12 Biggest Sleeper Clubs in World Football
Olympique Lyonnais and VfL Wolfsburg are currently two of world football's biggest sleeper clubs, and in this slideshow, we shine a spotlight on 12 such teams.
Sleeper clubs are those that fly under the radar while our attention is focused on bigger, flashier sides. They don't receive the fanfare they deserve as they sneak up their respective tables and edge toward success, be it qualification for Europe, promotion or a coveted piece of silverware.
Like the surprising success we've seen from West Ham United in the Premier League this season, Atletico Madrid in La Liga last term or even Greece winning Euro 2004, there are often teams on the up that have the ability to shock us.
The following 12 choices look like they're ready to shake things up in their corresponding leagues, and the club we feel is closest to success (based on their current form and progress across recent seasons) comes in at No. 1.
Read on to see who made it into the slideshow.
12. Sagan Tosu, J-League
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Sagan Tosu surprised a lot of people when they were promoted to Japan's J-League in 2012.
In the division for the first time in the club's history, they went on to finish the season in fifth place under the stewardship of manager Yoon Jung-hwan.
The following season, they made it to the semi-final of the Emperor's Cup despite seeing their league position fall to 12th.
In 2014, Sagan were on the up once again, spending large parts of the season on top of the table. However, it came as a shock when—in first place—they parted ways with Yoon because of a "lack of trust between the South Korean and his players," as reported in The Japan Times.
With Megumu Yoshida in charge until the end of the 2014 campaign, Sagan eventually finished in fifth, missing out on a playoff spot for the 2015 AFC Champions League by goals scored alone and boasting the division's second-highest goalscorer in Yohei Toyoda.
Now, with former Jubilo Iwata player and manager Hitoshi Morishita in charge, Sagan look like they will continue to be the surprising success story in the J-League and challenge current holders Gamba Osaka, who finished just three points ahead of them in 2014.
11. Club Tijuana, Mexican Liga MX
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Founded as recently as January 2007, Club Tijuana—or Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, to give them their full name—have come a long way in Mexican football in a very short amount of time.
Owned by Jorge Hank Rhon, who is also the owner of Mexico's largest betting company, Grupo Caliente, Tijuana were promoted to Mexican Liga MX in 2011, and they finished 15th in their first season in the Apertura.
The appointment of Argentinian manager Antonio Mohamed saw Xolos' defence shored up by the arrival of Edgar Castillo and Greg Garza and forward line bolstered by Colombian striker Duvier Riascos, and they finished seventh in the 2012 Clausura.
Later in 2012, Tijuana experienced a highly successful, if shocking, season that culminated in them winning the Liga MX Apertura title. All this in the club's fifth year of existence and only their second in Mexico's top flight.
This meteoric rise saw Tijuana taking part in their very first Copa Libertadores in 2013. Here—despite their form suffering on the domestic front—the fairy tale continued, with Xolos beating Millonarios, Club World Cup champions Corinthians and Palmeiras to reach the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by Atletico Mineiro.
With the two-legged tie drawn at 3-3 on aggregate, Galo advanced on away goals and went on to win the competition.
Now managed by former Mexico international Daniel Guzman, Xolos currently top the Clausura table after seven games.
There is still a long way to go, but this club, captained by Javier Gandolfi and featuring former Venezuela international Juan Arango and seven players from the United States, including internationals Joe Corona and Castillo, is definitely one to watch.
10. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian Premier League
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FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk are without a league title since claiming the Soviet Top League crown in 1988.
However, as runners-up in the Ukrainian Premier League last season, 2013/14 was their best finish in the division.
Under Juande Ramos, the Ukrainian side came a long way from finishing fourth the season before in a league dominated by the big two of Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Ramos departed at the end of the last campaign and was replaced by former Ukraine national team coach Myron Markevych, who has extensive management experience in the Ukraine. Under him, Dnipro have kept the pressure on league-leaders Dynamo and Shakhtar and currently sit in third.
On the European front, Dnipro have been plugging away—gaining experience, grinding out results and getting rare wins against bigger sides, such as Tottenham Hotspur in 2013/14 and PSV Eindhoven and Napoli in 2012/13.
This season, Markevych's side could potentially make the final 16 of the Europa League for the first time in their history and go into their second-leg tie against Olympiakos on February 26, with a 2-0 first-leg win under their belts.
