars. The 1993 win was against a stronger Milan, but they should have won in 1991. This is where guys like Deschamps learned to hate losing and that led to the 1998 World Cup generation

[@Dark0_004]

​@@ShahPhilLeotardoit was a match in Ligue 1 in 1993 which had no impact on the championship lol

[@balham5606]

Because you like french football Alfie, a documentary on the football teams in Paris such as Paris fc and red star Paris

[@ekvedrek]

Red Star Paris really looking for a copyright strike there

[@GreekHouseEffect]

@@ekvedrek they actuall existed before Red Star Belgrade lol

[@TrevorParsnips]

Shhhh...

[@kefgeru_de_kalos]

Red Star is based in Saint-Ouen, a town next of Paris

[@balham5606]

@@kefgeru_de_kalos they have a good name of red star Paris 😊

[@seandelap6268]

The French league other than PSG is largely a feeder league to the other major leagues of Europe until that ends Ligue 1 will always be reduced to also ran status but they have talents in abundance to come out of the league the problem is the clubs cant hold onto those talents and so it remains a never ending cycle of producing players only to then have them plundered by the biggest clubs of Europe.

[@groot9061]

same with portugal Not giants but what a great league

[@everytatti]

@@groot9061 I'm a premeira liga fan too,but it's so monotonous at times. Probably one of the most lopsided league/football pyramid in the world.

[@groot9061]

@@everytatti yeah i am a porto fan

[@everytatti]

@@groot9061 haha ofc :-D The recent gil Vicente vs porto match when Sergio Oliveira scored that insane free-kick.....it was like a porto home game 😂 gil Vicente hardly had any fans in their own ground

[@groot9061]

@@everytatti true remember me sergio goal vs juve

[@MassEffect1988]

We'd love a video about Paris FC having to live in PSG's shadows 👍

[@seankhieotue-in7193]

I think Paris FC is partly owned by oil rich Kuwait as well not as rich as psg obviously but still rich tho

[@thevikingpro4052]

@@seankhieotue-in7193 actually it's Bahrain's government who invested in Paris FC

[@seankhieotue-in7193]

@@thevikingpro4052 oh yeah my bad I think Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund party owns Paris fc.

[@Blkhole02]

Other than building a brand over time (see Bayern, ManU, Liverpool, Juventus, Real, Barca), the only way a club can attain the 'super' prefix is via a mass capital injection, which thus far has mostly come in the form of either state wealth (Qatar, Abu Dhabi, now Saudi Arabia) or oligarch-type businessmen (Abramovich, Berlusconi). The reasons that Qatar chose PSG probably have more to do with political connections and the location / brand power that the city itself has, but other than that Ligue 1 will only be a tempting investment target for those who missed on the 'juicier' leagues. Besides the higher tax rates for top earners, the French public's willingness to spend money on football is lower than in places like the UK or Germany, which make for way better markets in terms of merch and advertising. PSG are again the obvious exception here, but I think most people now view them as more of a global brand, than a purely French one.

[@franohmsford7548]

It would only take two other major backers to buy say Marseille and St Etienne for Ligue Un to become a super-league though. Let's face it the Premier League in England is saturated now and there's absolutely no guarantee the Saudis will be able to make Newcastle Champions because of the existence of Chelsea, Man City, United and Liverpool. Whilst Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid maintain almost total dominance over La Liga between the three of them and Juve, Inter and AC Milan similarly maintain almost total dominance over Serie A between the three of them. The Bundesliga doesn't allow massive investment and Bayern would never stand for a true viable competitor appearing either - They're more than happy for RB Leipzig and BvB to fight over second place but woe betide either of them if they actually challenge Bayern. So the sleeping giants such as Marseille and St Etienne in France are now the most viable options for a major investor to back.

[@seemymobot4987]

@@franohmsford7548 Allez L'OM!

[@Dr_MKUltra]

@@franohmsford7548 Redbull is a massive investor in German football.

