Year of the Underdog

In all of the leagues across Europe you see the usual suspects. Those of the superpowers such as Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Juventus. But then you have a bunch of other names. Names of teams who haven’t had much to cheer in recent times.

The most notable would be Manchester City. For a while, they have been busy assembling somewhat of a dream team, but 2011 would appear to be the year that it has all clicked. The high point was obviously a 6-1 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford. With the likes of David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and Mario Balotelli they have a squad which is the envy of many others. City haven’t won the league since 1968 and it would be a long celebration should they break the drought.

In Italy, you have Udinese in Serie A who have never won the league. They are currently in second place and starting to think big. Antonio Di Natale is their star player and even more so after the summer selling of Alexis Sanchez, Gokhan Inler and Cristian Zapata. You would have received some great football odds on the them at the start of the year. Odds that have since dramatically shortened.

Schalke 04 haven’t claimed the Bundesliga since 1958. They are currently in second place on the ladder, four points behind Bayern Munich. The team is a mixture of imports and locals. Raul, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Jermaine Jones and Kyriakos Papadopoulos lead the former while Christoph Metzelder, Lewis Holtby and Tim Hoogland the latter.

In Spain you have Barcelona and Real Madrid filling the top two stops but right behind them is Levante. The big question is if they have the depth to maintain this great form and get through a very long season.

Montpellier HSC is second in La Ligue. The side from the south of France has never won La Ligue and are right begin PSG in the chase for the championship. Should they win it would be amazing for the sides who have given up hope to the likes of Lyon, Lille, Marseille and PSG.

Having sides of this ilk do well is great for the sport. It creates a unique feel to it and provides an extra dimension as opposed to it being the same teams time after time. Then there is the aspect of the underdog being able to take it to the superstar team.

Levante have defeated Real Madrid. Imagine the impact if it could also defeat Barcelona. Levante visits the Camp Nou is early December.

It also creates an uncertainty in betting. Will the pedigree hold true or can the upstart continue its good form and buck the trend of history?