| | SI.com - Writers - Arash Markazi: A primer on European soccer - Friday April 14, 2006 5:51PM |
 | | Each is comprised of the top 20 teams in their respective countries (the Bundesliga only has 18 teams), with each team competing against each other twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 matches per season (34 for the Bundesliga). |
 | | Also, the bottom three teams in each league are relegated to the country's second division -- the Football League Championship (England), Segunda Division (Spain), Serie B (Italy), Ligue 2 (France) and Second Bundesliga (Germany) -- while three of the top teams in that lower division are promoted. |
 | | And of the top six or seven leagues, no one league can truly say it's better than another and no team can claim to be the "world champion." Simply look at the Champions League for confirmation -- five different teams from five different countries have won the competition the past five years. |
| sportsillustrated.cnn.com /2006/writers/arash_markazi/04/14/hot.read/index.html (725 words) |