[@franohmsford7548]

@@Dr_MKUltra RB Leipzig's Transfer Record is 29million euros for Naby Keita who they then turned round and sold to Liverpool for 70million POUNDS! Their second highest is Andre Silva at 23million euros. It's not like they're breaking the bank. Dortmund spent 31 million on Dembele and 27 million each on Hummels, Malen and Schurrle! Wolfsburg spent 43 mil on Draxler and 32 mil on Schurrle. And of course Bayern spent 72 mil on Lucas Hernandez and 40 mil on Sane!

[@mHANIF-xl3rx]

@@franohmsford7548 because German got the 50+1 rule, even hoffenheim is also rich but they are ordinary.

[@topsander]

Great video as useal! I just wanted to add though that I think the fact that higher taxation leading to players leaving actually creates a vicious circle in the sense that it leads to great players going to play abroad. The leagues where they are going to then become stronger, leading to (a) the league becoming more attractive to play in for a player and (b) that league becoming more interesting to invest in for sponsors and/or people or businesses that want to own a club. That leads to more money flowing into that league, leading to more clubs paying even higher salaries, which leads to more great players from all over the world coming to that club, which makes it more attractive for other players to come to that league, et cetera. And this of course does not only count for players, but probably for managers, scouts et cetera as well, so they'll probably leave French football as well at some point. So over decades and decades this circle creates a continuously bigger gap between the quality of French football and the quality in the top 4 leagues. In the end, this leads to the idea in players' minds that French clubs jus cannot win big European trophies and that, as a player, if you want to earn more money and if you want to win big trophies and play quality opponents, you simply have to leave France... this all leads to all clubs in League 1 becoming less good, which results in teams not only becoming weaker themselves, but also playing against weaker opponents every week, which also makes it harder to win a European trophy. So as soon as a vicious circle like this is started, it is incredibly hard to overcome and it seems like, apparently, ony huge investment from a nation backed fund might be able to reverse this trend.. Edit: corrected some typing/spelling/grammar mistakes.

[@AR007_]

Can you write my next essay cause you seem to have a big mouth

[@WmG2004]

@@AR007_ He didn't type this comment with his mouth though.

[@benhenry6652]

Thanks for the video Alfie, i would just like to point out that I think your arguments apply mainly for the post Bosman era as before 1995, french (and any other nationality ) players going and succeeding abroad was rare (Kopa and Platini being notable exceptions) and also that i don't think not being dominant domestically necessarily prevented a team from winning a European trophy back then (Tottenham, Ipswich, Frankfurt, Aberdeen, Forest, Villa, Leverkusen...). In the 60's and 70's, I think it was mainly because the club and players lacked the European culture (I remember reading about Nantes or Bordeaux players being uncondifent even in the first rounds thus prioritizing the domestic league ) and it also reflected on the national team where not qualifying for the international competitions was not considered a major failure and this lack of self belief (and also a clear and stable playing identity) would just create a negative spiral. What changed this were the first players to go abroad and mainly to Italy and brought with them more of a winning mentality (players like Platini and later Thuram, Desailly, Deschamps..., Italy said after losing on penalties at the 98 WC that they themselves had created this defensive monster) to the national team, and even the club sides doing better in Europe in the 90's but everything you said for the post-Bosman era is spot-on. A second argument would be that investment in sport was not really a thing before the end of the 80's, and also that until the national began winning trophies, cycling was the more popular sport in France.

[@iamamazing1885]

Would love a video on Ipswich Town and the mass signing of players this summer. Historic club who have won a European Cup but never really talked about

[@Chimpiin]

The won the UEFA Cup not a European Cup, but yeah - would be cool to have a video about them!

[@benjaminrichardmarsh8472]

I'd love to see that, there is definitely no bias from a life long Ipswich fan

[@rogink]

@@Chimpiin UEFA Cup was 'a' European Cup

[@Chimpiin]

@@rogink That would be a European cup not European Cup. By capitalising the 'Cup' part you're referring to the named competition, not just any cup won on Europe.

