Gunner
04-04-2008, 10:55 AM
Franz Beckenbauer believes that the Premier League is the strongest in the world.
http://img.skysports.com/07/09/218x298/beckenbauer_567840.jpg
England's top-flight has four representatives in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League, provided three of the four semi-finalists last season, and has had a team in the final for each of the last three campaigns.
Legendary West Germany player and coach Beckenbauer, nicknamed the Kaiser, feels that the players on show in the Premier League put it ahead of the likes of La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga.
And despite England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, he insists the national side remain a force to be reckoned with.
Success
He told Sky Sports News: "The Premier League in England is probably the strongest league in the whole world.
"You can see all these fantastic players in the Premier League and that's the key to success.
"If you look to the Champions League there are four teams left from England, so English football is still in the leading position in the world.
"The European Championships without England is not the same. England are still one of the best teams in the whole world.
"I think it was an accident. They needed a draw at home against Croatia and they lost the game. I feel very, very sorry for them."
Situation
Critics claim that the recent success of English sides in Europe is mainly down to the influx of foreign talent.
And while Beckenbauer accepts that Arsenal often not having a single English player in their starting XI is 'extreme' it is an issue which affects other leading leagues.
He said: "The situation at Arsenal for example, it's an extreme situation because there is not one English player left in the team.
"But we don't have to look to England, we have to look to ourselves in Germany, 80 to 90 per cent of the teams have mostly foreign players."
Source: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3382387,00.html
http://img.skysports.com/07/09/218x298/beckenbauer_567840.jpg
England's top-flight has four representatives in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League, provided three of the four semi-finalists last season, and has had a team in the final for each of the last three campaigns.
Legendary West Germany player and coach Beckenbauer, nicknamed the Kaiser, feels that the players on show in the Premier League put it ahead of the likes of La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga.
And despite England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, he insists the national side remain a force to be reckoned with.
Success
He told Sky Sports News: "The Premier League in England is probably the strongest league in the whole world.
"You can see all these fantastic players in the Premier League and that's the key to success.
"If you look to the Champions League there are four teams left from England, so English football is still in the leading position in the world.
"The European Championships without England is not the same. England are still one of the best teams in the whole world.
"I think it was an accident. They needed a draw at home against Croatia and they lost the game. I feel very, very sorry for them."
Situation
Critics claim that the recent success of English sides in Europe is mainly down to the influx of foreign talent.
And while Beckenbauer accepts that Arsenal often not having a single English player in their starting XI is 'extreme' it is an issue which affects other leading leagues.
He said: "The situation at Arsenal for example, it's an extreme situation because there is not one English player left in the team.
"But we don't have to look to England, we have to look to ourselves in Germany, 80 to 90 per cent of the teams have mostly foreign players."
Source: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3382387,00.html