LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT: THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Well, well, what a Champions League week did we just experience!

English football vacillates between joy and disappointment: Chelsea was able to overcome the PSG obstacle, whereas Manchester United just wasn't good enough yesterday to defeat the defending champions.

As I do every Thursday, I'll be looking at one of the most important football competitions of our times. Considering the drama that took place in these quarterfinals, what better place to explore than the English Premier League?

AMONG THE OLDEST….YET ONE OF THE YOUNGEST

England is considered the crib of football. The first club in history is English (Sheffield FC, founded in 1857). The oldest competition is English (the FA Cup, dating back to 1972). 

The First Division came right after that, kicking off in 1888, and dominated the scene for more than 100 years as England's top competition. World War II created a 6-season interruption, but the football machine swung back into action straight away in 1946.

However, what we now know as the English Premier League is still a teenager, compared to "Grandpa" First Division.

The Barclays Premier League came into being on the 27th of May 1992, when the country's top 22 teams called it quits. The main reason was that the clubs wanted more control over television rights and sponsorships, without having to always go through the Football Association.

This marked the start of a new era. More than 20 years have passed since then, during which the League has grown at such a pace that it has become the football league with the highest revenue in the world.

PREMIER LEAGUE: WINNING TRIO, BIG FOUR GENERATION

Fresh new start, open competition? Not quite.

During the Premier League era, with the exception of Blackburn Rovers in 1994-1995 and Manchester City in 2011-2012, only 3 teams conquered the trophy: Manchester United (13 times), Arsenal and Chelsea (both with 3 wins each).

In a more general sense, the exclusivity of the new competition  was manifested in the struggle to book a spot in Europe's finest soccer club, the Champions League. In fact, 4 teams (ManU, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal) got their hands on the first 4 positions 63 times out of the 84 available (75%); 23 out of 24, if we only consider the 6-year span between 2003 and 2009.

UNITED KINGDOM…OF FOOTBALL?

The English Football League system has historically opened their doors to non-English teams. 

Up to now, the only country which sent their clubs to compete with their neighbors has been Wales, currently represented by 6 teams (Cardiff City, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Town, Newport County, Swansea City and Wrexham). Cardiff City has been the most successful squad in the top flight, winning the 1926-1927 FA Cup against Arsenal and conquering the 1927 Community Shield against London based Corinthian.

There have been talks about including Scottish or Irish teams, but nothing has been done to date.

THE CRAZY NUMBERS OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL

HIGHEST NUMBER OF PARTICIPATIONS (OUT OF 114 SEASONS)

1st:Everton (111)

2nd: Aston Villa (103)

3rd: Liverpool (99)

MOST TITLE WINS

1st: Manchester United (20)

2nd: Liverpool (18)

3rd: Arsenal (13)

BORN FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Ryan Giggs: participated and scored in all 21 seasons