[@rogink]

@@Chimpiin OK - I concede - you win on pedantry!

[@pierrem6056]

Merci beaucoup for your videos about France, they're always honest and well documented !

[@MonTube2006]

Je seconde

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

Excellent and thought provoking video. I'd never considered this beyond French players constantly moving to other leagues.

[@AliLib1900]

Alaways wondered why there’s only one time France has held a European Cup (Marseille 1993)

[@danielamselli4980]

PSG won the Cup Winner’s Cup in 1996

[@AliLib1900]

@@danielamselli4980 “European Cup” as in UEFA Champions League

[@danielamselli4980]

@@AliLib1900 It’s still a European Cup

[@AliLib1900]

@@danielamselli4980 I’m not talking about European Cups as in European trophies, I’m talking about THE “European Cup” as in the name of the UCL from 1955-1992

[@robertocioffi2523]

Because other countries had way better teams

[@stivstilianos980]

1:26 I was the subscriber who had been requesting this video. If you see this comment, thank you Alfie .

[@lime2333]

Thanks for that. It's a great video

[@archipiratta]

Just think: in about 5yrs time, Newcastle vs PSG will be a blockbuster fixture. Who would've thought...

[@mickywickysafc5619]

Me: A San Marino team won the Europa League Me 5 seconds later: Ohhhhhhh

[@joshquinn4964]

Can you explain?

[@JohnHolywell]

So alfie said "French clubs have won the same amount of trophies as San Marino, Andorra and Angola" and basically that means they have won 0 europa league trophies.

[@gabrielmeireles8851]

Great video, as always, Alfie! I did think throughout the video that the, now defuncted, UEFA' Cup Winners Cup should've been included in regards of major european clubs competitions, since it was a really important and prestigious tournament, with It's winners even making the UEFA Super Cup final against Champions League/European Cup's ones... but then I did research and realized it wouldn't do french clubs much of a favor, since they only reach two finals (PSG), winning one and losing the other. So, yeah... sorry, french people, I've tried 😅🇧🇷

[@njabulombuyazi5132]

Great Video! Video suggestions Day 1: 7 current footballers who come from prestigious footballing families. Example: Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso (his dad played for Atletico Madrid & Barcelona and his Grandad played for Real Madrid)

[@nikhil796]

Marcos llorente, daniel maldini , etc

[@henockabi318]

hitcsevens love your work especially the fact that you covered the entire world and not just top league can you please do TP Mazembe 2010 please I’m sure people would love that story

[@poet1978]

Watching this gave me a thought for a video you could do every Prem League clubs best and worst Bosman transfer signing and loss

[@Nerdyfootballfan26]

The last time I was this early, Newcastle United were not the richest club in the world.

[@BowserAKY]

There gonna be the richest club in a couple of years 💀

[@rohithraman6488]

If Ligue 1 is a "farmers' league" then why didn't we get the same energy about the Premier League in the 90s and early 2000s, with Man Utd winning 8 out of 11 PL titles?

[@Tougedrift]

Because this generation of football fans is extremely stupid.

[@namoenright5962]

Because man United didn’t just buy the league and they actually had some good title races they just won them

[@kindmulberry7196]

Probably cuz of social media and PL bias

[@Tougedrift]

"bought the league" is such a stupid argument considering PSG aren't even the current champions lol

[@innocento.1552]

@@idontknowmyname3823 No. You are embarrassing yourself by not giving any logical counter argument. Though generally football fans are not known for their intelligence (as a group)

[@robertwill23]

I've heard that Ligue 1 is experiencing some major issues with renewal of TV deals. Last spring they were saying that Ligue 1 didnt have new TV contracts as domestic interest has been waning increasingly. Some clubs like Bordeaux and others werent able to pay their players and staff. Don't know how the situation resolved itself though.

