Number 10: Club Brugge (Belgian Pro League)
Club Brugge has been on the forefront of the Belgian Pro League rise since the turn of the decade. Even though they are playing Europa Conference League, they have had Champions League success.
That includes finishing second in their group in the 2022/23 season, beating Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid and finishing one point behind Porto, whom they beat 4-0 on the road in the group stage, losing to Benfica in the Round of 16. They did win the Belgian Cup and they are in the top 30 in UEFA club coefficient rankings.
With the increased strength of the league, this will help Club Brugge sharpen their claws and maybe win the Conference League next season and maybe go further in the Champions League in the future.
9. Braga (Liga Portugal)
With Porto and Benfica turning into European Powerhouses and Sporting CP emerging into a strong third wheel in the league, it is easy to forget that Braga is keeping place with the rest of the elite clubs in the league.
With a Taca de Portugal win in 2020-21, and a runner-up finish in 2022-23 while beating League Champions and Back-to-Back Champions League quarter-finalists Benfica in the quarterfinals. They also made the Europa League knockout rounds three years in a row between 2020 and 2022, making the quarterfinals in 2022, coming up short to Europa League finalists Rangers 3-2 in extra time.
Braga will be playing Champions League football in 2023/24 after beating out Sporting CP for third place.
8. Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldovan League)
Sheriff has come on their own the past two seasons, carrying the Moldovan League up the UEFA association rankings and cracking the top 100 in the UEFA Club rankings, despite their league being ranked in the bottom half.
Sheriff made it to Champions’ League group stage, even beating Serbian superpower Red Star Belgrade in qualifying stages. They finished third in their group, beating the Champions of Europe Real Madrid on the road and going unbeaten against Shakhtar Donetsk. They also were up 2-0 after first leg against after mentioned Braga before losing in penalties.
They made it to the Europa League group stage in 2022/23 season, finished third in an arguably tougher group with Real Sociedad and Manchester United. They beat Serbian side Partisan 3-2 on aggerate after coming losing 1-0 at home and trailing by the same score on the road. They did lose to French side Nice in the Round of 16, but they are proving to be a tough out in European competition despite being part of a below average league.
7. Newcastle (Premier League)
Newcastle has been an average team since been promoted back to the Premier League in 2017. However, in 2023 Newcastle emerged to their former glory, making it to the Carabao Cup final and facing Manchester United.
Newcastle even finished fourth in the Premier League and held off a surging Liverpool team to claim a Champions League spot while remaining in the top four spot for the majority of the season. This team will be a dark horse in the Champions League in 2024, especially with their ambitions shifting towards being not only being the best team in England, but also competing for Champions League silverware.
6. Real Sociedad (La Liga)
Outside of La Liga’s big three of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona, La Liga has a strong second tier of teams. Those teams include Villareal, Europa League demigods Sevilla, Real Betis and number six on this list Real Sociedad.
They have been stuck in the Europa League for the last two years, losing to Manchester United in the Round of 32 in 2021, and RB Leipzig in the Knockout Playoffs in 2022. In 2023 they won their Europa League group, topping Manchester United and beating them at Old Trafford. They would lose to Serie A side AS Roma in the Round of 16, but Sociedad will get a crack in the Champions League because of their fourth in La Liga.
They also made the Copa del Rey quarterfinals in the last two seasons. One of those appearances is a 1-0 loss to La Liga champions Barcelona.
Number 5: Copenhagen
After playing second fiddle to Danish Superliga rivals Midtjylland for several years, Copenhagen finally broke through in 2022, winning the league, and winning the domestic double in 2023 by winning the league and the Danish Cup as well as making it to the Champions’ League group stage.
During their Europa League run, they made it to the Europa League Quarterfinals in the COVID-altered 2020 season, losing 1-0 to Premier League superpower Manchester United. They also won their Europa Conference League group in 2022, going 5-0-1, which their only loss being a 2-1 defeat to Greek side PAOK. They would end up losing in Round of 16 to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven after getting battered 4-0 at home in the second leg.
4. Rangers (Scottish Premiership)
After being exiled out of the Scottish topflight 2012 and forced to watch their nemesis Celtic dominate the league, the Rangers stormed back to the topflight and finished in the top three every year since their reentry to the Scottish premiership. This culminated in the 2020-21 season where Rangers went full 2004 Arsenal and finished the season undefeated and rip the trophy out of Celtic’s grasp.
This furious run extended into European competition, where Rangers have been since 2018, a year after their reemergence into the Scottish Premiership. They finally made it out of the Europa League Group Stage and beating Braga 4-2 on aggerate in the Round of 32, before falling to German side Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16. The Rangers would win their Europa League Group in 2021 going unbeaten and smashing through Belgian Side Antwerp 9-5 on aggregate, but even their white-hot momentum was not enough to topple Czech side Slavia Prague in the Round of 16.
