Ranking the 5 most changed teams of the decade

Some of the biggest clubs in the world have gone through the worst declines in stature in this decade. Some clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich remain the same as they were when they started this decade. Some teams like Manchester City have undergone small developments while clubs like Liverpool have improved the most. Here we rank the five most changed teams of the decade.

1. AC Milan

AC Milan and Inter Milan were once the bastions of Italian Football along with Juventus and teams feared playing them. Legendary player like Paolo Maldini, Kaka, David Beckham, Dida and Hernan Crespo represented AC Milan in the years before 2010. From 2010 a decline began as they won their last Serie A. From then it was varying positions downhill for them as they didn’t win the Serie A and didn’t qualify for the Champions League since the 2014/15 season.

Players and managers changed and with that came a downturn in fortunes and from that came a decline in form. It is simply not easy to replace an entire team consisting of players like Kaka, Paolo Maldini, Hernan Crespo, Andrea Pirlo, Andriy Shevchenko, Cafu, Nesta, Jaap Stam, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi.

However there is a recent surge in form as former prodigy Zlatan Ibrahimovic has led the line for AC Milan. Currently they top the Serie A table having put 7 points between them and Juventus and strangely it is Inter Milan who is challenging them for the title.

2. Inter Milan

Inter Milan suffered a similar decline to AC Milan and it was in this period that Juventus took domination of the Serie A to a higher level. They came into the 2010/11 season having won the Serie A titles for five years running. They finished 2^nd in the Serie A that year and things haven’t been the same for them. Inter Milan won the Champions League with Jose Mourinho at the helm in the 2009/10 season and that was the last of it too. A quarter final finish in 2010/11 and Round of 16 appearance in the 2011/12 season preceded a barren run from 2012 to 2018. For six years Inter Milan failed to qualify for the Champions League but finally qualified for the 2018/19 season.

Inter Milan had it slightly better than AC Milan in that they could qualify for the Champions League itself. AC Milan haven’t been there since the 2014/15 season and are currently plying their trade in the Europa League.

Their decline was similar to AC Milan’s as they had a squad of players consisting of legendary players and never really replaced them properly. Javier Zanetti, Julio Cesar, Marco Materazzi, Ronaldo Nazario, Samuel Eto’o, Dejan Stankovic, Maicon once were members of the great Inter Milan squad. However, just like AC Milan they have experienced a resurgence this season and are challenging AC Milan for the title.

3. Liverpool

Liverpool were once perennial underachievers after their star manager Rafa Benitez left them. Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers were tasked with returning Liverpool back to their glory years but couldn’t manage to. Rodgers went closest to it when his Liverpool made a title charge in the 2013/14 season which was derailed after a loss and draw to Chelsea and Crystal Palace respectively. After a mediocre 2014/15 season and a bad start to the 2015/16 season, Jurgen Klopp was appointed as Liverpool manager and Liverpool finally returned to its glory days.

Having finished 7^th in the 2009/10, Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League since the 2010/11 season. They had to try again from the beginning and tried to qualify from finishing high in the Premier League. However they could only manage 6^th, 8^th, and 7^th place in the 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 seasons respectively. In the 2013/14 season Liverpool was led from the front by Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge and they scored freely and won matches.

They finished second in the Premier League that season behind Manchester City. Their campaign was derailed by Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and a draw later to Crystal Palace. Luis Suarez left to Barcelona the following season while Liverpool played in the Champions League after 4 years. They were eliminated in the group stage and finished 6^th in the Premier League.

Liverpool saw enough of Brendan Rodgers in the 2015/16 season and sacked him for Jurgen Klopp. The latter had resigned from Borussia Dortmund and took reins over a club and fans who had no trust in themselves. So he took it upon himself and gained the trust of the fans slowly and surely. From then on Liverpool experienced a upward surge as in the 2016/17 season they finished 4^th and played in the qualifiers of the Champions League. In the 2017/18 season they were runners-up to Real Madrid in the Champions League and finished in 4^th place again. 2018/19 was their crowning year as they challenged Manchester City for the Premier League title till the end of the last game. Liverpool mounted an epic comeback of the ages as they defeated Barcelona from a 3-0 deficit and won the match 4-0 at Anfield. They went on to win the Champions League after defeating Tottenham 2-0 in the final.

Liverpool won the Premier League the next season and 30 years of pain and misery were finally forgotten. Liverpool sit first in the Premier League and boast of a superb squad that rivals others. This is truly the one team that has changed for the best in this decade.

4. Manchester United

Manchester United suffered a decline as the trophies dried up for the club after Sir Alex Ferguson retired from managing Manchester United. His successor was David Moyes and it was a terrible one season before he was sacked by the club. Sir Alex Ferguson was a serial winner and none of his successors were able to replicate his success. Liverpool were able to complete the double over Manchester United when the latter had David Moyes as manager, including a terrific 3-0 win at Old Trafford.

They won the Premier League title in 2010/11 and 2012/13 when Sir Alex Ferguson was there. They never came close to winning the Premier League after his retirement. Only Jose Mourinho was able to take Manchester United to 2^nd place in the Premier League when Manchester City amassed a 100 points in their title win in 2017/18. The preceding year they won the Europa League under Mourinho which secured them Champions League qualification.

Now under David Moyes they look to mount a title challenge as Liverpool and Leicester lead them in 1^st and 2^nd respectively. They are back in the Europa League after having failed to qualify for the knockout rounds of this year’s Champions League.

Manchester United are no longer the feared and respected team they were once under Sir Alex Ferguson. However they will try to get back to their winning ways once more.

5. Arsenal

Arsenal have suffered a heavy decline even when Arsene Wenger was managing them. Hailed as a revolutionary manager who brought success to Arsenal, by the time he left the club his team were predictable and beaten easily. Liverpool have taken Arsenal’s place in the top of the Premier League and have pushed it to the periphery.  Since their ‘Invincibles’ season in 2003/04, they haven’t won the Premier League at all.

Arsenal consistently finished within Champions League qualification places and played in the Champions League until the 2015/16 season. From the 2016/17 season they didn’t qualify for the Champions League and always finished outside top 4 in the Premier League. Arsene Wenger announced his departure in April 2018 and Unai Emery took over for the 2018/19 season. They finished 5^th place in the Premier League and in the next season they finished 8^th.

Unai Emery was sacked in the 2019/20 season and was replaced by Pep Guardiola’s assistant and former Arsenal player Mikel Arteta. In his first full season, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are currently in the 15^th place in the Premier League. They are closer to being relegated than qualifying for the Europa League atleast next year. Such is their fall that players like Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere, Andrey Arshavin and Robin Van Persie all have been replaced but no results have followed.

The phrase ‘Arsenal are in tatters’ has become common now and it encapsulates the state of affairs in Arsenal.

In conclusion, some of the best clubs who were giants a decade ago are not the same they were once. Liverpool is one such club which has bucked the trend and has actually risen from its ashes and restarting its period of dominance.

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