[@powerouletdino9405]

Alfie you’re definitely my favorite football KZbinr and honestly my favorite commentator/analyst. Your videos are great and really enjoy everything you put out!

[@jtmmmm27]

PSG have just played in a CL final, Lyon have always punched above their weight.

[@ctid7037]

no LYON IS A BIg CLUB

[@rezkysrydrzjczyk]

I think you guys should make one about Italian teams too.

[@joecurrie2381]

Any chance of a few more videos on non league. Great teams in the non league and lower league efl teams

[@Micfri300]

Pretty simple. French teams sell their best players as soon as they have an above average team and so have a weaker team when playing in European competitions.

[@alexandresilva3427]

Portugal do the same but we have won way more in comparisson.

[@Micfri300]

@@alexandresilva3427 yeah but in Portugal the other smaller teams just pretty much let the big 3 walk all over again. Sporting lisbon were meant to be this promising team and have lost twice in the cl. Lille at least have a valid excuse due to everybody leaving.

[@alexandresilva3427]

@@Micfri300 Sporting Lisbon lost a bunch of players, including Bruno Fernandes. Portugal is the biggest exporter of players, only a few National Team players actually play in Portugal. Patricio is in Roma, Ruben Dias, Cancelo and Bernardo Silva are in City, Ronaldo, Fernandes and Dalot are in United. Renato Sanches and José Fonte are in Lille, Rafael Guerreiro is in Dortmund, Jota is in liverpool, Neves and Moutinho are on Wolves, etc... Not to mention the foreign players that got their fame in Portugal like, Di Maria, Falcao, Matic, Hulk, etc...

[@Micfri300]

@@alexandresilva3427 im talking about this season. Emphasis on this season. I could easily mention the dismantling of lille twice and Monaco many times also.

[@alexandresilva3427]

@DDeglane16 2004 Porto had Mourinho, I'm not sure on the history of the 80's Porto.

[@krank_x3808]

Video idea: do what would be bavarias/catalonias/any other independence movements XI if they were to split from Germany/Spain/...

[@TTWgreatvideos37]

Video suggestion: best starting 11 of players who have never played for there country

[@TTWgreatvideos37]

They have to be uncapped completely although if you feel appropriate they could have 1 cap

[@grid462]

There was that brief interesting Monaco exception too. Although does that totally come under French football remit? French league for sure so I'd say oui

[@another_coding_channel_argh]

Video suggestion: Ranking the Seven best balloon d'Or winners.

[@jonkernow4477]

Germany introduced the Bundesliga in 1963-64. After WW2 there were 5 regional leagues, (before this there more) very similar today with their 4th Division. France, Spain and Italy all founded their national leagues between 1929 and 1932.

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

They still had a national champion and established professional sides

[@pineyi]

Great video Alfie. Can you please do.a video on why there are 0 Scottish clubs in the league systems from islands. Despite a total population of 100,000 people residing in the islands. There are 0 clubs in the 8 tier football pyramid from islands. Stornaway, Lerwick and Kirkwall all have a higher population than Dingwall who have Ross County yet they don’t even have clubs competing in proper leagues.. Is football really just not popular in these places?

[@kefgeru_de_kalos]

Same thing with team from Gozo in Malta

[@seandelap6268]

Actually Marseille had a super team during the early 90s and defeated AC Milan in the 1993 champions cup final only to later get embroiled into a match fixing scandal and their owner being thrown into prison and having their league title from that season stripped in the end basically the team was ripped apart after it and have never really recovered.

[@Just_another_Euro_dude]

Plus played another CL finals in 1991.

[@Just_another_Euro_dude]

And Monaco played CL finals in 2004.

[@balham5606]

A documentary on how Sutton united won the league last season in the fifth tier of English football league system who are known being in non league football. How the league last season started in October last season in 2020.

[@21hazza]

I would be intrested to see this for Poland.

[@robertward6582]

Do a video on Coventry City

[@Mark-uh3un]

Can you do a video on why countries like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and some other Asian countries are members of UEFA?

