Could This Finally Be The Year Of The Underdogs

Underdog
/ˈʌndədɒɡ/ - noun
A competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest.

Since the start of the delayed European football leagues, we have seen the biggest of names stumble to the most unexpected of foes. Of course, this does happen sometimes in the sport but after seven matchdays no one would have expected to see Leicester City and Everton firmly placed in the top four.

In fact, only one of last year's top four in the Premier League has managed to retain their status that team being the defending champions Liverpool as Manchester United remain closer to the relegation places than to the top four and their neigbours City are also just recovering from a shaky start.

Arsenal, who had a difficult campaign last year have roared back as they have the best defence so far only conceding seven goals while their North-London rivals Tottenham have the best attack scoring a tremendous eighteen goals from seven matches. The Premier League is a fine example of brilliant underdog performances but if we dig deeper we can discover a lot more.

In this year's edition of the UEFA Champions League, we have seen european heavyweights Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris Saint-Germain stumble to embarassing defeats against unlikely opponents. Real Madrid, the club with the most titles in Champions League history are currently last in their group.

The Famous Barcelona have been having a very difficult time ever since their 8-2 thrashing to Bayern Munich as their president Josep Maria Bartimeu has now quit and they are currently sitting twelvth in their league, an unusual position for them. Meanwhile, topping the La Liga table are Underdogs Real Soceidad with their star player Ivan Rakitic back where he started. Closely behind them in third are Vilarreal, another unexpected team.

Juventus themselves haven't gotten off to the flying start they usually do in a league (Serie A) they have dominated for the past eight years as they sit third behind Sassulo who were a relegation threatened team last season and AC Milan who currently sit at the top of the table and have been in outstanding form ever since Sweedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the side.

All these underdog sides have definately shined in the past few weeks and made it difficult for the big teams script what would usually be routine wins. A tournament never is a tournament without an underdog shining, and it looks like we're in for another David and Goliath season.

Photo Credit: www.evertonfc.com