Decade Tables: Which soccer clubs/countries have been the most successful this decade?

Photo Via: The Independent

Unbelievably this current decade is coming to an end, and next year’s top soccer competitions and leagues will have a majority of their matches take place in 2020 rather than the 2019 calendar year. Therefore it seems like a good time to recap the 2010-2019 decade of soccer. This decade had a plethora of storylines and trends that impacted the world of soccer such as Manchester United’s decline, Manchester City’s rise, and Real Madrid’s European dominance.

This article will firstly show the decade tables for the Big 5 European Leagues; English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, and the French Ligue 1. In this, I tallied up the points and goal differential attained by each club in top-flight matches starting from the 2009-2010 season and finishing up with this past 2018-2019 season. Additionally, I did this for two other competitions: the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup. The results are below:

British Premier League Decade Table:

Manchester City Pts: 812 GD: 483
Manchester United Pts: 759 GD: 334
Chelsea Pts: 750 GD: 353
Arsenal Pts: 719 GD: 300
Tottenham Pts: 710 GD: 249
Liverpool Pts: 688 GD: 293
Everton Pts: 564 GD: 78
Stoke City Pts: 412 GD: -110
West Ham Pts: 402 GD: -94
Newcastle Pts: 366 GD: -93
West Bromwich Pts: 342 GD: -102
Southampton Pts: 341 GD: -10
Sunderland Pts: 314 GD: -128
Swansea City Pts: 312 GD: -77
Aston Villa Pts: 284 GD: -133
Crystal Palace Pts: 269 GD: -56
Leicester City Pts: 265 GD: 7
Fulham Pts: 248 GD: -106
Burnley Pts: 197 GD: -107
Bournemouth Pts: 177 GD: -64

Takeaways:
–Manchester City’s Dominance: City have not only become the kings of Manchester, they have become the dominant club in England as well. As they are 53 points clear of second place United.
–Arsenal’s Consistency: Although this decade has seen the Gunners end their Champions League Streak, they have been the most consistent club in England. Their Points standard deviation of 4.51 was by far the lowest of any club in the league.
–Leicester’s 2015-2016 Run: There is little to be said about Leicester’s remarkable title-winning season that has not already been said. However, when put in the context of the decade, it seems even more remarkable. The other clubs to have won a BPL title all rank within the top 3, while the foxes fall at 17th in the table given the fact they were not in top flight for the first half of the decade, and their second best point tally falls 29 points below their 81 point 2016 season.

Spanish La Liga Decade Table:

Barcelona Pts: 928 GD: 750
Real Madrid Pts: 879 GD: 660
Atletico Madrid Pts: 726 GD: 285
Valencia Pts: 618 GD: 135
Sevilla Pts: 601 GD: 92
Athletic Bilbao Pts: 552 GD: 16
Villarreal Pts: 514 GD: 60
Espanyol Pts: 475 GD: -102
Real Sociedad Pts: 474 GD: 7
Malaga Pts: 407 GD: -69
Getafe Pts: 385 GD: -84
Levante Pts: 353 GD: -119
Celta Vigo Pts: 332 GD: -51
Real Betis Pts: 322 GD: -100
Deportivo La Coruna Pts: 267 GD: -150
Rayo Vallecano Pts: 258 GD: -142
Osasuna Pts: 244 GD: -128
Eibar Pts: 230 GD: -38
Granada Pts: 219 GD: -172
Mallorca Pts: 194 GD: -33

Takeaways:
–Barca’s League Dominance: While Barcelona’s archnemesis, Real Madrid, has emphatically dominated Europe, Barca has owned La Liga. They have won 7/10 League titles, and tallied up 928 points. The 928 points is higher than any club’s decade league points within the big five leagues.
–Mallorca’s Surprising Inclusion: Mallorca has not been in Spanish top flight for six straight seasons. The club tied for the 20th and last spot in the table with Sporting Gijon with 194 pts, but held a superior goal differential.
–The Truth of La Liga’s Top Heavy Perception: The Spanish league has often been dubbed as a top-heavy league, and a league that is usually Europe’s best when comparing their very best to other league’s very best clubs. This trend is seen in the league table as there is a 108 point gap between 3rd Place Atletico Madrid and 4th place Valencia.