[@michaelsmith5769]

As an outsider, it feel like the best French players either play club football in other countries, or they get super-grouped together in the best 1 or 2 clubs in France, they never feel real pressure in league games, and as a result, can't up their game in European competition. And super high taxes would make someone look for greener pastures, so to speak? Unheard of .

[@noelthen898]

Since you've mentioned Nottingham Forest in this video, perhaps you can consider dig further into how they went from twice European champions to fallen giants in several decades?

[@yacqubali3195]

they had a historic manager who pushed them higher then ever and fell when he was gone.

[@helvete983]

They were never a giant club, the over performed with a great manager, the answer is pretty simple, No Clough no trophies.

[@johnmitchell2269]

Copa90 did a really good documentary on this

[@regulatorsmountup4931]

It was just a good FM1975 save

[@yacqubali3195]

@@regulatorsmountup4931 lol

[@aj_2W0]

Good video as usual, but I don't think the late starter argument holds much water. The Eredivisie didn't get started until 1956 and has far more European success.

[@shiba3071]

The Dutch league started in the 1800s actually, it only became Proffesional in 1956 tho

[@aj_2W0]

@@shiba3071 As I said, the Eredivisie started in 1956 and the Dutch played in unpaid, amateur leagues until then.

[@hello-rj1xc]

IDEA: 7 best countries if they could use their best players from all time

[@danielwebb8402]

Because form is temporary, class is permanent. Took Chelsea nearly a decade from having money to win the champions league. City still haven't.

[@mrman2415]

In fairness, Chelsea came within a kick of winning it in 2008 and were robbed by the referee in 2009. Even 2005 was questionable, with Luis Garcia's goal that didn't cross the line.

[@trystoon690]

I was so surprised when you mentioned bangor city hahaha

[@retrorambles517]

Personally feel the same as the Scottish clubs They don't play a consistently high quality of football week in week out

[@craigmurphy1204]

No, but with the exception of the gruesome twosome, you've got 40 professional clubs that are fully capable of knocking the shit out of each other. Our second tier is notoriously competitive.

[@craigmurphy1204]

Scottish top flight is equivalent to EFL League One, and so on

[@donovanch462]

Day 33 : Every professional seasons from one player ranked from worst to best ( let’s say Pele) but you can choose any players you want

[@TheFinalHoss]

Because ligue 1 is constantly being raided in the transfer window, most owners don't know what they're doing (monaco for example) and most french and german clubs concentrate on signing players from their own country including the rival's players where english and spanish clubs are always signing top class foreign players

[@MaxLeCnkerant]

It's not that every owner don't know what they're doing but more like the clubs needing a positive balance on transfer money to keep the club going and thus at the price of lower success rates

[@QuotoQT]

Eredivisie> Ligue 0

[@osvaldocabello10]

Why do I always watch these videos at 2 am always drunk. What time is it at England right now?

[@1258-Eckhart]

The history of the game in France certainly explains a lot.

[@tobyjohnson9136]

In fairness, Lille won last year's Ligue Un title by 1 point and PSG dropped 3 points that were a sure thing against Nantes at home due to the players becoming distracted due to multiple PSG players' homes being broken into by armed burglars during the match, leading to a highly improbable loss to Nantes. (They had even been winning at half-time and dominating possession, Nantes had an appalling scoring record that season too, I think last or next to last.) Though, of course, that is counterfactual and things might have gone differently but that loss would also have motivated Lille who maintained their top position for another week rather than giving it up.

[@balham5606]

Lyon getting to champions league semi final the other season and Paris getting to champions league final in 2020 was good though. Marseille being the only french team who won the champions league. Paris saint Germain are trying to win the champions league, they signed messi and Paris city is a fashion city.