The Rangers went on a rampage in the 2022 Europa League losing to Swedish side Malmo FF in Champions League qualifying stages. They finished second in their Europa League group after losing their first two games and going unbeaten in their final four games. Rangers would tear through the knockout stages beating Borussia Dortmund, Red Stage Belgrade, Braga, and even RB Leipzig, before falling in penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Rangers made the Champions’ League group stage in the 2022-23 group stage after beating Union Saint-Gilliose and PSV before being buried in the Group Stage, losing all six of their games.
3. RB Leipzig (Bundesliga)
RB Leipzig busted on the European Stage in 2020 with a semi-final appearance in the Champions League after winning a group that included Lyon, Zenit Saint Petersburg, and future back-to-back quarter finalists Benfica. They also knocked out Tottenham and Atletico Madrid before losing to Paris Saint Germain in the Semi-Finals.
Leipzig would beat Manchester United in the final group game in the 2020-21 to steal a spot in the knockout round, which angers me as a Manchester United fan. At least United made it to the Europa League final that year. However, Liverpool had to flex on United and beat them 4-0 on aggregate. In case you are wondering Liverpool did the same thing in 2019 when it came to Barcelona.
RB Leipzig would finish third in the group stage in 2022 losing out to Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain. Couple fun facts here, first Paris Saint Germain was also in the same group as Leipzig in 2021, secondly, they beat Man City in the final game of the group stage. They would get a free pass to the quarterfinals because their opponent Spartak Moscow would be disqualified due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. They would lose to Rangers in the semifinals; however, they did win the DFB-Pokal that year beating SC Freiburg in penalties in finals.
Leipzig would win four straight games in Champions League group stage in the 2022-23 season and finish one point behind Real Madrid for the group lead, even beating them at home. Unfortunately for Leipzig, they ran into Manchester City in the Round of 16 where they would be battered 7-0 in the second leg after Erling Haaland went Super Saiyan on them on their way to the treble. They won the DFB-Pokal a second straight year, beating Freiburg 5-1 on the road in the semi-finals.
2. Feyenoord (Eredivisie)
Feyenoord has been evolving along with their league throughout the years. Even through they made the Champions League group stage in 2018, it is clear that them and the league need to improve because they finished last in their group.
Feyenoord finished third in their league but lost in the Europa League qualifying stages. They would finish third again in 2020 and made the Europa League group stage. However, they would be denied a KNVB Cup and a potential Champions League spot due to COVID. They would drop to fifth in 2021 and compete in the newly formed Europa Conference League in 2022, where they would make it all the way to the final, even going unbeaten in their group. They would beat Partisan, Slavia Prague, and Marseille before losing 1-0 to AS Roma in the final.
Feyenoord would have arguably one of their best seasons in recent memory in 2023, as they would top their league, and make it to the Semi-Finals of the KNVB Cup before losing to Ajax 2-1. They would win one of the wildest Europa League group stages in recent memory as they would beat Lazio and Sturm by goal difference, and Midtjylland by goals scored. They beat Shakhtar 8-1 on aggregate, which includes a 7-0 beatdown in the second leg. Feyenoord would face AS Roma in the quarterfinals, the team that beat them in the Conference League Final the previous season. After winning the first leg at home, Roma scores four goals in the second leg to beat Feyenoord 4-2. They won the league that year, and due to UEFA Club Coefficients, Feyenoord got an automatic bid in the Champions League group stage for the 2023-24 season.
1. Red Star Belgrade (Serbian Superliga)
Red Star Belgrade is the Bayern Munich of the Serbian Superliga, winning the league every year since 2018, only losing more than one game once in the league over that stretch.
Red Star finished dead last in their group in the Champions League in the 2018-19 after beating Copenhagen in the playoff round, but they had a signature win by beating the Champions of Europe that year in Liverpool. They would made it back to group stage in the 2019-20 season beating Copenhagen and Red Bull Salzburg, however they would still finish last in their group stage, allowing twenty goals and having a goal differential of negative seventeen, even worse than a negative twelve.
Red Star would dominate the league in 2020-21 season going unbeaten throughout the entire season, winning all but three games throughout the season and winning the Serbian Cup for the double. They would end up in the Europa League group stage, but it was a blessing in disguise for Red Star as they would survive the group stage in second stage. They would lose to AC Milan by away goals in the Round of 32.
Red Star won the Serbian again in the 2021-22 season, but they would lose to the Super Minnows Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League qualifying stages. Again, their shock loss would be a blessing in disguise as they would win their group before falling to the Rangers in the Round of 16.
Red Star won their third double in the 2022-23 season and won 7-0 in their qualifying round matchup. Unfortunately, they lost their playoff matchup to Israeli side Maccabi Haifa 5-4 on aggerate. Unfortunately, there is no happy ending for Red Star as they would finish last in their group after losing three one-goal games and losing the final game to Monaco 4-1.
However, things are looking up for Red Star Belgrade, as due to Serbia’s rise as a sports nation and the Serbian Superliga’s rise in the Association Coefficient Rankings gave Red Star an automatic berth in the Group Stage in the 2023-24 season.
Comments