Intro
The Big 5 Leagues are seen as the pinnacle of European Club Football, maybe expect for Ligue 1. Outside of the Big 5, there are a ton of great teams who can hold their own against the elite clubs in Europe, and this list will highlight those teams.
Here are the criteria for my list:
1. Only one team per league on my list, though there could be honorable mentions if there is more than one team in a league that could make the list.
2. The results are based on the three years in terms of European and Domestic success as well as strength of their leagues.
3. SPOILER ALERT: Neither Benfica nor Porto will appear on this list, due to their status as elite in the Champions League. The team representing Liga Portugal will not be their best team.
Number 10 Maccabi Haifa (Isarel)
Maccabi Halfa is a team who has been on the up and up in recent years, recently usurping the Israeli Premier League crown form rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2021. They made to the final of the State Cup (Isarel’s FA Cup) and won their League Cup, the Toto Cup in 2022.
Their success has also carried over to European competition, making it to European Competition every year since 2020 and improving every year since. They made it to the Conference League group stage 2022, where they tied runners-up Feyenoord, and beat quarter-finalists Slavia Prague. They made the Champions’ League Group Stage the next season where they got a win for Europa League semi-finalists Juventus and lost out on a Europa League spot on goal difference.
Number 9 Ferenacvos (Hungary)
Ferenacvos are a team who have been a steady decline in recent years, yet still managed to maintain a foothold in European competition. They are regular winners of the Hungarian top league every year since 2019, and made the Europa League group three out of four years, excluding 2021 where they made the Champions’ League group stage where they drew against Dynamo Kiev. They have also made Europa League Round of 16 in 2023 after winning their group and owning the tiebreaker on points over Monaco on points, losing to Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on aggerate.
Number 8 Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Shakhtar has won the Ukrainian Premier League all but one year since 2016 and are regulars in the Champions’ League group stage and Europa League knockout rounds.
They did make to the Round of 16 in the Champions League in 2018 where they lost to Roma on away goals, and almost made it back in 2020 and 2021, making it to the semi-finals in the Europa League in 2020 and sweeping against Real Madrid in 2021, and regularly playing in the Europa League knockout rounds since 2019.
However, Shakhtar have not won any cups lately due in part to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, which robbed them of a potential Ukrainian Cup run in 2022 and forced them out of their home temporary due the Russian Occupation of the area. The fact that they are still a competitive team, even making it to the Round of 16 in 2023 shows that this club can still compete, despite their home nation under siege by the Russians.
Number 7 Copenhagen (Denmark)
This may be a controversial pick, but I think Copenhagen could be a better team than Shakhtar Donetsk. While Shakhtar is a better team, Copenhagen has shown growth year after year.
They won their league the past two seasons in 2022 and 2023, while completing the double the later year with a Danish Cup (Denmark’s FA Cup) win. They made the quarterfinals of Europa League in the 2020 season, losing 1-0 to a white-hot Manchester United team.
They made the Europa League play-off round in 2021 round, won their Conference League group in 2022, and draw level against all three opponents in the group at home in 2023 (Borussia Dortmund, Europa winners Sevilla, and Treble Winners Manchester City.)
Number 6 Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
A member of the Red Bull bloodline in European Football, RB Salzburg has won the Austrian Bundesliga every year since 2014. They also won five straight Austrian Cups (Austria’s FA Cup) between 2018 and 2022.
Their success extends to the European levels, where made it to the Europa League every year between 2017 and 2019 and Champions League every year from 2020. They have even made it to the knockout rounds in the Europa League every year since 2018, with the exception of 2022 where they made the Round of 16 in the Champions League.
The one thing they that will prevent them from going much further, is the fact that they are a feeder club to RB Leipzig, who are competing for European and German silverware. Unless they eventually can make a successful transition back to being Austria Salzburg, they might have reached their ceiling as a club.
Number 5 Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
The Bayern Munich of the Serbian Superliga, Red Star Belgrade has won the Superliga every year since 2017, losing more than one game in league play once in that stretch. They even doubled up the past three seasons winning the Serbian Cup.
They made it to the Champions’ League group stage in 2019 and 2020 and picked up a win over eventual Champions of Europe Liverpool in 2019. They played in Europa League group stage since 2021 and won their group in 2022, beating Portuguese side Braga by one point. They will be back in the group stage in the 2023-24 season as an automatic qualifier.
Number 4 Rangers (Scotland)
The Rangers have been taking Scotland and Europe by storm since their reemergence in the Scottish Premiership since 2017. While their rivals Celtic have dominated the Scottish Premiership, Rangers focus has been on European glory.
They made it back to the Europa League in 2018, where they lost in the first round, but they continued to improve year by year. They made the Europa League group stage in 2019, and entered the Knockout Rounds in 2020, after finishing second in a group with Porto, Young Boys, and Feyenoord. They beat Braga in round 32, before falling to Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16.
