La Liga clubs have won more than half of the 68 UEFA competitions of the 21st century.
Sevilla players lift the Europa League trophy at Puskas Stadium, Budapest, Hungary on May 31. Photo: AFP
"Sevilla's seventh Europa League title further strengthens Spanish football's dominance on the continent," commented Spanish newspaper Marca .
Since 1 January 2001, 68 UEFA titles have been awarded, including 22 Champions Leagues, 23 UEFA Cups/Europa Leagues, one Europa Conference League, 22 European Super Cups. Of these, 35 have been won by clubs in La Liga.
Real Madrid are the most successful club with 11 titles, including six Champions Leagues and five European Super Cups. The Royal team last won the title in May 2022, when they beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final, then beat Frankfurt 2-0 in the European Super Cup a few months later.
Barca are behind with four Champions League titles and three European Super Cups. But the last time the Camp Nou team won the title was in the 2014-2015 season, when the team with stars like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar defeated Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final.
Meanwhile, Atletico have won three Europa Leagues and three European Super Cups, Valencia have won the UEFA Cup - the predecessor to the Europa League - and the European Super Cup, while Villarreal have won the Europa League once. Sevilla have won the Europa League a record seven times, but have only won the European Super Cup once, beating Barca 3-0 in Monaco in 2006.
La Liga's achievements are nearly three times that of the representatives of the Premier League - a tournament with representatives winning European titles 13 times in the 21st century. Following them are Serie A (6), Bundesliga (6), Portuguese National Championship (3), Russian Premier League (3), Dutch National Championship (1) and Ukrainian National Championship (1).
In the Champions League alone, La Liga has won 10 titles, twice as many as the Premier League. Real is the most successful club with six titles, followed by Barca with four and Bayern with three. But the English clubs have been on the rise recently. If Man City defeat Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul, Türkiye on June 10, the English representatives will be crowned champions for the third time in the last five seasons.
In 2019, Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in the final to end five years of La Liga dominance, with Real winning four titles and Barca winning one. Two years later, Chelsea won another all-English final against Man City to win the Champions League for the second time.
In the UEFA Cup/Europa League, La Liga also dominates with 12 championships, including seven titles by Sevilla, three by Atletico, one by Villarreal and one by Valencia. Following in order are representatives from the Premier League (4), Portugal (2), Russia (2), Germany (1), Ukraine (1) and the Netherlands (1).
Corresponding to the Champions League and the UEFA Cup/Europa League is La Liga's dominance in the European Super Cup. Spanish clubs have won 13 of the 22 titles since 2001, including Real (5), Barca (3), Atletico (3), Valencia (1) and Sevilla (1). There have been many "civil wars", such as Atletico beating Real 4-2 in 2018, Real beating Sevilla 3-2 in 2016, Barca beating Sevilla 5-4 in 2015, Real beating Sevilla 2-0 in 2014 and Sevilla beating Barca in 2005.
Following are the Premier League clubs with four titles, Serie A and Bundesliga have each won twice, and Russian representative Zenit Saint Petersburg has won the remaining title.
The Europa Conference League was launched last year with AS Roma as its inaugural champions. This year, the tournament will welcome a new champion when West Ham play Fiorentina in the final in Prague, Czech Republic on June 7.
Hong Duy
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