What scenario can prove the dominance of a league in European football? Champions League victory? Europa League victory? Winning the Champions League and finishing runners-up? Actually, you can do that. To cite a few examples, Sevilla have won the Europa League for three consecutive seasons since 2014, while Real Madrid have won the Champions League for three consecutive seasons since 2016 and in 2014. So, in 2014, 2016, the Champions League and Europa League were all La Liga. At that time, it was also the stage when La Liga dominated European football.
In fact, regarding dominance, it can be further subdivided. For example, from the perspective of the city. Last season's Champions League, Milan met in the semi-finals, and this is the glory of the city of Milan. In fact, earlier, the Milan duo met in the Champions League semifinals more than once. Imagine that two of the four strongest teams in Europe come from the same city, and the weight of this city in football is evident.
However, what can better reflect the dominance of a city is that two teams from the same city will directly meet in the Champions League final. There is only one such example, Madrid. In the 13-14 season and the 15-16 season, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid met twice in the Champions League final, earning enough face for the city of Madrid.
However, after all, the two teams have to separate the winners and losers, although Madrid won the Champions League, but when it comes to the two teams, Real Madrid is happy, while Atletico Madrid can only hide in the corner and cry. In fact, we can also find a way to prove a city's football dominance. Isn't it said that the Europa League is the competition that reflects the overall level of a league? So, is there an example of a single season of Champions League and Europa League titles being taken away by a team from the same city?
There is one and only one example. Moreover, it can only be Madrid.
After three years of frenzy of reaching two Champions League finals, Atletico's competitiveness has slipped and they can no longer afford to come close to winning the Champions League. But Atletico, who retired from the top, found their comfort point on another track - the Europa League. A team like Atletico Madrid, which is not top-notch in terms of strength and heritage, but is more like a giant than the average team, is too easy to gain in the Europa League.
The example we are talking about happened in the 17-18 season. This season, Real Madrid are still Champions League winners. In the Europa League, Atletico Madrid easily defeated Marseille 3:0 in the final and won the championship. Therefore, this season, the Champions League and Europa League titles are not only owned by La Liga, but also by the city of Madrid. This is the only time in the history of European football.
Of course, if there is a choice, Atletico Madrid will definitely be willing to go to the Champions League and strive for more possibilities. But the Europa League title is also a rare honour for a team like Atletico Madrid. Back to reality, in the next few years, it cannot be ruled out that the city of Madrid will once again win the Champions League and Europa League in a single season. First of all, Real Madrid currently has a reasonable age structure and is extremely competitive, and it is very likely to win the Champions League again in the next few years; And what about Atletico? Looking at the current La Liga ecological environment, in fact, Atletico Madrid has a certain probability that they will not be able to keep the top four in La Liga in a certain season, and thus fall to the Europa League. But Atletico Madrid, who came to the Europa League, may be more competitive than Sevilla, the king of the Europa League.
What other city do you think can do this than Madrid?