Double trouble

Each UEFA Champions League match week, uefa.com will discuss a hot topic in European football and invite users to give their own views.

By Pete Sanderson

It would be easy to presume that the better the team, the more likely they are to triumph, no matter what the competition. Presumption, however, is a dangerous game when it comes to football.

Statistical worry
A cursory glance at the recent statistics tells a sorry tale for clubs looking to achieve both domestic and European success in the same year. In the past eight campaigns, only FC Bayern München in 2000/01 and Manchester United FC in 1998/99 can boast success in their own league and the UEFA Champions League.

Domestic grief
More worryingly for all of the sides who could still potentially win a double - or even a treble - the six other sides who won the competition in the last eight seasons finished an average of nine points adrift of the team that were crowned champions in their domestic league.

Real steal
Perhaps the best example is Real Madrid CF's performance in the Primera División in 1999/00. While they were being crowned champions of Europe in a side littered with stars, they could only stumble their way to fifth place in their own back yard. This seems slightly bizarre in an age when expanded squads and sport science are taking the game into a new era.

Extra pressure
While the abandonment of the second group stage has eased the pressure on teams in terms of the number of games they must play to reach the final of the Champions League, the knockout stages leave no room for error. Two bad results in a row and you are out.

Coaching headache
All of which is great for supporters, but a potential headache for coaches as they aim to balance the pressure of maintaining performances in their domestic leagues and in Europe with ensuring that their players do not become completely exhausted.

Potential sweeps
Of the sides who have reached the final 16 of the Champions League, eight still have a fair chance of being double winners: Arsenal FC, Bayern, Madrid, AC Milan, FC Porto, Olympique Lyonnais, AS Monaco FC and Manchester United. Juve, Arsenal, United and Porto are even in the running for a treble.

Demanding circumstances
However, doing the double or treble demands getting the utmost from all of a side's best players and, certainly for Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz, allowing very little time for the big stars to relax - the Portuguese coach has fielded his best XI in the league, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

Mighty risk
It is a mighty risk but, should it pay off, one that would see an coach covered in glory. However, whether any of the sides in Europe have the strength in depth, willpower and sheer good fortune to pull it off is a question that only the results can answer.

What do you think? Are any of the sides left in the competition really capable of success both at home and in Europe? Is it worth going all out for success in Europe at the expense of domestic form? Click here to join the debate.