The seasonal renewal of the European top leagues took place

Spanish Girona, who won the final of the Segunda playoffs for promotion, became the last determined participant of the European top leagues in the 2022/23 season. “Soccer.ru” remembers the departed and welcomes the newcomers.

England Championship

• “Norwich” is the main soccer elevator in England. In the 2018/19 season, the Canaries finished first in the Championships and advanced to the Premier League, where they were twentieth. Last season they won the Championship again, only to become again the worst team in the APL at the end of the campaign.
• However, Norwich’s special status is ready to be challenged by Fulham, who have also traveled between divisions since the 2017/18 season. “The Cottagers” have not played two seasons in a row in the same division for six years in a row, and Norwich have not crossed paths in regular-season matches in five years due to the unsynchronized cycles: Fulham are promoted when Norwich are relegated and vice versa.
• “Burnley” has dropped out of the Premier League after six seasons at the top level. The resignation of longtime Claret coach Sean Dyche has cheered the team up, but not enough to keep it in the APL.
• “Bournemouth” was led to the Premier League by Scott Parker, who did the same with Fulham two years ago.
• “Nottingham Forest” won the Champions League playoffs and will play in the Premier League for the first time since the 1998/99 season. By the way, it’s twice the best team in Europe: in the seasons 1978/79 and 1979/80 “Foresters” won the Champions Cup under the legendary Brian Clough.

Spanish League

• “Levante” won three of the final four rounds of the Primera and in general one of the brightest teams of the last spring in the Spanish championship, but it did not save “frogs” from relegation to the Segunda.
• Almeria will play in the Primera for the first time since the 2014/15 season, Girona for the first time since the 2018/19 season, and Valladolid was one year old enough to return to the elite division.
• The club, owned by the phenomenon Ronaldo, has grand plans to strengthen its squad: Valladolid is rumored to want to combine the Brazilian legends of Barcelona and Real Madrid, Dani Alves and Marcelo, who are now free agents. Ronaldo personally persuades his compatriots.
• “Girona” finished sixth in the regular season in the Segunda, with Oviedo managed to be ahead only on additional points with the same number of points. But in the playoffs for promotion, Girona turned on the cup character and dealt with Eibar, which was close to a direct ticket to the Primera, and Tenerife thanks to away victories.

Italian Championship

• “Genoa” will spend its first soccer season outside the elite Italian division in 15 years. “Cagliari will leave Serie A after six consecutive seasons at the top level. And for Venice, the 2021/22 campaign so far remains their only Serie A campaign in 20 years.
• It took Lecce two years to return to Serie A, but for their fellow Papricans the road has been longer: Cremonese will spend the first season in a quarter of a century with the best teams in Italy, and Monza will make their Serie A debut. The greatest event in the 110-year history of the club.
• In 2018, Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister and former owner of AC Milan, bought Monza for 3 million euros and experienced many happy days under his tutelage. Adriano Galliani is also around, the old robbers picked up Monza in the third division and led them to Serie A in four years. Berlusconi has Scudetto and Champions League victory in his immediate plans.

German Championship

• Schalke and Werder were not even missed in the Bundesliga: in the case of both clubs, the purge of the First Division took place in just one season: in the 2020/21 season Werder and Schalke were the worst teams in the Bundesliga, and in the 2021/22 season they were the best in the second Bundesliga.
• But the more long-awaited comeback did not happen: Hamburg, who until the 2017/18 season had never left the Bundesliga at all and carried the honorary title of “dinosaurs”, battled with Hertha in transition matches. “Hamburg” won away with a minimum score, but four days later lost at home 0-2. Felix Magath helped the Berliners to stay in the elite and gave way to ex-Dinamo Moscow coach Sandro Schwartz.

French Premier League

• Two multiple national champions were eliminated from Ligue 1: Bordeaux became the strongest in France six times, and Saint-Etienne won the local league 10 times and until recently was the only one titled club in France.
• St Etienne’s fans, following their defeat at the hands of Auxerre in the knockout phase and their relegation to the second division, threw fireworks at the players, set fire to the bench and vandalized the fan shop. Police used batons and tear gas to calm the angry mob.

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