4 Biggest Overachievers This Season
The football season is over with the Europa League and Champions League Final the only games left to see from the season that just concluded. The teams that won their leagues last season defended their titles. However, let's look at the teams that achieved more than what many expected.
AFC Ajax
It has been a remarkable season for Ajax Amsterdam but many forget how the Dutch side have struggled before now in Europe and at home. They haven't won the Eredivisie since 2014 seeing their rivals PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord win it since and haven't played in the knockout stages of the Champions League since 2005/06. Changes were made behind the scenes with former players Edwin van der Sar and Marc Overmars appointed as CEO and Technical Director. This season, the Dutch side rolled back the years with some fantastic football that the late Johan Cryuff will be proud of. Under the guidance of coach Erik Ten Hag, with a blend of youth in Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong and the attacking qualities of Hakim Ziyech, Dušan Tadić and David Neres, Ajax won a domestic double and reach the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time since the 90s. While it's likely that this Ajax will be turned apart by the big European vultures, this Ajax side have brought Ajax back to relevance in Europe and could hopefully rejuvenate Dutch football for years to come.
Wolves
Wolves walked towards the EFL Championship as they returned to England's top flight in six years but teams who get promoted hardly have a big impact in the Premier League but Wolves are an exception. They finished 7th with 57 points, the highest from a promoted side and were just nine points behind Manchester United in 6th, finishing closer to the top 6 than the relegation zone. Much of this is down to the counter attack approach made by manager Nuno Espirito Santos, who managed to get six wins from the top 6 and the talent he assembled. Rúben Neves and Diego Jota have had great debut season in the Premier League, Conor Coady leading a strong defence and smart acquisition of signings in João Moutinho, Rui Patrício, Raúl Jiménez. With European football to come next season, it will be interesting to see if Wolves can continue their good form or suffer a second season syndrome.
Lille
When Lille won Ligue 1 back in 2011, they had a young Eden Hazard on the rise, Gervinho and Moussa Sow. Since then, they have finished more in mid-table and just survived relegation last season as they finished 17th, one point off relegation. So it was understandable that few expected Lille to finish in the European places, let alone the Champions League spots but they did. While many will say it was down to Ivorian winger Nicolas Pépé, who had a fantastic season with 22 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1, coach Christophe Gaiter deserves much praise in making Lille very efficient. Only Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon have scored more goals than Lille, and PSG have conceded fewer goals as well. With a return to the Champions League and their players including Pépé being with a move away, can Gaiter puts this off again?
Atalanta
Atalanta had the biggest Cinderella Story this season as they qualified for the Champions League for the very first time in their history. The team from Bergamo were able to see off the likes of AC Milan, AS Roma and Lazio to finish 3rd with 69 points, the highest finish in the club's history. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini managed to orchestrate this thanks to their front line that netted 77 goals. The most in Serie A. They took 16.9 shots per game with only Napoli taking with Colombian forward Duzán Zapata being one of the top goalscorers in Serie A with 23 strikes. Other like Josip Ilicic made 19 goal contributions including 3.1 shots and 2.5 dribbles per game. Atalanta can now be very excited as some of the best teams across Europe will be heading to Bergamo next season.
AFC Ajax
It has been a remarkable season for Ajax Amsterdam but many forget how the Dutch side have struggled before now in Europe and at home. They haven't won the Eredivisie since 2014 seeing their rivals PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord win it since and haven't played in the knockout stages of the Champions League since 2005/06. Changes were made behind the scenes with former players Edwin van der Sar and Marc Overmars appointed as CEO and Technical Director. This season, the Dutch side rolled back the years with some fantastic football that the late Johan Cryuff will be proud of. Under the guidance of coach Erik Ten Hag, with a blend of youth in Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong and the attacking qualities of Hakim Ziyech, Dušan Tadić and David Neres, Ajax won a domestic double and reach the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time since the 90s. While it's likely that this Ajax will be turned apart by the big European vultures, this Ajax side have brought Ajax back to relevance in Europe and could hopefully rejuvenate Dutch football for years to come.
Wolves
Wolves walked towards the EFL Championship as they returned to England's top flight in six years but teams who get promoted hardly have a big impact in the Premier League but Wolves are an exception. They finished 7th with 57 points, the highest from a promoted side and were just nine points behind Manchester United in 6th, finishing closer to the top 6 than the relegation zone. Much of this is down to the counter attack approach made by manager Nuno Espirito Santos, who managed to get six wins from the top 6 and the talent he assembled. Rúben Neves and Diego Jota have had great debut season in the Premier League, Conor Coady leading a strong defence and smart acquisition of signings in João Moutinho, Rui Patrício, Raúl Jiménez. With European football to come next season, it will be interesting to see if Wolves can continue their good form or suffer a second season syndrome.
Lille
When Lille won Ligue 1 back in 2011, they had a young Eden Hazard on the rise, Gervinho and Moussa Sow. Since then, they have finished more in mid-table and just survived relegation last season as they finished 17th, one point off relegation. So it was understandable that few expected Lille to finish in the European places, let alone the Champions League spots but they did. While many will say it was down to Ivorian winger Nicolas Pépé, who had a fantastic season with 22 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1, coach Christophe Gaiter deserves much praise in making Lille very efficient. Only Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon have scored more goals than Lille, and PSG have conceded fewer goals as well. With a return to the Champions League and their players including Pépé being with a move away, can Gaiter puts this off again?
Atalanta
Atalanta had the biggest Cinderella Story this season as they qualified for the Champions League for the very first time in their history. The team from Bergamo were able to see off the likes of AC Milan, AS Roma and Lazio to finish 3rd with 69 points, the highest finish in the club's history. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini managed to orchestrate this thanks to their front line that netted 77 goals. The most in Serie A. They took 16.9 shots per game with only Napoli taking with Colombian forward Duzán Zapata being one of the top goalscorers in Serie A with 23 strikes. Other like Josip Ilicic made 19 goal contributions including 3.1 shots and 2.5 dribbles per game. Atalanta can now be very excited as some of the best teams across Europe will be heading to Bergamo next season.
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