From the Champions League to rock-bottom in 10 years: Four European clubs in crisis
In football, success doesn't last forever and the wheel of fortune can turn from one moment to the next. And perhaps it's this unpredictability that makes it one of the most attractive sports in the world.
Going back 10 years, Ajax, Basel, Lyon and Schalke were teams to be reckoned with in European football, with regular participation in continental competitions and opponents that the teams didn't bat an eye at. Today, the story is very different and each of these four clubs is going through crises that have put them at the bottom of their respective leagues.
Ajax
The case of the Dutch giant is perhaps paradigmatic (and you can read about it in detail here). Used to dominating in the Netherlands, they were on a run of three consecutive titles when last season they saw Feyenoord steal the Eredivisie from them.
The departure of important names from the squad (Edson Alvarez, Mohammed Kudus, Jurrien Timber) was not properly taken care of, the club's management was weakened after the departure of Marc Overmars, and the gamble on head coach Maurice Steijn (who has since been sacked) didn't work out.
In 11 competitive matches, they've won just two. They haven't won in the Eredivisie since the first matchday and are in the relegation zone (albeit with two games in hand).
In 2013/14, they finished behind Barcelona and AC Milan in the Champions League, and were eliminated in the last 16 of the Europa League (by Salzburg), but won the league.
Basel
The decline of the Swiss giant began some time ago. Since securing their eighth title in a row in 2017, the Swiss outfit have failed to reach the top of the local league. A huge defeat to Young Boys (7-1), now the country's new football power, in 2018, started a decline marked by infighting between management and coaches.
The COVID-19 pandemic added to the atmosphere, this time with players claiming pressure to give up wages. In 2021, with results getting worse and worse, captain Valentin Stocker was even suspended and a fight with president Bernhard Burgener ended in the manager's departure.
David Degen took control of the club and is now trying to get the Swiss giant back on its feet, but the start to the season has been terrible. After 10 matches, the team won just one game and were knocked out of the Conference League by Tobol from Kazakhstan.
In 2012/13, they finished third behind Chelsea and Schalke in the Champions League but won the league again. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Europa League by Valencia.
Lyon
Dominators of French football at the start of the century (with seven consecutive titles between 2002 and 2008), Lyon are in serious decline. Following the season in which they failed to win the title after that extraordinary run, the club saw the departure of its main stars (Juninho and Karim Benzema) and has been trying to rebalance itself ever since.
2019/2020 turned out to be the season in which, after winning a few titles and regular participation in European competitions, everything began to unravel. A ninth-place finish meant they missed out on continental cups and it was the club's worst season since 1997.
The following season, Peter Bosz led the team to a fourth-place finish and some recovery, but it was short-lived. The arrival of American businessman John Textor in 2022 seemed like something that would turn things around for good, but things continued to plummet.
Absent from European competitions again, the club is now 18th in Ligue 1, without a win after nine games.
In 2013/14 they were eliminated from the Champions League in the knock-out stages (by Real Sociedad) but ended up in the quarter-finals of the Europa League (beaten by Juventus). They finished fifth in Ligue 1 that year.
Schalke
One of the biggest clubs in German football, Schalke are embroiled in a serious financial crisis and stuck in the country's second tier after a brief return to the Bundesliga last season, in which they failed to avoid another relegation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly complicated for the club, which came close to bankruptcy. With debt mounting and revenues drastically down, the club decided to set a salary cap of 2.5 million euros a year, which resulted in a drop in the quality of the squad.
The first relegation took place on April 20th, 2021. To make matters worse, in February 2022 the club lost its contract with Gazprom, its main investor, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Nevertheless, at the end of that year, they would return to the top flight... Only to go down again.
On the last matchday of 2022/23, relegation was confirmed and this season the club has two wins in 10 matches. They're 16th in the table with seven points, five away from the relegation zone.
In 2013/14, they were knocked out of the last 16 of the Champions League, beaten by Real Madrid (9-2 on aggregate). In the league, they finished in third place.
