World Football: Why The English Premier League Is Not The Best

It has been an age-old debate. Which is the best league in the World? While there have been many people who say, without thinking twice, that the English Premier League is the best football league in the World, there's news for them.

The English Premier League is simply over-hyped.

Yes, you're hearing this from someone who staunchly supports Arsenal. You're hearing this from someone who has probably watched only a handful of La Liga matches and falls asleep after watching 20 minutes of a Serie A match. But, the truth is that the English Premier League is not the best league in the World.

The English Premier League has heavyweights such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea (in that order). These teams are loved and adored all over the World and have very talented players as well. So, people who watch only the Premier League will obviously come to the conclusion that it is the best league in the World.

Let's face it. The English Premier League is very predictable. We all know which teams are going to make the top four. We know that there are only six teams other than the top four who have the desired quality to make the UEFA Cup.

That leaves us with 10 not so good teams.

By that, I mean that the quality of football which the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, or Wigan play is not the most pleasing. In fact, if you told me to watch the derby between Bolton and Blackburn, I would ask you to pay me to do so.

It's perhaps the most boring match of the entire fixture list. The ball goes from back to front in a few seconds, only for it to go back again in a few seconds. There's foul after foul, and a stop-start game which almost reminds me of a cricket match.

Compare this game to perhaps a game between Espanyol and Osasuna, where you will find chances created at either end. There is no "stifling the opposition" or "pack five in midfield." It's quite simple, the two teams want to win. If the game reaches a stage where the two teams know that they really cannot score, you might see a few boring minutes—as compared to a whole boring 90 minutes in either Ewood Park or the Reebok Stadium.

La Liga is a better league than the Premier League for the purists. The technical ability of the players in La Liga is head and shoulders above those in the Premier League. The pace of the game might not match the Premier League's, but the quality of the game is quite good.

I've always been of the opinion that a league is not as good as just the top four or five teams. The clashes between the mid-table teams should also attract neutral audiences. In that aspect, the Premier League should come in second behind La Liga.

Why the Premier League is considered the best is purely because it is marketed brilliantly. Richard Scudamore negotiated a multi-billion pound television deal which would make the Premier League the most profitable league to be in. It is screened all over the World, much like La Liga, but with many more advertisements. It has a much larger fan base because of the aforementioned clubs.

But that has very little to do with the quality of football that the league as a whole produces.

The dynamic nature of La Liga and the games in the league as such makes it a much better league, football-wise, than the Premier League. The Premier League isn't the best in the World just because three teams made the semifinals of the Champions League. In fact, not a single team from the Premier League made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

The final of the 2003 Champions League was played between two Italian teams and yet I don't remember anybody proclaiming with such strength that the Serie A is the best league in the World. Neither did I hear similar claims when two Spanish teams played in the same match in 2000.

The comparison between the Premier League and other leagues is not being made on a fair basis. More people watch the EPL all over the World than any other league and it is quite obvious that, that is the only reason why people would make such claims.

Having the best players from all over the World doesn't mean that you have the best league. Until the teams in the Premier League play football to win (which is never going to happen), nobody can claim that it is the best league in the World.

Real Madrid had the "galacticos" and yet they were never the best team at the time. Somehow, I feel inclined to draw parallels with the "galacticos" of Spain and the "best league in the World," that is the English Premier League.

As far as I'm concerned however, the Premier League comes in a close second to La Liga.