If Dnipro can keep hold of key players Yevhen Konoplyanka, Nikola Kalinic, Bruno Gama and Roman Zozulya in the coming seasons, we could see them continuing onward and upward domestically and in Europe.
9. Middlesbrough FC, Football League Championship
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When Middlesbrough chairman and owner Steve Gibson recruited Aitor Karanka—the club's first foreign manager—in November 2013, he pulled off a masterstroke that has seen the Teessiders' fortunes change enormously.
Next season will mark the 10-year anniversary of Boro's UEFA Cup final against Sevilla. Relegated from the Premier League in 2008/09, memories of European football at the Riverside Stadium seem like a dream, and the prospect of a return to the English top flight appeared just as far-fetched until Real Madrid's former assistant manager came on board.
Karanka, who worked alongside Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu, made wholesale changes to his side during the summer 2014 transfer window—bringing in seven new faces, five players on loan, with 11 players heading for the exits.
With the best defensive record in the notoriously competitive division, Boro currently sit two points from top in the Championship and look likely to maintain their strong form, which has seen them win 18, draw nine and lose six games in 2014/15. This term, they also knocked Manchester City out of the FA Cup before falling to Arsenal on February 15.
Already a sleeper club that has come to life in the Championship, Boro are a team far removed from the one we saw under Tony Mowbray and are steadfastly heading in the right direction.
8. PEC Zwolle, Eredivisie
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Promoted to the Eredivisie in 2012/13 after an eight-season absence, PEC Zwolle are impressing in the Dutch top flight, where they currently sit in fifth place after 24 games.
The Blauwvingers finished 11th in each of the last two campaigns—once under former coach Art Langeler and then again under current boss Ron Jans.
In 2012/13, Langeler steered the side through an impressive KNVB Cup run until an eventual semi-final exit against PSV Eindhoven. Since then, Jans has taken the side even further, winning the trophy in 2014, beating Ajax in the final by a staggering score of 5-1 and consequently guiding the club to the Europa League for the first time in their history.
Zwolle also kicked off the current campaign in fine form, defeating Ajax yet again to win the Johan Cruyff Shield at the Amsterdam Arena.
They have taken points from PSV Eindhoven and Ajax in the league this season, and with 10 games left to go in 2014/15, Zwolle are making serious progress.
7. West Ham United, Premier League
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West Ham have been one of the Premier League's biggest surprise packages this season.
Promoted from the Championship to the Premier League ahead of the 2012/13 campaign, Sam Allardyce kept them up that season, finishing tenth.
With much speculation surrounding Allardyce's future at Upton Park, as seen in the Express, the Hammers finished 13th in the league last term, just seven points above the relegation zone.
The east London side gradually improved throughout 2014, with a raft of excellent summer signings—including Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho and the loan of Alex Song from Barcelona—helping their cause in 2014/15.
West Ham will occupy the Olympic Stadium in London from 2016 on, taking the side from Upton Park, a 35,000-seater stadium to a brand new home with the capacity of 54,000. The commercial opportunities and increased revenue can only help their surge and cannot be underestimated.
Next stop Europe?
6. S.S. Lazio, Serie A
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With much of the focus on AS Roma in recent years, Lazio have been quietly going about their business in the Italian capital. It’s paying off.
While Rudi Garcia's side have become familiar faces in the Champions League, Lazio have not played in the competition since 2007/08, a season in which they finished 12th in Serie A.
Under new manager Stefano Pioli, the Biancocelesti made some sound acquisitions last summer in Stefan de Vrij from Feyenoord, Filip Djordjevic on a free transfer from FC Nantes and Marco Parolo from Parma, arguably the best of the lot.
Two relatively new faces have also shone this term: Antonio Candreva, who is playing well and has bagged four goals and 10 assists so far, and Felipe Anderson, who has weighed in with five of each. Club captain Stefano Mauri is still impressing aged 35 and has scored eight goals in 17 games.
The side that finished ninth last season and seventh the season before remain some way from winning the Scudetto in the next year or two. However, Lazio could be a genuine contender for Italy's third Champions League berth if they can see off pressure from Fiorentina and Napoli during what remains of 2014/15.
5. Valencia CF, La Liga
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Despite their rich history and long list of honours and club greats, it has been more than a decade since Valencia last won La Liga.
