(openPR) - It’s a debate that continues to fuel discussions all over Europe: which is the strongest league on the continent? The Castrol Performance Index reveals all…

The old adage ‘quality, not quantity’ is particularly relevant when it comes to the Castrol Performance Index. Assessing the top 20 players in each category of the rankings shows that the Spanish and German leagues are level pegging on 13 players each, with 12 players coming from the Premier League. Yet it’s France’s La Championnat that boasts the highest average score per player, with Serie A a close second.

LESS IS MORE

France’s Ligue 1 boasts just six players in the overall Index, but with an average score of 1796 points per player, they top the charts. Olympique Lyonnais’ Gregory Coupet flies the flag with the highest score, topping the goalkeeper rankings with 3250 points, but it’s La Championnat’s strike trio that really impress. Ligue 1 has enjoyed a number of high-scoring weeks this season, with 20 goals being scored in Matchday 28 last weekend alone, and Johan Elmander (Toulouse), Milan Baros (Olympique Lyonnais) and Jan Koller (AS Monaco) average 1576 points between them as a result of their exploits for their national sides. Elmander scored four goals for Sweden in qualifying, while the Czech Republic reaped the rewards of three Baros strikes and six by Monaco man Koller.

Italy’s Serie A surprisingly weighed in with just seven players. However, with an average score of 1724 they’re comfortably ahead of all their rivals bar those hailing from Ligue 1. Such a high average owes much to Antonio Di Natale’s impressive 2885 points. The Udinese striker, who scored two in the Azzurri’s qualifying campaign, is third only to Luca Toni and Eduardo. Close behind, in fourth place, is Fiorentina’s Romanian striker Adrian Mutu with 2589 points. Meanwhile Italy’s penchant for defending is reflected in the appearance of three Serie A defenders in the top 20: AC Milan trio Marek Jankulovski, Dario Simic and Massimo Oddo collected 3337 points between them.

Germany’s Bundesliga, which along with Spain’s La Liga boasted 13 players in the CPI rankings, averages 1691 points per player, 47 points higher than the English Premier League (now represented by 12 players given the injury to Eduardo) which averages 1644 points per player, and 76 points higher than the Russian Premier League’s average (1615 points). La Liga, meanwhile, was well down in the points-per-player stakes, averaging just 1239.

NUMBERS GAME

Of the 13-strong collective representing La Liga, three ply their trade for current league leaders Real Madrid – but there’s no Ruud van Nistelrooy or Raul. The rankings do, however, feature Real defenders Sergio Ramos and Fabio Cannavaro who, despite both being criticised for their Los Blancos performances, have impressed with Spain and Italy respectively. Then there’s Wesley Sneijder, who finished top of the CPI’s top 20 midfielders with 1925 points – though he has struggled to even earn a regular place at the Bernabeu.

Among La Liga’s other representatives are Getafe’s Cosmin Contra and Atletico Madrid’s Giourkas Seitaridis. And also on the list is Juan Capdevila, Villarreal’s left-back, who was the Index’s highest climber following Spain’s friendly victory over France in February; as well as helping his team to a clean sheet, he also hit the winner, and duly soared from 66th to fourth.

While Spain has contenders all over the pitch, the Bundesliga’s prowess lies squarely in the attacking third, with three of the Index’s top 20 strikers to be found in Germany. All three play under Bayern Munich coach and Castrol football expert, Ottmar Hitzfeld, with Italian Luca Toni the star man in qualifying, with 4,058 points. And if Munich weren’t already flying high enough, they can also bask in being the Bundesliga club with the most players in the CPI – Toni is one of five in Hitzfeld’s squad who make the list.

TOP STOPPERS

The England national side may have failed to qualify for Euro 2008, but the Premier League is still prominent in the CPI, in particular in the goalkeeping department. Jens Lehmann, despite playing second fiddle to Manuel Almunia at Arsenal for much of this season, finished second to Lyon’s Gregory Coupet, with 3162 points. Edwin van der Sar (2804 points) and Petr Cech (2204) also figure. And there’s also a surprise inclusion in the shape of Manchester City’s 26-year-old Andreas Isaksson: the 26-year-old has struggled to hold down a place in Sven Goran Eriksson’s side, but amassed 1690 points in Sweden’s qualifying campaign.

BEST OF THE REST

Years of investment into the Russian Premier League is reflected in six players in the Index – including three goalkeepers in the top 20. Spartak Moscow duo Stipe Pletikosa and Wojciech Kowalewski are on 2812 and 807 points respectively, with CSKA stopper Igor Akinfeev splitting the difference on 1714 points.

HOME GROWN

Had England qualified for Euro 2008, they would have been the nation boasting the highest number of CPI-ranked players plying their trade in their own domestic league. In their absence, this honour is shared by La Liga and Serie A: four Spaniards and four Italians in the CPI rankings play for teams in their home countries. Germany and Greece, meanwhile, can each point to three ranked players based on home soil.

For viewing a comparative table of leagues please visit news.castrolindex.com/story.aspx?language=en&feature=79&t...


For more news on the European Football Championship 2008 please visit www.castrolindex.com

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