Both Celtic and Rangers excelled in the Europa League this season with the Glasgow clubs enjoying a number of famous wins in the competition.
Indeed at the time of publication, Rangers remain in the competition with a tricky away fixture in Germany in the last 16.
Much was written about Celtic and Rangers’ club coefficient, which is based on the results of clubs competing in the five previous seasons of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The rankings determine the seeding of each club in relevant UEFA competition draws along with the overall country coefficient.
READ MORE: Celtic and Rangers club coefficient hits five-year high
With all the focus being on individual club coefficients as Celtic and Rangers notched up impressive wins, there remains a rather astonishing country coefficient fact that very few are talking about.
Country coefficient is used to rank the collective performance of the clubs of each member association, for assigning the number of places, and at what stage clubs enter the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League.
Remarkably, out of all the nations with clubs in Europe, Scotland is currently 6th in the country coefficient table.
Only England, Spain, Germany, Italy and Portugal have racked up more country coefficient points in 19/20 - with all of the above having more teams competing than Scotland.
As you can see in the table above, the 19/20 season has seen Scotland contribute more points than at any point in the last five years.
At a club level, Rangers have amassed 18.0 coefficient points, Celtic have chipped in 16.5, Aberdeen 3.5 and Kilmarnock 1, giving Scottish club an average coefficient of 9.750. To put the achievements of Scottish clubs into context, Liverpool amassed 18 coefficient points with Real Madrid contributing 17.
To compare this to other nations, France, with PSG and Lyon still in competitions have only amassed an average of 9.3 country coefficient points, while Scotland has also outscored the Netherlands, who have no teams remaining in Europe.
Currently, Scotland is in 14th in the coefficient table, but could further rise with strong European performances in the next few seasons. If Scotland were to rise to 10th it would see one team automatically to the Champions League while 11th would mean one team automatically enters the tournament if the Champions League winner from the previous year qualifies for the competition through their league position.
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