Will Return of Champions League and Europa League Bring More Spanish Dominance?

From Barajas airport, the first stop was the Santiago Bernabeu and then it was on to the Plaza de Cibeles. With tired eyes and legs but jubilant smiles, they journeyed through the streets of the capital just after dawn, thousands waiting for them and their bus that had "CAMPEO11ES" splashed across all sides, the "N" replaced by the number that counted. 

This was the one they'd wanted. No one quite identifies with the European Cup like Real Madrid, and their capture of it for a record 11th time was made sweeter by whom they'd claimed it from and against: Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. 

The Catalans had owned the title for 357 days before Real took it off them in Milan, where they edged out their local tormentors. It was how they would have wanted it: clinching the continental battle while landing blows in the national one. And yet, there was a significance in that shiny No. 11 on a national level, too. 

Real's Champions League triumph meant Spanish clubs had won the last 11 European and international titles at club level: the Champions League in 2014, 2015 and 2016; the Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in the same years; the Club World Cup in 2015 and 2016. 

Everything, won by the Spanish. 

"We're getting used to caviar," said Javier Tebas. 

The LFP president is never shy in starting with the Primera Division chest thumping. It's what he does and it's essentially his mandate, but it's his league's clubs that justify it. Beyond those 11 aforementioned titles—and it's now 12 following Real's win in the UEFA Super Cup in August—Spanish sides have won five of the last eight Champions League crowns and eight of the last 13 of the Europa variety. 

The dominance is startling. When last season's European semi-finals arrived, Spanish sides had won 45 of their previous 48 knockout ties with any foreign opposition, and when Real Madrid defeated Manchester City across two legs in April, the recent scoreline between Spain and England in continental ties read 17-1.

Can anyone stop them? 

Real Madrid won't have history on their side this term—defending champions never do—but they will take some beating anyway. 

This summer, Real strengthened in a way that's supposed to be difficult when you're at the top. Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio have returned to add to a group that's already loaded, and there's a certain look about them at present. "This squad is the best in the four years I've been here," said Luka Modric at the weekend. 

Modric doesn't speak often, but when he does you listen. Though some were left underwhelmed by the club's relatively quiet time in the market, Real have rarely looked better.

Last term, the club's surge to the title in Milan was more last-minute discovery than year-long romp to the line, but that platform is now being built upon.

So often enduring upheaval, Real are more settled in every department than they were a year ago, possessing the balance and tactical clarity that escaped them then. On Saturday, a 5-2 win over Osasuna was their 15th straight victory in the league, equalling a club record from 1960-61. 

"A happy Madrid," said Marca.

Simple? Sure. Significant? Yes. 

Across the country, Barcelona look equally imposing. The Catalans' undoing last term was a wearing down stemming from a relentless fixture list and a small squad, but the latter is no longer an issue.

In bringing in Denis Suarez, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne, Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer, Barcelona's transfer business this summer was immensely impressive, the acquisitions neat fits, the harmony of the setup undisturbed. 

It will help, too, that they're not off to the Club World Cup in December—Real are—and despite the success he's achieved, manager Luis Enrique has shown he's still innovating. 

In short, Spain's behemoths aren't going anywhere. 

Elsewhere in Europe, other heavyweights will have something to say about that. 

Despite losing Paul Pogba, Juventus' pillaging of their domestic rivals in Napoli and AS Roma points to the Italians having joined the Super Club elite. The moves for Gonzalo Higuain and Miralem Pjanic resemble the sort Bayern Munich have been pulling off for years, reloading while debilitating others around them. And yet that might be problematic, too. 

One of the widely held theories in recent seasons has been that the absence of domestic challengers for Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain has become a hindrance in Europe. By Rosenborg-ing their leagues, they've been without a yardstick at home, unable to quantify gains and deprived of the conditions that exist in the Champions League. 

In that sense, the rise of Atletico has perhaps become beneficial for the Spanish. Three of the continent's best reside in one division, and the two-legged nature of Spain's domestic cups pits them head-to-head extremely regularly.

The familiarity might breed contempt, but it also breeds excellence: The only team to knock Atletico out of Europe in the last three seasons has been Real; the only team to knock out Barcelona in that time has been Atletico. 

Simeone's men now always strike you as perfectly suited to the Champions League. Their defensive strength and certainty in their purpose has made them a nightmare matchup, and across 180 minutes they know they have the tools to overturn anyone.

They're also deeper in attack this term, with the ever-improving Antoine Griezmann supported by Kevin Gameiro and Nicolas Gaitan, who've arrived to join others like Yannick Carrasco and Fernando Torres.  

If such additions strike as a little lightweight, it's because the Premier League's bathing of itself in cash has given England's clubs a blockbuster feel in the market. And yet, much of that won't matter in 2016-17. 

On the back of a season in which the established order was temporarily disturbed, the Premier League's contingent in Europe's top tier looks weaker than usual. Already, Leicester City look like an outfit that's lost the sparkle, the emotional high difficult to sustain; Arsenal are still Arsenal; Tottenham Hotspur have rarely been here; only Pep Guardiola's impressive Manchester City strike as contenders. 

Missing from the bunch are a resurgent Manchester United and Chelsea.

The Blues will likely revel in their midweek freedom, and you sense Jose Mourinho will want that for United, too. Not only can you picture the Portuguese viewing the Europa League as an unwelcome distraction, you also sense he'll consider his club's presence in it as a reflection of the previous regime's failures, and thus something he won't prioritise. 

Should that happen, the Europa League will look even more open than it has previously, particularly compared with last season. Whereas the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Napoli and Tottenham were in it from the beginning in 2015-16, this term the group stage doesn't have the same heavyweight feel. 

There's no Sevilla this time, either. Well, not yet. The Andalucians could still drop down from the Champions League, but until they do, their Spanish counterparts in Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao—semi-finalists and quarter-finalists last season, respectively—will like their chances. 

As will every Spanish side. When Tebas said the country was "getting used to caviar," he was right. Can anyone stop them washing more of it down with a dose of champagne?