Advertisement
©INPHO/Presseye/Darren Kidd
Euro 2012

Ireland are the Montpellier of international football - and other club v country statistics

Hang on, didn’t Montpellier just win Ligue 1?

LAST NIGHT IN the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich capped a season to forget with a 2-1 win against the Netherlands in a pre-Euro 2012 warm-up.

The club v country pairing got the statistical boffins over at Infostrada Sports thinking and, hey presto, this morning they’ve integrated the 16 countries competing in Poland and Ukraine into their club ranking index.

How does it look at the top? Well Spain are unsurprisingly the highest-ranked national side but they only come fourth overall behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United, and one place ahead of Premier League champions Manchester City.

Bayern are ranked in sixth place and the Netherlands are eighth, so it made sense that the Germans would prevail last night according to the men with the calculators.

And what about Ireland? Trap and the boys rank 48th overall which makes them “the Montpellier of national teams” in Infostrada’s eyes.

Yes, the same Montpellier who last weekend won the first Ligue 1 title in the club’s history, competing on a shoestring budget against the oil-fuelled moneybags of Paris Saint-Germain.

We couldn’t. Could we?

Infostrada Euro Club index

  • Spain – ranked fourth, lower than Real Madrid and FC Barcelona but above the rest of La Liga. The Manchester City of Euro 2012 based on the club closest to Spain in the ranking.
  • Netherlands – eighth, better than every Dutch club. The Chelsea of Euro 2012.
  • Germany – 10th, the Borussia Dortmund of Euro 2012.
  • Italy – 16th, with AC Milan the only Serie A club rated higher. The Benfica of Euro 2012.
  • England – 18th, below four Premier League clubs. The Valencia of Euro 2012.
  • Croatia – 25th, better than all clubs in Croatia. The Tottenham Hotspur of international football.
  • Portugal – 27th, lower than FC Porto or Benfica. The PSV of international football.
  • Sweden – 28th, better than all Swedish clubs. The Paris Saint-Germain of national teams.
  • Greece – 30th, better than all Greek clubs. The Internazionale of international football.
  • Russia – 33rd, well below Zenit St Petersburg. The Everton of national teams.
  • France – 34th, the Bayer Leverkusen of international football.
  • Denmark – 37th, superior to all Danish clubs, the Dynamo Kiev of national teams.
  • Czech Republic – 39th, superior to highest ranked Czech club Sparta Prague. The Liverpool of international football.
  • Republic of Ireland – 48th, the Montpellier of national teams.
  • Ukraine – 50th, the VfB Stuttgart of international football.
  • Poland – 80th, far better than any Polish club. The Celtic of national teams.

All statistics via Simon Gleave, Infostrada Sports

Back in the big time: Reading reward Harte with one-year deal

16 days to Euro 2012: The road to Germany ’88