[@QuotoQT]

Eredivisie >

[@ivrishcon-abarth38]

I have an idea: didn´t Kaiserslautern in Germany do the following trick: won 2.Bundesliga -> promotion, won Bundesliga, next season -> relegated back to 2.Bundesliga? Or thereabouts? It would be very cool to see HITC Sevens treatment of wtf happened there? Now I must say this came very deep from my almost dead brain, and I´m not 100% certain that there was relegation immediately after Bundesliga -title, but I wanted to give myself a chance to screw it up manly and NOT duckduckgo it (as long as google has alternatives!) but go with a flow.

[@acehighjohn1759]

I heard or read years ago France had a rule where the teams had to have X amount of under 21/23 French born players in their squads and this lead to a higher turn over of young players in each team than is normal for most leagues. I have no idea if this was true but if it was it may have been a factor.

[@kefgeru_de_kalos]

It's not true, but there was a problrm with ethnicity quota in formation center while recruitement by ethnicity is illegal in France

[@franohmsford7548]

Reminder about Vale of Leithen in the Scottish Lowland League... Played 15 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 15 For 5 Against 96 GD -91 What is going on?

[@Leebpascal1]

Ironically, France is top of this year uefa ranking after groups phases, as all 6 teams passed to the knockout stage, 2 in UCL 2 in UEL and 2 in UECL

[@maximerestuccia7824]

What is going on at St Etienne would be intresting

[@supersasukemaniac]

do one bout the J-League. I've heard that League is just ridiculous in terms of parity among the clubs.

[@tnavswwe52]

Would the first argument stand if Reims had won one of the free finals, or the post were round (even though I hate ASSE)

[@SdH76zhEU]

8:15; Really, Id say even better! an Olympique Lyon certainly would have had its changes in a Premier League or Bundesliga! They were just never good inoff to win the CL! Id love to see Marseille becoming great again! But very interesting, once again!

[@Bigman-ye6up]

Mandanda

[@amirgobran6051]

Can you please do "7 clubs with the most trophies"

[@hrithvikranka2055]

When you exploit talent from a league and bring them to different leagues how are they supposed to win ?

[@juliuszondag5515]

Would be interested to see if PSG is enough to get French football over the hump - I feel like PSG needs a stronger French League to succeed

[@lime2333]

Day 1: XI of players (currently playing or not) who have said that they do not like football (Ter Stegen, Carlos Tevez, Carlos Vela etc)

[@ryandlabaj6520]

Litterally like 2 yrs ago Lyon got to semis and psg in final

[@DGAMINGDE]

Day 4: Top 7 protest clubs (FC United of Manchester, AFC Liverpool).

[@broncosfan2410]

Day 2: Best non FIFA-affiliated national teams

[@TwoFootball1998]

I think Serie A has been underachieving as well tbh. And I am not talking about the last decade which was the worst decade in Italian football history; I am talking about the whole history: I just can’t understand how the Premiere League has won more international trophies than Serie A. When you take a look at the players/teams that played in Serie A (until 2010) I think Serie A should have more international trophies than any other league or at least on par with La Liga.

[@helvete983]

Serie A's biggest issue was corruption.

[@johnmitchell2269]

Something very significant happened in 2005 in Italy involving a number of Serie A clubs. Because of these incidents, Serie A suddenly became the third strongest league. Then more people world wide started watching La Liga and PL than Serie A.

[@TwoFootball1998]

@@johnmitchell2269 My question is: Why didn‘t Serie A win more international trophies before.

[@johnmitchell2269]

@@TwoFootball1998 Well, they should have done during the spell that English clubs were banned from all European competitions. I guess back then, football was more of a sport and less of a business, meaning with less money involved, more clubs could compete. I also think in the past Italian sides were maybe a little too defensive.

[@TwoFootball1998]

@@johnmitchell2269 1. English clubs were absolutely not the problem and the reason why the Serie A has «only» won 12 Champions Leagues (2005 doesn‘t mean anything). I mean comparing the players who have played in Premiere League to the players who have played in Serie A makes me laughing because in that case you should compare the Premiere League to the Bundesliga or Ligue1. 2. The best team Serie A has ever had in international competitions has always been AC Milan which wasn’t a team that used to play defensive football.

