On an average, clubs that go deep into various competitions over the course of a campaign tend to play 50-60 games in a season. With games coming thick and fast, burnout is a serious issue all managers must tackle, especially in a season that follows a summer with international tournaments.
It is why most teams are ready to hoard plenty of quality players who can not only serve as backup options but also provide healthy competition for places. It can give managers selection headaches but ask any team boss and it is something they would love to have.
So which team had the best bench strength in 2016/17? We look at the top five.
5) Atletico Madrid
The rise of Atletico Madrid in recent years has all been down to their manager Diego Simeone. But, in a way, their inability to go all the way in major competitions has also come down to their all-out approach to games.
The Rojiblancos play a high-intensity game that does take its toll on the squad. They play defensively but Simeone is also aware he cannot match the firepower of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga. The table paints an accurate picture with Barcelona and Real having scored 112 and 104 goals to third-placed Atletico’s 67 goals. However, Simeone's side have conceded the least goals in the league (26).
The club that reached two Champions League finals in three years fell at the semi-final hurdle this time and failed to mount a league title challenge – much of it down to the 18 injuries they suffered this season. Although his second-string side is not world class, they get the job done.
Miguel Moya has stepped in when goalkeeper Jan Oblak was not available while Jose Gimenez, Lucas Hernandez and Sime Vrsaljko have all played at some point to provide cover in defence. Thomas Partey, Nicolas Gaitan and Angel Correra were also called upon and performed admirably while Fernando Torres also has six goals and five assists in what could be his final season at the club.
4) Borussia Dortmund
In truth, Borussia Dortmund never stood a chance of winning the Bundesliga title this season. Last summer’s transfer window saw a number of new signings and it was evident that they would take at least a season to adapt to their new team before Thomas Tuchel could mount a serious title challenge.
Moreover, Bayern Munich were the clear favourites even with a new coach at the helm. What Die Borussen did not count on was RB Leipzig scripting their own success story to leave Dortmund competing with another surprise package in Hoffenheim for third place.
But Tuchel and the club had recruited well in what can be considered a rebuilding season. In spite of losing three major stars in Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan, Mario Gotze returned to the club while Andre Schurrle, Ousmane Dembele, Raphael Guerreiro, Marc Bartra, Sebastian Rode and Emre Mor were signed.
With Marco Reus still unable to exorcise his injury demons to play a full season, teenagers such as Dembele and Christian Pulisic have stepped up and provided goals and assists when playing alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. If they can retain the squad, they can push for the title next season with Bayern Munich’s key players either retiring or ageing.
3) Bayern Munich
If Bayern Munich’s current squad were split into two different teams, even the second-string side would be able to compete in the Bundesliga and probably finish midtable. Such is the incredible depth of this squad that had Carlo Ancelotti not won the league it would have been the biggest failure of his managerial career.
Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels had able cover in Javi Martinez and the young Joshua Kimmich (who was also deployed in a defensive midfield role) while Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman assured Ancelotti of options if Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben were not available. And even though Thomas Muller has had a poor season, he is a very capable option off the bench in a formation that only has a place for Robert Lewandowski up front.
In all, 16 players clocked over 1,000 minutes in the Bundesliga alone as Die Roten cruised to their fifth consecutive Bundesliga title. The only criticism that could be levelled at Ancelotti is that he was unable to win more with this team. They were eliminated by his former club Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals while Borussia Dortmund knocked them out in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals.
Winning the league has now become the norm at Bayern Munich. The fans and the board know it is just the minimum they can achieve as they strive to win the European crown again following their 2012/13 treble-winning campaign.
2) Juventus
Another club that currently dominates their country’s league is Italian giant Juventus. Having won the Serie A title five years in a row from2011/12 to 2015/16, they look all set to seal a sixth title this weekend.
Antonio Conte made them a force to reckon with as other Serie A clubs crumbled but it was Max Allegri who took them to the next level. His astute signings have seen players replaced without any hiccups (replacing Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, and Arturo Vidal is no joke) while his tactical decisions see players seamlessly switch roles from game to game.
Conte’s sides struggled in Europe but Juve have now reached two Champions League finals in three years under Allegri. Employing as many as five different formations (with tiny variations among them), Allegri has successfully rotated his squad to ensure they have a chance of winning the club’s first ever treble.
17 different players have clocked over 1,000 minutes in the league for Juve. His depth in personnel in the wing-back role (or as full-backs) – with Dani Alves, Alex Sandro, Stephan Lichtsteiner, and Kwadwo Asamoah – are so crucial to the stability of his 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2 formations. A central midfield of Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic has Stefano Sturaro, Claudio Marchisio and Hernanes providing backup.
The Old Lady have already won one-third of a treble – the Coppa Italia. Can they win the league this weekend and then the Champions League final against Real Madrid in June?
1) Real Madrid
One look at both Real Madrid and Barcelona will show that it is the capital club that has the better squad for the future. Although Barcelona won bragging rights in El Clasico, they have been carried by the brilliance of the MSN trio (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) for far too long and really need investment in their squad if they are to sustain a challenge on all fronts.
Real, on the other hand, have it covered with a number of players ready to step up if regular starters are not available. Zinedine Zidane has managed to succeed where many other managers have failed before – win over the dressing room (at least the majority of it).
Both Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez lost their jobs when they could not include Gareth Bale in their plans when he wasn’t fully fit. Zidane has been lucky that the Welshman’s injuries have restricted him to only 17 starts. And whether he got orders from above to play him in the Clasico or not, it was evident that he was never 100% as he hobbled off. But the French boss has managed to bring the best out of Isco as a result and the team actually looks better without an underperforming Bale in the lineup.
In midfield, Mateo Kovacic and Lucas Vazquez have performed exceptionally well while Marco Asensio has impressed so much across various roles in midfield and the wings that Bayern Munich’s technical director said they should commission a statue for the person who signed the 21-year-old for just €3.5m.
James Rodriguez, possibly playing in his last season at the Bernabeu, has also scored when it mattered. Pepe’s injury did not deter the side as Raphael Varane stepped up and even when he was injured there was Nacho to partner Sergio Ramos.
Up front, while Cristiano Ronaldo has reigned supreme, he has been supported by either Karim Benzema or Alvaro Morata who have been rotated by Zidane depending on the game. In all, 20 players have played more than 1,000 minutes in La Liga alone.
They are one point away from the La Liga title while Juventus await in the Champions League final as Real look to become the first team to defend the title in the UCL era.