While they did get knocked out in the Europa League Round of 16 again in 2021, they went unbeaten and won the group. However, their biggest accomplishment that season is going unbeaten in their league in route to winning the Scottish Premiership.
The 2021-22 season was arguably their best season, despite finishing second in their league, the Rangers won the Scottish Cup (Scotland’s FA Cup) and made it all the way to the Europa League final that season, before losing to Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties.
They made the Champions’ League group stage in 2023, where they got curb stomped in the group stage, but they still finished second in their league and made the Scottish Cup Semi-Finals that season.
Number 3 Club Brugge (Belgium)
Club Brugge has emerged as one of the feared clubs in Europe the past few years in the hotly competitive Belgian Pro League.
They won the Belgian Pro League every year from 2018 to 2022 and made the Champions League every year from 2019 and 2023. They made the Europa League Knockout Round between 2019 and 2021, making the Round of 32 every season.
Their coming out party was in the 2022-23 season, where they won the Belgian Cup (Belgium’s FA Cup) and made it to the Round of 16 in the Champions League after winning their first three games in the group, including a 4-0 win on the road against Porto and beating out Bayer Leverkusen and La Liga powerhouse Atletico Madrid for the knockout round spot.
Even though they are playing Conference League football in the 2023-24 season due in part to the rise of Union Saint-Gilliose, Antwerp, and Gent, Club Brugge is one of the dark horse favorites to win the third-tier competition.
Number 2 Sporting CP (Portugal)
Normally this spot would be reserved for Benfica or Porto, due to them being restricted from this list, Sporting CP takes the spot, at least for now.
Sporting has been the third wheel for Liga Portugal, competing with the likes of rivals Benfica and Porto and even beating them both out for the Liga Portugal crown in 2021, and regularly competing for and winning the Taca de Liga trophy (Portugal’s league cup).
They have regularly competed in the Europa League, and made the Europa League knockout rounds, including a Quarter-Finals appearance in 2018. Their biggest highlight is making the Champions League Round of 16 in 2022 before losing to parent club Manchester City in the Round of 16.
Sporting CP did take a step back in 2023, falling back to the Europa League knockout stage. They did back Premier League powerhouse Arsenal in the Round of 16 before losing to Juventus in quarterfinals. They also regressed in the league, finishing fourth behind Braga for a Champions League spot.
Much like RB Salzburg, they might need to detach their wagon from Manchester City if they were to progress further, otherwise Braga will take their spot as the third wheel of the Liga Portugal.
Honorable Mentions:
Braga (Portugal)
Braga has emerged as a quality team in recent years. Recently making the Champions League and competing for the Taca de Portugal (Portugal’s FA Cup) regularly, winning the trophy in 2021, and returning to the final in 2023 being Benfica in the process.
Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova)
Sheriff Tiraspol has emerged as the super minnows of European Football in the past few seasons. They beat Real Madrid on the road in the Champions’ League group stage in 2022, came from behind on the road against Partizan in the Conference League Knockout playoffs in 2023, as well as holding their own against other stronger teams in Europe.
Feyenoord (Netherlands)
While they do have a case for being number one on this list and representing the Eredivisie, Feyenoord has proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with in 2023. They won their league and made the Europa League quarterfinals the same year. They did make the Champions’ League Group Stage this year, so maybe they could be vanguards of Dutch Football.
Union SG (Belgium)
Union SG has had a Rangers-like raise in recent years, being recently promoted to the Belgium Pro League in 2021 and making the Europa League quarterfinals the in 2023. They still need to continue proving themselves to be taken seriously but they are a team to watch moving forward.
Lech Poznan (Poland)
The Polish Champions in 2022 and Conference League Quarterfinals in 2023 have been one of the more noteworthy teams in Europe within the past couple seasons. While Legia Warsaw is a solid team in their own right, Lech Poznan has arguably been the better team in European competition.
Number 1 Ajax (Netherlands)
No surprise that Ajax is the best non big five team on this list. However, despite their top-ranking Ajax has been on a bit of a downslope as for late.
They have finished at least second in their league in their league between 2010 and 2022, including four straight league titles from 2019 to 2022. This includes three Champions League knockout appearances during that stretch, including a semifinal appearance in 2019. They have added two KNVB Cups (Netherland’s FA Cups) in 2019 and 2021.
Ajax won games against Juventus, Real Madrid, and Sporting CP and held their own against Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool. However, in 2023 they tapered off after their manger Erik Ten Hag left to coach Manchester United. They finished third in their league and lost in the knockout playoffs to Union Berlin.
One bad season will not wipe away from the dominance Ajax has built up. They will still be one of the best teams in Europe for years to come.
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