[@CJVP99]

PSG made it to the champions league final a season ago….

[@thegangster4481]

What was that map showing exactly? Teams that have reached European finals?

[@justjmusic14]

Thanks for including my country Angola 🇦🇴 ✌🏾

[@exilenm2]

To be fair to Bangor City, they did once play Napoli in the cup winners cup (1962) and only lost in a play off

[@JessMacka1]

relevant content

[@Nerdyfootballfan26]

Could you do a video about Bradford City? The forgotten PL team. (Not a Bradford fan, just interested to know what unfolded up there)

[@passione6443]

Could also include Oldham

[@fifabots]

Honestly a video about where past premier League clubs are now would be neat

[@david-bo2mo]

We getting a English team version next and then a Spanish team version next season?

[@kevinlock9769]

Come on 450 subscribers get in kid

[@rogink]

There is something rotten with the state of French football. It doesn't make sense that a city the size of Paris - at least the region - has only one top club. The region has over 10 millions living there. So that's 10 times the size of Manchester or Birmingham regions, which have around 2 million, but each have clubs that have won Euro cup/CL. Both also have at least 2 top flight clubs. Greater London has a similar population to Ile-de France and has at last count 7 top flight clubs (if you include Watford), compared to well, one in Paris! Oddly enough, I think the endless export of top players has helped France, just as the reluctance of players to move abroad and learn new tactics, has hindered the English national team. It's only when Spanish players started to move abroad that the national team improved.

[@jimbob-robob]

Neymar says Mbappe looks like Donatello from Ninja Turtles...it's funny 'cos it's true...!😂

[@Trials_MEDIA]

4 am HITC video We move

[@derekrushe]

'How are you suppose to run with the Wolves at night when you rut with the pups during the day' -Omar Little.

[@soyentak5076]

grew up in Canada, with the French League playing on TV5. I'd watch because it may have not been the best. but it was the funniest league to watch

[@memofromessex]

You now need to do the 7 Paris clubs.

[@newavedave77]

Have any French cities ever had 2 or more top football teams, like Turin, Milan, Rome, Madrid, Manchester or Glasgow?

[@newavedave77]

@majiwilliams Isn't that really shit? Like, Paris FC not being able to attract more than 3,000 fans, according to this video? The capital of a country - with a population of millions - has a second biggest football team who can get.... less than 3,000 people turning up. Not enough fill out even an end of the San Siro or Bernabeu... One of the best things about being a fan is looking at the start of each season for when you're playing that shithouse team across town... Historically, and currently, this is not a part of french footballing culture. Poor bastards.

[@newavedave77]

@majiwilliams Wow. You seem quite the expert. Who did Parisian football fans watch before 1970?

[@newavedave77]

@majiwilliams Imagine the equivalent in London: financial issues caused Spurs, Arsenal & Chelski drop to the lower leagues, but London St. German was founded in 1970, and most footie fans in London supported them. Amazing. How lucky those french are....

[@newavedave77]

@majiwilliams I'm sure that fans of Red Star, Racing Paris and Stade Français would agree with everything you just wrote. The demographic shift in seventies Paris must have been something chronic!!!... or just, not the way that you described.. Worldwide phenomenon seventies Paris? Really? They built a few surrounding towns and belatedly completed a metro system? Congratulations!!!!!! How much time did you take to imagine the equivalent football situation happening in London? British fans wouldn't stand for it - and nor would the establishment. French footballing authorities and the ruling class should hang their heads in shame for presiding over such a shit footballing culture.

