Playing in continental competition is the pinnacle of club football in Europe. But success in UEFA’s tournaments can sometimes lead to a conflict of form in the Premier League – with potentially disastrous consequences. Take Nottingham Forest. They are into the Europa League semi-finals following a fine victory over two legs against FC Porto. Meanwhile, they are battling relegation from the Premier League as the season enters its business end.
If Forest win the Europa League, they will qualify for next season’s Champions League… whilst, potentially, playing their domestic football in the Championship. As for Southampton, their shock FA Cup win over Arsenal has handed them a semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley.
Should the Saints miraculously win the FA Cup, they will qualify for next season’s Europa League… despite the plausibility of them playing in the Championship at the same time. All of which got us thinking: has a club played in Europe and in the second tier of their domestic system simultaneously?
Clubs That Have Been Relegated and Qualified for Europe
If we are not in the Premier League, it will be a disaster and this is a disaster I don’t want to have responsibility for. The club said to me the priority is to keep the club in in the Premier League.
The words of Forest boss Vitor Pereira require little in the way of interpretation. If the Tricky Trees win the Europa League this term, it would be a happy accident – instead, maintaining Premier League status is the main objective. Still, it would see Forest added to a pretty unique gang of clubs that have been relegated and qualified for Europe in the same season.
Birmingham City
Birmingham City were the trailblazers in that regard back in the 2010/11 season. The Blues were relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the campaign, as a defeat to Tottenham – combined with the fact that bitter rivals Wolves got a result against Blackburn – meant they finished in eighteenth place.
The irony was not lost on Bluenoses that they had beaten Arsenal in the final of the League Cup just a couple of months prior; the club’s first trophy in more than four decades. That qualified them for the 2011/12 Europa League, in which they finished third in Group H behind Club Brugge and Braga. Birmingham would finish in fourth place in the Championship and contest the play-offs, losing to Blackpool in the semi-finals.
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic famously won the FA Cup in 2013, beating Manchester City in the final thanks to Ben Watson’s injury time goal. But that was a rare high point in a disastrous 2012/13 campaign in which they were relegated from the Premier League. The upshot? They would compete in the 2013/14 Europa League from the Championship.
The Latics would embark on a campaign eerily reminiscent of Birmingham’s a couple of years prior. They were knocked out of the Europa League in the group phase, before finishing in the play-off places in the Championship… alas, they too would lose in the semi-finals.
Ipswich Town
We can also add Ipswich Town to this list… although their European qualification came from an unlikely source. Whilst being relegated from the Premier League in 2001/02, the Tractor Boys were able to qualify for the UEFA Cup – now known as the Europa League – thanks to the governing body’s Respect Fair Play rankings.
Ipswich would agonisingly finish one place outside the play-offs in the Championship in 2003, but did reach the second round of the UEFA Cup – back in the days when it was a straight knockout competition – after defeating Serbian minnows Smederevo in the first round.
Clubs That Have Qualified for Europe from the Second Tier
Qualifying for continental competition whilst playing in the top division is one thing, but doing so from the second tier is quite another.
Millwall
Millwall did exactly that in 2003/04. Despite finishing in mid-table in the Championship, the Lions embarked on a famous run to the FA Cup final – there, they ran into a strong Manchester United side. The Red Devils were victorious 3-0 on the day, but because they had qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place was passed onto Millwall instead. Unfortunately, the Londoners would lose in the first round to Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros, while once again finishing tenth in the Championship.
Cardiff City
Others have managed to perform rather admirably on continental soil. Cardiff City reached the Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals in 1968, while Atalanta – then of Italy’s Serie B – did likewise in 1988. And mention must be made of West Ham’s outstanding 1980/81 season, which saw them win the Second Division – the old name for the Championship, as well as reaching the quarter finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, which they had qualified for by winning the FA Cup in 1980.
Newport County
Special commendation goes to two Welsh clubs. In days gone by, winning the Welsh Cup was a passage into European football. But even so, Newport County – then of the third tier of English football – performed a minor miracle by reaching the quarter finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1980/81.
Merthyr Tydfil
And how about Merthyr Tydfil. In 1987/88, that very same season that Atalanta made it to the semi finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup from their second tier, the Welsh outfit – then plying their trade in the SIXTH tier of English football – lost to the Italian side in a battle of the underdogs.
Wrexham, Nimes & FC Santos Tartu
Other third tier clubs to have competed in UEFA competitions include Wrexham (1975/76), Nimes (1996/97) and the remarkable FC Santos Tartu, who participated in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 2014/15 despite playing in the third tier of Estonian football – they had reached the domestic cup final the season before.
Union Berlin
And then there’s Union Berlin, who reached the final of the DFB Pokal while playing in the third tier. They lost the final to Schalke but won the league, and with Schalke already qualified for Europe, it was Union who participated in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup – albeit by then ascended to Bundesliga 2.
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