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LaLiga: Leicester’s fairytale victory still proving an inspiration for sides all around Europe

Leicester title
Leicester title

Last season ultimately belonged to Leicester City. The unlikely dream, constantly told their form “wouldn’t last” but by the end it felt like everyone in world football was desperately willing them to reach the finish line in first place. Well, everyone except for Tottenham Hotspur and their fans. It was unthinkable for the side tipped for relegation to run away with the title. The little Leicester that could.

Of course this current campaign has seen Leicester revert to type, or maybe they’re simply suffering from a title victory hangover. Dreams of a competing for the crown again, despite holding onto nearly all of their star players with the exception of N’Golo Kante, have quickly been forgotten and relegation is a much more likely outcome than finishing near the top. They do, however, have a Champions League knockout round tie to deal with.

Despite Leicester’s struggles to replicate that title-winning form their legacy and success lives on. In an era of football where money dictates success, the Foxes bucked the trend. The teams – and the fans of said teams – who enjoy a run near the top of the table no longer believe it’s inevitable they’ll drop away. Suddenly, you can’t rule anybody out ‘because Leicester did it’.

A brief glimpse across Europe’s top leagues and suddenly, in amongst some more regular mainstays, there are some new sides making names for themselves.

Sevilla
Sevilla

In LaLiga you don’t need to look any further than Sevilla. At the start of the summer it appeared the Europa League kings had reached the end of their cycle as Unai Emery left to join PSG and their transfer guru Monchi handed in his resignation. Disastrous. Monchi was eventually forced to stay and he brought in Jorge Sampaoli, although rumours soon began to swirl that he would leave before the first league game as Argentina came calling. Far from ideal preparation.

Is there a more popular side in Europe than Sevilla right now? The indecisiveness of the summer has been quickly forgotten and the team has fully bought in to Sampaoli’s style and system. The victory over Real Madrid at the weekend, which ended the 40-game unbeaten streak of the visitors, came as no real surprise to most LaLiga fans.

Sampaoli
Sampaoli

Sevilla have the self-belief and confidence to challenge the very best. Under Emery, especially away from home, you felt they’d accepted defeat before a ball was kicked. Sampaoli’s demanding style and the results to date mean they’re no longer fearful of anyone. They went over to Turin in the Champions League and claimed a deserved point against Juventus. In the league Barcelona are the only side to claim any points at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan but were almost blown away by a fantastic first half display.

It’s easy to dismiss Sevilla’s victory at the weekend as nothing more than them opening the door for Barcelona to sweep in and take top spot should Zidane’s side endure a little wobble. All this while overlooking the fact it’s Sevilla who are in second place and very much in this title race. Can you seriously dismiss them as valid title challengers?

Tottenham's Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli celebrate after the game
Tottenham's Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli celebrate after the game

In the Premier League you have Tottenham. Whilst it’s true they finished third last season after spending a large part only second to Leicester, it’s a testament to the job Mauricio Pochettino has done that they haven’t allowed that brief flirtation with the Premier League title to bring them down. It would be easy to dwell on that ‘missed opportunity’ with so many big sides failing to perform, to feel sorry for themselves, to throw in the towel.

Yet Spurs have found another gear this time around and instead of seeing their run at the top as a one-off, it’s given them a taste for more. The squad has been improved but crucially they’ve also retained their star players which is perhaps a psychological advantage that is sometimes undervalued. If you act like a stepping stone to an elite club, you will be treated as one. Players and fans want to see ambition, to see a project given time to come to fruition.

However similar to Sevilla, Tottenham aren’t always given the credit they deserve for impressive performances against the biggest sides in the division. Dominant victories over Manchester City and Chelsea at White Hart Lane, both sides being top of the table at the time of the meetings, were immediately seen as Spurs opening the title race for Liverpool and an improving Manchester United. Make no doubt about it, Tottenham’s players and fans believe they can win it. And why not?

Monaco PSG
Monaco PSG

Over in France we’ve seen PSG dislodged from the top and they sit three points behind Monaco and Nice. Everyone is probably thinking the current leaders will struggle to last the pace but Monaco have scored 21 more goals than PSG and are through to the knockout round of the Champions League. There’s genuine pedigree at Monaco and as for Nice, they’re playing without pressure. Mario Balotelli’s seems to have found some good form there and without European matches to contend with in the second half of the season, could they cause an upset?

Red Bull Leipzig
Red Bull Leipzig

Germany is no different. The Bundesliga standings might be topped by Bayern Munich but they’re being pushed to the limit by RB Leipzig and behind them are Hertha BSC, Eintracht and Hoffenheim. While Leipzig’s story doesn’t fit the classic fairytale story, it’s a testament to their recruitment policy that they’ve managed to make such an impact in their first season in the top division. Could they end Bayern’s stranglehold on the Bundesliga?

Even Turkish football is finding its own new heroes for neutrals to cheer on. Traditional giant clubs Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas all trail Medipol Başakşehir in the standings.

In Holland Feyenoord lead the way and could claim their first title in 18 years.

Juventus
Juventus

Serie A is perhaps the only league where it appears everything is business as usual with Juventus on top. Although there’s hope to be had that Torino and Atalanta’s young squads are given enough time to develop into potential title challengers and aren’t instead raided by the richer sides.

Leicester’s impact on world football lives on. The title races in most of the top European leagues are filled with new or unfashionable sides who aren’t deterred by negative comments about their dreams being crushed sooner rather than later. What better inspiration than to look at what Leicester achieved and say, ‘Why not us too?’ The rise of the underdog continues.