Everybody alwaya argues about which league is the strongest.

UEFA has just released its latest coefficient rankings for leagues (i.e. NOT national teams).

Broadly speaking they confirm what we knew - that the Spanish League is still the strongest, and what we suspected - that the Italian League, having lost first place a few years ago, has now slipped behind the English League as well.

UEFA Club Competitions
Associations' Coefficient Ranking

+/- 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 Total

1ESP = 10.000 18.571 16.611 14.857 10.500 70.359
2 ENG +1 7.437 14.500 14.166 11.571 8.222 55.896
3 ITA -1 12.000 12.000 9.812 12.571 9.071 55.454
4 GER = 6.357 11.071 11.062 13.500 7.857 49.847
5 FRA = 8.642 10.285 9.500 7.125 7.916 43.468
6 GRE = 6.200 5.416 6.750 11.250 6.166 35.782
7 HOL = 4.833 6.250 6.083 10.166 5.166 32.498
8 POR +1 3.500 5.833 6.125 9.375 5.750 30.583
9 TUR -1 3.200 7.750 7.750 5.625 4.000 28.325
10 BEL +4 5.500 3.250 7.000 5.875 6.375 28.000

11 SCO +1 5.625 5.125 5.625 6.625 4.625 27.625
12 CZE -1 2.250 8.000 6.000 5.500 5.800 27.550
13 SUI +3 5.750 4.125 4.375 6.125 4.625 25.000
14 UKR -1 7.333 5.375 4.000 3.625 4.250 24.583
15 ISR +3 5.000 3.000 1.833 8.333 5.833 23.999
16 AUT -1 4.375 3.875 7.750 3.375 4.000 23.375
17 POL +3 4.000 3.250 3.625 4.125 6.375 21.375
18 RUS -8 7.000 4.250 3.833 2.333 3.625 21.041
19 YUG +4 4.166 3.166 4.500 3.166 4.833 19.831
20 NOR -3 3.800 5.200 4.625 3.250 2.700 19.575

21 BUL +4 2.833 3.833 3.000 4.833 4.166 18.665
22 CRO -3 4.875 2.250 4.375 4.375 2.750 18.625
23 SWE -1 2.375 4.333 4.800 3.833 2.250 17.591
24 DEN -3 4.125 1.750 3.750 4.500 3.250 17.375
25 SVK -1 3.333 2.500 3.666 3.500 0.666 13.665
26 ROM = 2.500 4.833 0.833 2.625 2.166 12.957
27 HUN = 2.333 3.125 2.666 1.500 3.166 12.790
28 CYP +1 2.500 2.166 1.000 1.333 3.166 10.165
29 SLO -1 2.333 3.000 1.833 1.500 0.666 9.332
30 FIN = 3.000 1.000 1.500 1.375 0.333 7.208

31 LAT = 1.500 2.500 0.833 0.666 1.166 6.665
32 MOL +1 0.500 2.000 1.166 1.166 1.000 5.832
33 GEO -1 1.000 1.500 0.500 1.333 1.333 5.666
34 BHZ +8 - 0.500 0.500 0.333 3.000 4.333
35 LIT +1 0.666 1.333 0.833 0.333 0.833 3.998
36 ISL -2 0.666 1.000 0.833 0.833 0.166 3.498
37 MKD +1 0.333 0.666 0.666 0.666 1.166 3.497
38 BLS -3 0.500 0.000 1.000 0.750 1.166 3.416
39 IRL -2 0.500 0.333 1.666 0.666 0.166 3.331
40 MLT -1 0.000 0.666 0.333 1.166 0.833 2.998

41 ARM +2 0.000 0.333 0.666 0.000 1.166 2.165
42 WAL -2 0.166 0.500 0.166 1.000 0.333 2.165
43 LIE +5 0.000 0.000 0.500 0.500 1.000 2.000
44 ALB +1 0.333 0.166 0.000 0.666 0.666 1.831
45 EST -4 0.333 0.000 0.666 0.500 0.166 1.665
46 NIR -2 0.333 0.166 0.333 0.333 0.333 1.498
47 LUX +2 0.000 0.166 0.333 0.333 0.500 1.332
48 AZE -2 0.000 0.333 0.666 0.166 1.165
49 FAR -2 0.333 0.166 0.000 0.500 0.166 1.165
50 KZK +2 - - - - 0.500 0.500

51 AND -1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
52 SMR -1 - - 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Spain deserves the first place not only for the Spanish Liga but for the fantastic performances of R. Madrid , Barcelona , Valencia and my beloved Deportivo.
BTW , today has been a great day for all Deportivo fans because Molina will come back after recovering from testicles cancer.

yeah. I am cheering for Molina too. Not because he plays for Deportiva.. but because he's so cute

Read a disturbing article in the March 27-April 2 2003 The Guardian Weekly by Giles Tremlett. He inteviewed a Spanish investigative reporter who had infiltrated an ""official" group of violent neo-Nazi supporters [of Real Madrid], the feared Ultrasur."

Their way of celebrating a win or lose is "to organize cacerias (hunts) of blacks, prostitutes, tramps, gays and supporters of other clubs." The investigator claims to have arrived at his first contact with them at a bar called Refugio where they were chanting "6 milion Jews to the gas chambers".

Makes the aftergame shenanigans here seem like a tea party.

BTW the invesigative reporter was incognito due to a death threat from Ultrasur.