BBC Sport picks 10 European football 'sleeping giants'

A BBC Sport writer has published a personal ranking of ten historically strong European football clubs that currently play outside their country's top division but have big potential to return. In English such clubs are called "sleeping giants".

The author used history, heritage, fanbase and stadium as criteria. A club must have enjoyed some period of glory, but its success cannot be too recent. For that reason Steaua Bucharest, Portugal's Boavista and several German clubs were left out, while the size of a city alone was not decisive.

The list

In first place is Genoa's Sampdoria, who play in Serie B, Italy's second tier. They won the Italian title in 1991, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990 and lost the 1992 European Cup final to Barcelona. After finishing bottom of Serie A in 2023 the club almost dropped into the third tier, but it now has new owners.

Second is Saint-Etienne of France's Ligue 2, winners of 10 league titles and beaten finalists in the 1976 European Cup against Bayern Munich. Last season they lost to Nice in the promotion/relegation play-off.

Third is Real Zaragoza, who play in Spain's third tier and won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1995. Ander Herrera, aged 37, has returned to the club, and a new stadium is being developed.

The article gives no fourth entry, but Bordeaux are fifth. They were sold to US investment fund Park Bench for one euro and play in France's sixth tier. The list also includes Hertha Berlin, Sheffield Wednesday, Kaiserslautern, Dynamo Dresden and Turkey's Bursaspor.