10 Most disappointing football teams of 2018
There is just a day until the end of the year and if you are a football fan, then it has been one hell of a ride.
We witnessed some truly exceptional displays and saw the rise of some players who shone like a million stars, catapulting themselves from relative obscurity to becoming global superstars instantly recognizable anywhere on the planet.
The year also threw up some wonderful surprises for us. We witnessed AS Roma spectacularly overturn a 4-1 deficit against Barcelona to progress to the UCL semi-final for the first time ever, while Liverpool shocked everyone with their final run in the same competition.
It was also a World Cup year and the greatest spectacle in the world sure lived up to its billing, as Russia served us one of the most memorable World Cups in recent memory, with lots of shocks and entertaining football on display.
France triumphed for the second time in their history, while Belgium and Croatia finally lived up to their promise.
While many teams performed at the level expected of them, a lot of other football teams disappointed, failing to match expectations and disappointing on the stage where it matters most. In this piece, we take a look at 10 teams (both club and country) who were the most disappointing in 2018.
#10 PSG
With four trophies won (including a domestic treble), it is easy to argue that PSG had a wonderful year. However to opine that would be to dismiss the fact that they are significantly much stronger than the rest of the competition in the French league.
The PSG squad is one of the priciest in all of Europe and currently boasts of having the two most expensive players of all time within its ranks, so it is all but a foregone conclusion that they are to conquer all that comes before them in France, with their current lead in the league as well as the fact that they have won six out of the last seven league titles helping to buttress that point.
It is on the continent where their aspirations most lie, as billions of pounds have been spent to make the club competitive with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. However, despite all the money spent, the club still falls a long way off being on par with these European heavyweights.
Their 6-1 capitulation to Barcelona having held a 4-0 first-leg lead in March 2017 is still fresh in the mind and this year they came up against defending champions Real Madrid, losing both legs in rather shambolic fashion to once more exit the Champions League at the round-of-16 stage.
This season, they once more toiled in the Champions League, posting just one victory from their opening four group stage matches but ultimately did enough as they rallied to top their group.
While 2018 might have been a successful year on the domestic front for the Parisian moneybags, on the continent they faltered massively and their fans would hope they can write that wrong this season.