Too good for relegation? Dortmund beware ...
Thursday, February 5, 2015
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Would Borussia Dortmund be the best side ever relegated? UEFA.com asked its social media followers to suggest the most talented teams to have dropped down a division.
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Borussia Dortmund's continued travails in the Bundesliga got UEFA.com thinking: who are the best sides ever to have been relegated?
We asked our followers and fans on Twitter and Facebook to name the best teams to have dropped out of their respective top flights in Europe. Using #TooGood we received a whole host of suggestions – some more left field than others – which we boiled down to what we consider the best.
Still disagree? Get in touch using #TooGood and let us know who we have missed out.
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, 1951
KB were Danish champions in 1948, 1949 and 1950, were relegated in 1951, promoted back in 1952 and won the top-flight title again in 1953!
1. FC Nürnberg, 1969
The first club to go down from the Bundesliga as reigning champions, predominantly because of Max Merkel's decision to dismantle his championship-winning team of players he deemed over the hill.
Leeds United AFC, 2004
Leeds reached the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, yet soon entered a downward spiral when they were relegated despite still boasting a side full of talent.
AS Monaco FC, 2011
Just seven years after finishing as UEFA Champions League runners-up, Monaco drew 17 of their 38 Ligue 1 games – and lost only 12 – but nevertheless finished two points clear of safety.
Villarreal CF, 2012
Villarreal came fourth in the 2010/11 Spanish Liga and, as a result, made it to the following season's UEFA Champions League group stage. They could not juggle involvement in Europe's premier club competition with domestic duties, however.