Italian Serie A Decade Table:

Juventus Pts: 840 GD: 416
Napoli Pts: 747 GD: 327
Roma Pts: 726 GD: 270
AC Milan Pts: 665 GD: 196
Inter Milan Pts: 655 GD: 198
Lazio Pts: 605 GD: 136
Fiorentina Pts: 565 GD: 98
Udinese Pts: 492 GD: -39
Atalanta Pts: 454 GD: 2
Genoa Pts: 446 GD: -90
Sampdoria Pts: 441 GD: -38
Chievo Pts: 413 GD: -158
Cagliari Pts: 379 GD: -224
Bologna Pts: 374 GD: -118
Torino: Pts: 365 GD: 29
Parma Pts: 321 GD: -63
Palermo Pts: 310 GD: -64
Sassuolo Pts: 276 GD: -70
Catania Pts: 227 GD: -46
Empoli Pts: 158 GD: -66

Takeaways:
–Inter and AC Milan’s relative decline: From 2004-2011 the Serie A title was held by a Milan club, but AC Milan and Inter fall in at distant 4ths and 5ths respectively in the decade table. AC Milan has not finished in a Champions League qualifying position since the 2012-2013 season.
–Atalanta’s Recent Run: Atalanta has had a three-year streak of 3+ 60 Pt years, highlighted by a third-place finish this past year. This streak has pushed them 9th in the decade table, while they were 14th in the first 7 years of the decade.
–The Inclusion of Roma and Napoli in the New Serie A Big 3: Within the historical context of the Serie A the big three is known to be Juventus, Milan and Inter as they have combined for more than 60% of All Serie A titles. However, within this decade there is a big gap between Roma’s third-place 726 points and Milan’s 4th place 665 points.

German Bundesliga Decade Table:

Bayern Munich Pts: 800 GD: 600
Borussia Dortmund Pts: 669 GD: 332
Bayer Leverkusen Pts: 582 GD: 170
Schalke 04 Pts: 527 GD: 81
Monchenbladbach Pts: 505 GD: 51
VfL Wolfsburg Pts: 474 GD: 10
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Pts: 450 GD: 15
Mainz 05 Pts: 445 GD: -35
Werder Bremen Pts: 438 GD: -59
Eintracht Frankfurt Pts: 391 GD: -58
VfB Stuttgart Pts: 373 GD: -84
SC Freiburg Pts: 360 GD: -130
Hannover 96 Pts: 360 GD: -136
Hamburger SV Pts: 353 GD: -131
FC Augsburg Pts: 321 GD: -80
Hertha BSC Pts: 316 GD: -87
FC Koln Pts: 266 GD: -96
FC Nurnberg Pts: 209 GD: -118

Takeaways:
–RB Leipzig’s Controversial Rise falling short:
Leipzig has argubaly become the most hated club within the Bundesliga. Whether you love them or hate them the club has had a meteoric rise given the fact they have finished 2nd, 6th, and 3rd in their first three ever seasons in German Top Flight. The club would fall at 3rd in a table tallied up from just the past three years. However they fall one spot out of 18th in the past 10 years, despite having the fifth best Goal Differential of any club the past decade.
–Bayern rules Germany: Bayern Munich has won 8/10
Bundesliga Titles, and are on a current run of seven straight. Their dominance can also be seen by the 131 point gap that exists between them and second-place Dortmund. This gap is the highest gap between a 1st and 2nd place club of any of the big 5 decade tables.
–Lots of Parity within the Middle-Low Range of the Table:
The Bundesliga often gets a bad rep for a lack of parity, and much of this criticism is valid. However, the parity that exists at the middle and lower end of the table rivals that of any league. The gap between 7th place Hoffenheim’s 450 points and 15th Place Augsburg’s 321 points is practically the same as the gap between the 1st and 2nd place clubs.

French Ligue 1 Decade Table:

PSG Pts: 808 GD: 497
Lyon Pts: 682 GD: 253
Marseille Pts: 642 GD: 176
Lille Pts: 628 GD: 205
Saint-Etienne Pts: 575 GD: 75
Bordeaux Pts: 552 GD: 46
Montpellier Pts: 546 GD: 33
Nice Pts: 537 GD: -10
Monaco Pts: 526 GD: 153
Rennes Pts: 523 GD: 8
Toulouse Pts: 454 GD: -73
Lorient Pts: 373 GD: -53
Caen Pts: 292 GD: -118
Nantes Pts: 290 GD: -46
Guingamp Pts: 259 GD: -89
Reims Pts: 229 GD: -52
Bastia Pts: 227 GD: -70
Sochaux Pts: 222 GD: -67
Valenciennes Pts: 220 GD: -38
Nancy Pts: 214 GD: -65

Takeaways:
–Monaco’s Rise and Fall: Monaco had a near regulation season this past year, just two years removed from winning the league in 16/17. The club has had a remarkable recent run of success, racking up 70+ points in four out of the past six years. The club also garnered almost as many points (95) in the 16/17 season as they did in the first four years of the decade (99).
–Ligue 1’s Revolving Door of Relegation and Promotion: The French league has seen more teams in top flight this decade than any of the other top five leagues with 37. The league has also had 6 different clubs who have only appeared in one season of top-flight play, more than any other big league.
-Rennes’ non-Stellar Consistency: Rennes finished 10th in the decade league table despite being in top flight every year and only possessing two seasons in which they finished in the bottom half (12th and 13th). The club has had a run of consistent average play as they possess the lowest standard deviation of any French club (4.67).

UEFA Champions League Decade Table: