“Which team, crowned champions of Europe, have been quickest to be relegated? And have any players gone from European glory to relegation with the same club (without playing for another club between)?” wonder the lads at the Star & Dragon Pub, Carbondale.
There’s always an obvious, slightly soul-squashing answer to questions like this: teams who were relegated for being wrong’uns. “Marseille won the Champions League in 1993 and were then relegated for their part in a match-fixing scandal in 1994,” writes Paul Brack. “Fabién Barthez was the only starter in the 1993 Champions League final to stay after relegation, playing one season in Ligue 2 before joining Monaco in 1995. Jean-Philippe Durand, a midfielder, came on as a substitute in the final and stayed with the club until his retirement in 1997.”
