10 Sleeper World Football Teams on the Rise

We all know about the top teams in football, but not many people know about the teams on the rise.

Some teams on the rise gain a ton of attention, for example Manchester City, but some get no attention until they make a big splash either domestically or in Europe.

The problem with some of these teams on the rise is that bigger teams will come in and swoop up their star players and the sleeper teams will not get a chance to continue a streak of success that teams like Barcelona have had.

Here are 10 teams that you should keep an eye on for the next year or two to be successful teams.

Levante

If you ask someone who is on top in La Liga right now, you will most likely get an answer of either Barcelona or Real Madrid.

But neither is atop the table right now.

Levante is.

Levante were in the Segunda Division two years ago in Spain and now are on top of La Liga with 20 points from eight games.

The Granotes have already beat Real Madrid and play Barcelona in December.

The team will most likely be taken over by Spain's two big clubs eventually, but this could be a team that plays into a European spot if they continue their great form.

Stoke City

Stoke have been one of the more consistent teams in the past few years in the Premier League and are finally making an impact in Europe.

The Potters qualified for the Europa League this season and have been undefeated in the competition so far this season.

With a formidable forward lineup led by Peter Crouch and Kenwyne Jones and a strong back line led by Robert Huth, the Potters have a chance to go far in the Europa League this season.

Napoli

After finishing in third place last season in Serie A, Napoli was able to qualify for the Champions League.

Although they were drawn in one of the toughest groups in the Champions League, the team were able to hold on to their stars.

Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marek Hamsik, Pablo Cannavaro, Edinson Cavani and Gokhan Inler have all been rumored to exit the Stadio San Paolo over the summer and throughout the start of the season.

If they can hold on to their stars for another year or two, Napoli could establish themselves as a consistent qualifier for European competition from Serie A.

APOEL Nicosia

The team from Cyprus are shockingly on top of Group G in the Champions League through three matches and could actually advance to the Round of 16.

APOEL have already beat Zenit St. Petersburg and have drawn with Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk on the road.

With home matches left with Porto and Donetsk and a trip to Russia against Zenit left in group play, we could easily see the Cypriots be the Cinderella team of the Champions League.

Lille

Yes, everyone knows about their players but not many people know about the team accomplishments that Lille has pulled off in the past year.

The French team won the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France titles last season and even with the loss of a few key players are third place domestically.

With Gervinho gone, the team still has Eden Hazard and Moussa Sow on the team and are looking to keep the two young stars for a while and extend their dominance in a very competitive but underrated Ligue 1.

AZ Alkmaar

The Dutch team has seen success early on this season and are looking to win their second title in the past five years.

AZ sit atop the Eredivisie by four points and do not look like they are slowing down anytime soon.

With two games left in Group G in the Europa League, they sit comfortably in second place and should advance to the knockout round and make a good name for Dutch football this season with a predominantly Dutch lineup.

Molde

This Norwegian team has a famous face behind their first place success in the Tippeligaen this season.

Former Manchester United star Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken charge of the club and led them to first place so far this season.

Whether or not Solskjaer will be around for years to come is something to be asked once the season ends, but with or without their manager Molde will contend for a while after this step in the right direction.

Udinese

Just like their fellow Serie A team Napoli, Udinese have been off to strong start this season in Italy.

They also have a crop of players that have been targeted for transfers in the near future.

Mauricio Isla, Kwadwo Asamoah and Samir Hamdanovic have been part of the club's success this season, one that started with an almost upset of Arsenal in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

And of course, club legend Antonio Di Natale has been scoring goals at will again this season.

Schalke

Once they were eliminated from the Champions League in the semifinals last season, everyone forgot about Schalke because they did so poor domestically. But again the team from Gelsenkirchen are doing well.

New manager Horst Heldt has the team in third place in the Bundesliga and unbeaten atop Group J in the Europa League.

Most fans need to remember that Schalke boasts a strong attack corp that includes Raul, Jefferson Farfan and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and with a manager that knows how to coach this team right, they could be a deadly team this season.

Porto

Say what you want but Porto are always overlooked and always will be because of the league they play in.

If a team with this much talent played in one of the top four leagues in Europe, they would not be on this list. They get no attention unless they go far in Europe and that is unfair to the Portuguese champions.

The dominance of Porto in the Portuguese Liga goes unnoticed at most times and it should not.

Just like how many people did not notice Lyon's dominance in Ligue 1 for years, the same is to be said about Porto over the past few years. The team will be making a mark in Europe for a while and they need more attention for their seven titles in the past nine years.