For the first time in history, all five English clubs that have won the Champions League/European Cup will be in the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest, European champion in 1979 and 1980, returned to the elite division two weeks ago when it defeated Huddersfield 1-0 in the playoff final.
It will join the other European champions – Liverpool (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019), Manchester United (1968, 1999, 2008), Chelsea (2012, 2021) and Aston Villa (1982) – in the top division.
Although England’s tally of 14 European titles falls short of Spain’s record of 19 (14 to Real Madrid and five to Barcelona), it is the country that has produced the most number of winners.
The Netherlands (Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven), Germany (Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund) and Italy (Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan) have three, each.
How Forest performs in the Premier League depends on whether it can extend the loan spells for Djed Spence (Middlesbrough), James Garner (Manchester United), Philip Zinckernagel (Watford), Max Lowe (Sheffield United) and Keinan Davis (Aston Villa).
The quintet played pivotal roles in the push for promotion, and the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, a successful shipping magnate who also owns Greek outfit Olympiakos, has given his backing to make those loan deals permanent.
After winning the promotion, Marinakis told a crowd of 20,000: “We will give Steve (Cooper) and his team the ammunition to maintain our position in the Premier League.
“We all know about the achievements of this club 40 years ago. We respect that history. But now is the time to write a new history that is even brighter.”
Forest, one of the founding members of the Premier League, was relegated from the league in 1999.
It has been a 23-year slog to get back to the top tier of English football, and it owes much to Cooper.
The former Liverpool and England youth coach took over on Sept 21, 2021, after Forest lost six of its opening eight games. It had only one victory and one draw.
Cooper, the man who led England to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup title in 2017, immediately revamped Forest’s playing style.
Pretty soon, the goals started flowing. In the next 38 matches, The Reds won 22, collected 10 draws and suffered six defeats to finish fourth in the table with 80 points.
Fulham (90) and Bournemouth (88) earned automatic promotion, while Forest, Huddersfield, Sheffield United and Luton entered the playoffs.
In the semifinals, Forest edged Sheffield United 3-2 on penalty kicks after the two-legged tie ended 3-3. Huddersfield defeated Luton 2-1 on aggregate.
In the final, an own goal from Levi Colwill sealed Forest’s return to the Premier League.
Long-time fans will remember the glory days of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor.
Now, they hope Cooper and Marinakis can usher in a new era of dominance.