[@newavedave77]

@majiwilliams Money attracts top players - which PSG has [and possibly Nice, if he puts his hand in his pocket]. An entire league bereft of local derbies, the entire workplace of a city on a monday morning engaged... these things will stunt the success of french domestic football. Nothing generates so much energy as the team across the river/park/town doing well, or the possibility of them falling on their face. Places as big as Paris, Marseille need more than a single top flight football team, ffs

[@fauzan9896]

I have a good idea for a documentary. Why the Indonesian national was banned from all competitions in 2016

[@trentboring3426]

Lad you gotta talk about Southend !!!! Martin out !!! All the best mate

[@zennerzoniy0711]

Saint Etienne was unbelievable back in the days since they have the most French Titles while they only reach a final as runners-up. Etienne maybe not challenging the title of today, yet their the heart of France on domestic trophies while PSG is on the game of catch up thanks to Qatari investments. Not bad for a club that began long ago have everything than PSG

[@GenialHarryGrout]

You say that the Champions league is usually won by clubs who are dominant in their own country with Nottingham Forest being the exception. What about Aston Villa who haven't been a dominant club in England since the late 19th century?

[@grahampeters1485]

Didn't Lyon beat City... Didn't Monaco beat City.. didn't PSG make it to the final not too long ago ..

[@Timy-dr6uo]

Lmao, once in a while occurrences don't make a league goos

[@youngdolo8]

None of those teams won it, so it's not worth fuck.

[@grahampeters1485]

@@Timy-dr6uo wasn't the question.. it was why aren't they good? Not why don't they win it? Just like United... Been a while since they've done anything in Europe too

[@grahampeters1485]

@@youngdolo8 very mature language there.

[@youngdolo8]

@@grahampeters1485 Way to dodge the point, Danielle...

[@ritchierich2793]

Can't forget who did the comparison of WC nation winning team Vs Uefa champions League/Europa League metric scale, apparently the French nation are the most bipolar among and the bottom of the list compared to other nations.. pretty intro stats..

[@niksv4165]

Day 237: Ways to fix VAR with your suggestions

[@josh19921992]

Why no mention of PSG winning the Cup Winners' Cup?

[@jayeshratangairi8732]

Standards of teams are poor which affects their top teams when they face well prepared teams across Europe .

[@mrmeeseeks2534]

9:40 what a lovely name for a football club

[@rolandzarka5191]

The explanation is old: When international football developed, certain countries made football a political showcase (Authoritarian regimes like South America, Italy, Spain...). After 1945, West Germany also showcased it. England has an always naturel fervor for football. In France, football, and sport in general, remained in its place during this period: a game. You had to play well to win. Otherwise, it doesn't matter. Few political issues, therefore little pressure on players and managers. And therefore, the lack of competitiveness of the French league doesn't allow players to properly understand the major meetings in European cups in terms of intensity. Even when a French club is good (like Saint-Etienne in 75-77 or other). Managers's strategy today of selling players is a result of this too. There is no of tradition of continuity either. Reims or Saint-Etiennes (both finalist), are disappeared from European meetings. Not Bayern, nor Liverpool, Real, Barça, Milan, MU, Ajax, Juventus, even Benfica, Porto etc.

[@alitem3364]

Banger city is such a good name

[@sameerbernard1167]

Big Alfmundspieler #5 what it do mane

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

Day e: Best XI of players playing completely out of position. Not like Milner and Llorente playing RB or even Walker in goal but genuinely no games played in a similar position.

[@daftbanna7202]

What's the point of that

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

@@daftbanna7202 Just some fun, same as with all First XI videos.

[@daftbanna7202]

@@DomenBremecXCVI yeah but like who would be in it? Like oh Ronaldo at left back like what are you trying to do?

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

@@daftbanna7202 We all know how players play and their strenghts so we can cleary say that Haaland would be a better CB than Messi, who would probably be a Pirlo-esque DM but might need help with running... All about imagination.

[@ralphlegros8803]

PSG won the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup in 1996, Alfie.

[@vietkong1]

Not a big deal even arsenal won that tin pot

[@benjaminv6039]

I still have my doubts PSG are even close to winning the CL. They have more in common with a marketing exercise than a dominant football team.