Why English clubs are dominating Champions League

	English clubs' success in Champions League this year is due in no small part to quality managers like Man United's Alex Ferguson. FotoSports/WireImage.com
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No domestic league hypes itself worldwide as much as the English Premiership. With its well-packaged, slick marketing and incessant self-reference, it has tried to push the idea that it's the best league in the world for more than a decade.

And it receives a disproportionate amount of exposure in the global media because, worldwide, the "linga franca" remains English. Pundits of Anglo-extraction abound everywhere (though not on this Web site, which is probably a good thing) and, inevitably, they write about what they know and they do it from their own perspective.

After the quarterfinals of the Champions League, many will feel that the Premiership's time has finally come. The fact that three of the four semifinalists are from the Premier League suggests that success on the pitch has caught up with success in other areas, from marketing to media exposure to the balance sheet.

The reality is that anyone who judges the strength of a league from the number of semifinalists is missing the point. The success of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea doesn't automatically make the Premiership the best in the world, just as having three Italians semifinalists four years ago didn't necessarily mean that Serie A was the cream of the crop back then.

That said, there is a common thread linking the achievements of the three English clubs and it offers plenty of food for thought for those playing catch-up. Here is a list of reasons why, as the venerable French newspaper L'Equipe put it, l'Europe parle anglais.

1. Money

Right now, there are eight clubs in Europe who are in the highest tier of spending power. Four of them are English, while the others are Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Inter Milan. Money alone does not buy success, of course. But then, hey, it's not rocket science: If you have the funds to lure top players from other teams and are willing to pay to keep them happy, you're going to have a definite edge.

2. Stability

Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have been in charge for ages. Rafa Benítez and José Mourinho are in their third seasons. Of the other 12 clubs who advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League, just three are led by guys who have been around for two years or more: Barcelona, Milan (which, not coincidentally, is the fourth semifinalist) and Lille. Surely that can't be a coincidence.

3. Fate

For whatever reason, most of Europe's other bigwigs are either having sub-par campaigns (Milan, Bayern), have been mired in controversy (Real Madrid, Barcelona) or have not had luck on their side (Lyon, Inter). Apart from a rash of injuries at some clubs, things have been running relatively smoothly for the English contingent.

4. Managerial nous

All three of the English semifinalists are managed by guys who are arguably among the top five coaches in the world. What's more, each is enjoying a tremendous season (the same can't be said for other top coaches, from Carlo Ancelotti to Frank Rijkaard and from Ottmar Hitzfeld to Fabio Capello). Giovanni Trapattoni once told me that, "A good manager can make a team five percent better; a bad manager can make them up to 30 percent worse." I don't think anyone can argue that Benítez, Mourinho and Ferguson have all made their clubs better this season.

Extra time

Much was made of the policing at the Stadio Olimpico for the Rome vs. Manchester United first leg, when Roman police in riot gear went in hard and indiscriminately against United supporters. This led to much gloating about the supposed innate superiority of the British police.

As an Italian, I am ashamed at the actions of the Rome police and their seemingly random head-bashing. I've always believed law enforcement should focus on the miscreants (and there were enough of them among the United fans in Rome) rather than taking on an entire group. Anyone with access to YouTube can see sickening scenes of a middle-aged woman receiving four or five nightstick blows to the head. And that's simply unacceptable.

That said, it's not as if the English police are perfect, either. For the return leg at Old Trafford, they escorted the Roma supporters straight to the ground and slowly and meticulously searched them all one by one as they went in. As a result, it took so long to get the visiting fans into the ground that the majority of them were left outside for hours, which meant they were sitting ducks for the minority of United fans bent on exacting some kind of revenge for what happened in Rome.

That's why the cops had to intervene and, eventually, 21 people (14 of them United supporters) were arrested as there were clashes immediately outside Old Trafford.

Unlike their Rome counterparts, the English police were reasonable and treated supporters firmly but respectfully. For that they should be praised. But whoever was in charge of the organization that day (and had the bright idea to conduct body searches) needs to have a serious re-think.