Champions League finalists in 1999/00 and 2000/01, the Spanish side have not made it beyond the round of 16 since a quarter-final meeting with Chelsea in 2006/07.
However, after years of financial mismanagement, parting ways with their best players and yo-yoing up and down the league, Los Che are back on track.
The club have been reinvigorated by the takeover of Singaporean businessman Peter Lim, who brought in Nuno Espirito Santo as coach and reversed the trend of selling the club's prized assets, instead bringing in new faces such as Nicolas Otamendi, Andre Gomes, Alvaro Negredo (on loan from Manchester City), Shkodran Mustafa and January arrival Enzo Perez.
Currently fourth in La Liga and on the losing end only four times in 24 outings, they have beaten Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid this term.
Only Barcelona have conceded fewer goals so far in 2014/15, and just three points behind Atleti at present, Valencia could be back—and strong—in La Liga and the Champions League next term.
4. FC Midtjylland, Danish Superliga
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FC Midtjylland have never won the Danish Superliga, yet they currently sit top of the table, eight points ahead of their nearest rival FC Copenhagen, who have won six of the last 10 titles.
They have taken maximum points their home games this season, and they have been beaten just three times away from MCH Arena.
Majority shareholder of the club is Matthew Benham, who also owns Brentford of the English Championship. As the Guardian's Sean Ingle put it:
"When Benham invested £6.2 million in Midtjylland last July he appointed Rasmus Ankersen—a 31-year-old former player, UEFA A-licence coach, entrepreneur and author—as the chairman. Ankersen promised to challenge the conventional ways of running a football club and to put Midtjylland on the map. He is doing just that.
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Under the management of Glen Riddersholm and with the influence of Benham and Ankersen, this could be the first of many silverware-bearing seasons for the Danish side.
3. Sevilla, La Liga
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Unai Emery led Sevilla to fifth place in La Liga during his first full season at the club and guided them to a Europa League title in 2013/14.
His arrival and influence cannot be underestimated.
Still flying under the radar in comparison to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Sevilla are the only side in La Liga still unbeaten at home this term, and they could be on course to creep into the top four while defending their Europa League title.
Carlos Bacca, brought in from Club Brugge in summer 2013, is the club's top goalscorer with 14 goals—more than Karim Benzema at Real Madrid and Mario Mandzukic at Atleti. Grzegorz Krychowiak was an astute buy from Reims last summer and loanees Denis Suarez and Gerard Deulofeu (both of Barcelona) have been integral to Sevilla's fine form this season.
A club used to selling off its brightest talents in recent years, think Ivan Rakitic, Jesus Navas, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Alvaro Negredo, if Sevilla can continue to make shrewd loan decisions and keep hold of their current nucleus of players, their success can only grow.
2. VfL Wolfsburg, Bundesliga
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Beaten in the Bundesliga on just three occasions so far this season, Wolfsburg have been one of German football's biggest successes in 2014/15.
Dieter Hecking's side are the only club still within sight of league-leaders Bayern Munich, remain without a loss at the Volkswagen Arena and boast some of Europe's most exciting, in-form attacking talents in Kevin De Bruyne and striker Bas Dost, who has netted 11 goals in 11 league games this term.
On the European front, Die Wolfe have been equally impressive, with four wins, one draw and two defeats in seven Europa League ties, in which they have scored 16 goals.
At the time of writing, Wolfsburg sit 10 points ahead of third-placed Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga.
A shoo-in for Champions League qualification next season and without a trophy since their 2008/09 Bundesliga triumph, Hecking's side are a force to be reckoned with.
1. Olympique Lyonnais, Ligue 1
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Paris Saint-Germain, for all their riches, are facing tough competition this season in the form of Olympique Lyonnais.
Lyon, along with Olympique de Marseille, are having a great season, and at the time of writing, they top Ligue 1. Their lofty position is down in no small part to the side's incredible home form of 12 wins, one draw and one loss in 14 games.
Away from Stade de Gerland, Hubert Fournier's side have also been strong—suffering just three league defeats on the road in 2014/15.
Les Gones boast the division's top scorer in Alexandre Lacazette, who has 21 goals to his name this term, some way in front of Marseille's Andre-Pierre Gignac with 14 and Paris Saint-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 11.
Lyon have not been champions of France since 2007/08, but they will be one of the league's biggest contenders this time around.
All statistics and performance data comes from ESPN FC and Soccerbase.
