When the European Cup was changed to include a group stage heading into the 1992-1993 season, began what can be referred to as the Champions League era, followed by perhaps an even bigger change a few years later with the Bosman rule.
The focus of this post isn’t on the continental competitions, but instead on the traditional big 5 domestic leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France), and whether or not parity has been part of these competitions over the last 25 years.
English Premier League
The 1992-1993 season didn’t deliver a structural change to the European Cup alone. The Premier League in England made its inaugural season, ending with Manchester United breaking their 26-year title drought, and beginning Alex Ferguson’s reign of terror over the league, winning 12 more championships before stepping down. Overall , six clubs have won a title during that timespan: Manchester United (13), Chelsea (5), Arsenal (3), Manchester City (2), Leicester City (1), Blackburn Rovers (1).
Italian Serie A
AC Milan won the title in 1993, the sandwich championship in the middle of their three-peat. Milan won the title 6 times since 1993, the last one in 2011, when Allegri was on the sidelines and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the pitch. Juventus have been the most successful club in that timeframe, ending a 9-year drought with a championship in 1995, followed by titles in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and are about to complete their 6th consecutive title unless something miraculous happens. Inter won 5 consecutive championships (one of them stripped away from Juve), Lazio and Roma one championship each. Overall, five clubs.
Spanish La Liga
In 1993, Cruyff’s Barcelona won their third championship out of four in a row. They’d win again in 1998 and 1999 under Louis van Gaal; another duo of championships came under Frank Rijkaard in 2005 and 2006. The Pep Guardiola era brought more success, with three in a row (2009-2011). Barcelona didn’t stop winning championships after he left, with league titles in 2013, 2015 and 2016 – Overall 12 championships since 1993. Real Madrid, who haven’t won the league since 2012, have won the league 7 times in that time span. Three other clubs have won championships: Atletico Madrid (twice), Valencia (twice) and Deportivo (once). Overall five champions since 1993.
German Bundesliga
While not many think of the German Bundesliga and the word parity pops to their mind, there have been six different champions since 1993. On top of everyone are Bayern Munich, winning the league 15 times, recently clinching their 5th in a row. Borussia Dortmund have won the league 5 times, Werder Bremen twice, while Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg have won the league once each.
French Ligue 1
With the final title in a series of 5-in-a-row being stripped away from Marseille (who won the first Champions League format tournament), no team was crowned champions in 1993. Only two clubs have managed to win consecutive championships since then: Lyon, with 7 in a row from 2002 through 2008, and PSG with 4 in a row (2012-2016). They can still add another title in 2017, but it looks like it’s going to Monaco. PSG also won the championship in 1994. Monaco won the title twice, and so have Nantes and Bordeaux. Others to have win a championship are Auxerre, Lens, Marseille, Lille and Montpellier. Overall, 10 different champions since 1993.