GENEVA (AP) 鈥� The joy that flowed across north London for capped a European soccer trend this season that started in a Swedish fishing village.
From to teams ending their decades-long run without a league title.
It was a season like no other in modern European soccer, sparking euphoric celebrations by fans who hardly believed their success would ever happen or feared it never would again.
Arsenal fans’ wait through 22 years of mostly underachievement for another Premier League title ended late Tuesday when second-place Manchester City drew a must-win game at Bournemouth.
It had been 40 years in Denmark for AGF from Aarhus to regain the title this month and 61 years in Austria for LASK from Linz.
First-time champions included and , who set the ball rolling in October.
Why has this happened for unheralded teams that could now play in the elite and lucrative Champions League next season?
A more democratic and low-cost access to knowledge and data about running clubs and scouting players has helped, Olivier Jarosz told The Associated Press on Wednesday. He advises potential investors and teams across Europe.
If so, there could be more unheralded teams lifting trophies in small provincial towns next season.
Scandinavia sets trend
First it was Mj盲llby, then weeks later Viking sealed its first Norwegian title for 34 years. That was in November, when Nordic soccer seasons end to avoid the midwinter weather.
If Mj盲llby was a Cinderella team that played in the third tier nine years earlier, Viking鈥檚 story was the revival of a past champion from decline.
Viking had to topple the new power in Norway, that itself wrote Champions League lore this year by beating Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan.
Denmark made it a hat trick this month when AGF was guided to success by coach Jakob Poulsen, like Mauro Lustrinelli at Thun, a former star player who came back to his old club.
Dynasties ended
Three of the most dominant clubs in European leagues were dethroned. Ludogorets won 14 straight titles in Bulgaria, Qarabag won 11 of the past 12 in Azerbaijan, and Ferencvaros was a seven-time defending champion in Hungary.
The new Bulgarian champion is Levski Sofia, whose previous title was 17 years ago, just weeks after the club was bought by a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, Atanas Bostandjiev.
In Azerbaijan, Sabah won its first title just nine years after the club was created. Second-place Qarabag played in the Champions League this season, and beat Benfica to coach his former club.
There was another power shift in Hungary this spring. Ferencvaros, coached by Ireland great Robbie Keane, was edged by one point by Gy艖ri ETO, whose previous title was 13 years ago.
LASK is the new champion in Austria, which was in Salzburg鈥檚 grip for a decade before the Red Bull-affiliated club went into decline three years ago.
In Romania, Universitatea Craiova won its first title since 1991, with 11-goal top scorer Assad Al Hamlawi from the Palestinian national team.
Falling short
Two of the best stories just missed a Hollywood ending in France and Scotland.
Lens chased the financial juggernaut of Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain pursuing a first title since 1998.
Heart of Midlothian suffered the , leading the Scottish Premiership standings from September until the 87th minute of a showdown at Celtic on Saturday. It was the third last-day heartbreak for the low-budget, fan-owned Edinburgh club since its previous title in 1960.
Some reasons why
No two titles were exactly alike but a trend across the 54 national leagues in Europe could be seen, Jarosz, who is based in Switzerland, told the AP in a telephone interview.
Clubs are now better run with access to good education about management structures, including from the 800-member , and data systems to analyze players for possible transfer deals.
鈥淚t’s possible to create a good team on a small budget anywhere in the world,鈥� said Jarosz, a director of LTT Sports.
UEFA creating a third-tier European competition 鈥� the Conference League 鈥� in 2021 also has an impact. It has both raised some clubs’ ambitions and revenue, and also stretched the playing resources of others.
Jarosz believes the impact of new investors at smaller clubs 鈥� such as Brighton’s widely admired owner 鈥� brought a different mindset into the soccer industry.
For those that rose, staying at the top will be hard as wealthier rivals become predators.
鈥淪ince they became successful,” Jarosz said, “they will get raided for staff and players.鈥�
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