“A LITTLE YEAR IN HELL”: WHEN FOOTBALL GIANTS DROP DOWN A DIVISION

For certain football clubs, their standing in the game oscillates between success and failure, sorrow and joy, promotion and relegation. But what happens when fans of the self-proclaimed big teams find themselves relegated for the first time in living memory? Football is filled with stories of riches to rags, with sleeping giants that sleepwalk off cliffs and into the depths of their domestic pyramid.

But what does it feel like for a home fan when a fallen titan comes to play on your lawn? Manchester United were relegated to the second tier in 1973, just six years after winning the European Cup final.

Tim Hartley, an author and lifelong Cardiff fan, recalls one of his first experiences at a football stadium, portraying it as local heroes vs household superstars. This was much before the days of nonstop football coverage, which we now take for granted. "People forget how significant Manchester United's visit was. You'd only seen them on Match of the Day, never in person."

United's reputation on the field was preceded not only by their on-field reputation, but also by their traveling support, with the mid-1970s regarded the apex of football hooliganism. "Newspapers were full of stories of thuggery and hooliganism," Hartley said.

Madrid is dominated by two footballing institutions, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. The former coined the term "Galacticos" to represent themselves as a football royalty dream side. The latter have successfully commodified the aura of the underdog.

When Atleti was demoted to Segunda in 2000, four years after winning the double, the marketing staff termed it "A little year in hell." The club made a novelty of their year below the top flight by tackling the failure head on.

Despite being the most successful team in Spain outside of the Clasico duopoly, Atletico are not without disappointment. El Pupas, which translates as "The Cursed" following the club's 1974 European Cup final loss to Bayern Munich, failures are as important to the club's history and identity as successes.

Attendances at Vicente Calderon in the Segunda topped LaLiga records, with record season tickets sold, thanks to the branding of "a little year in hell" and reasonable ticket pricing.

When Atletico Madrid failed to return straight away to LaLiga, club veteran Luis Aragones was called back to manage the team, along with Diego Simeone's future right-hand man, German Burgos. For many fans, the Segunda title is as warmly remembered as the LaLiga titles of 1996 or 2014. It represented a period of solidarity in the face of adversity and enhanced the relationship between club and supporter, which is important to Atleti's identity.

Relegation is clearly the death of every football club, with this in mind, i cant help but wonder, which European football clubs have never been relegated?

Hamburg SV is the only team to have never been demoted from the Bundesliga since the league's inception in 1963. Internazionale is the only Italian team that has always played in Serie A. Real Madrid and Barcelona, unsurprisingly, have never been relegated from Spain's top flight. Athletic Bilbao, a Basque club, joins the two Spanish behemoths in this honor.

Getafe CF was only promoted to La Liga in 2004-05, despite never having been relegated. Previously, the club had spent decades in the country's lower divisions.None of Portugal's most successful clubs, Benfica, FC Porto, or Sporting Lisbon, have ever been knocked from the top of the Primeira Liga.

Something similar occurred in the Netherlands, due to the four clubs that have always played in the country's main division: Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, and FC Utrecht.Dinamo Moscow is the only Russian team that has always played at the highest level, excluding the Soviet Union. In fact, they were among the founding members of the Soviet Supreme League and have been playing at the highest level continuously since 1936. In France, however, the scenario is different; FC Paris Saint-Germain have never been formally demoted. However, the club split in two in 1972. One branch joined CA Montreuil and continued in the first division as Paris FC, while PSG was demoted to the third level and had to start over.PSG returned to first division in 1973-74 and has never looked back since.

Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, and PAOK have all played in Greece's top level since 1959.Only two clubs have consistently competed in Scotland's top division: Celtic (since 1890) and Aberdeen (since 1905). Besiktas, Fenerbahçe, and Galatasaray have all played in Turkey's top level continuously since 1959, and have never been relegated. Trabzonspor, founded in 1967, reached the first division in 1974-75 and won the championship that year. Since then, the club has never been relegated.

There are presently no English clubs that have never been downgraded from the country's top level. Arsenal had the longest stretch since their last relegation (from Division One in 1912-13).

Only a few clubs in South America has the distinction of never having been demoted. Argentina's Boca Juniors, Uruguay's Nacional and Pearol, Brazil's Famengo and Sao Paolo, Chile's Colo Colo, and Colombia's Atlético Nacional, Independiente Santa Fe, and Millonarios. Venezuela's Deportivo Táchira and Caracas, Paraguay's Olimpia and Cerro Porteno, Peru's Sporting Capital and Universitario deportes, and Mexico's America and Chivas de Guadalajara.

These clubs are as important to their fans regardless of the league in which the game is played. Though disappointing and hurtful, a decline in division does not destroy, but rather strengthens, the tie between a team and its followers. Fans weary of the same old routines frequently miss their time outside the top division - its challenges, frustrations, and strange and thrilling journeys - as time passes and their memory of their sabbatical in the lower league fades.

Many of these teams have grown from strength to strength since their elevation. It's apparent that a year in hell will not prevent supporters from feeling the ecstasy of football nirvana in the future.