France
It was a really case of when not if for Paris St Germain as they pretty much led Ligue 1 for the whole season. Even a late slump in form triggered by their heart-breaking defeat to Chelsea in their Champions League quarterfinal tie, failed to stop the inevitable with PSG winning their 2nd title in a row and looking unbeatable as ever in France on the back of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's incredible form and the contributions of Edinson Cavani.
AS Monaco may have only just earned promotion to the top flight last season but their 2nd place finish and an automatic Champions League spot as reward was what they probably expected given the amount of money they spent in the transfer window. The next task for the Monegasques is the title - whether Radamel Falcao and Claudio Ranieri will be around to see that happens remains to be seen.
Lille took the other Champions League spot after a solid campaign holding off a late charge from AS Saint-Etienne. Les Verts will be in the Europa League along with former champions, Lyon and French Cup winners, Guingamp - the little Breton club again surprising many to stay up fairly comfortably.
Ajaccio were the first side to be relegated, joined by Valenciennes and Sochaux who were thrashed 3-0 in their virtual relegation playoff on the final weekend at home to Evian TG.
While France's Ligue 1 is definitely improving, possibly benefiting from the attention on clubs like PSG and Monaco, questions remain about whether the league can make the leap and challenge the big 3. It will be down to PSG and Monaco to perform in the Champions League next season and perhaps even contemplate moving ahead of Italy's ailing Serie A.
Portugal
It was the story of the quadruple that might have been. Benfica were champions again in a very tight race ahead of city rivals, Sporting Lisbon and big rivals, Porto. They then won the Portuguese League and FA Cups but were to be denied a first European trophy since the 1960s in a heart-breaking penalty shootout loss to Spanish side Sevilla in the Europa League Final in Turin. The curse continues for Benfica in Europe.
Nevertheless, it was a season of triumph for Portugal's little Primeira Liga which moved ahead of Italy's Serie A in UEFA's rankings, thanks to Benfica making the Europa League Final - boosting its European participation for now.
The big 3 will be in the Champions League, while surprise package, Estoril will play in the Europa League along with Nacional and Portuguese Cup finalists, Rio Ave. Olhanese were relegated while last season's surprise Champions League qualifiers, Pacos de Ferreira must playoff to stay in the top flight.
Russia
Amidst the political furore surrounding Russia, the football continued and CSKA Moscow pipped Andre Villas-Boas' Zenit St Petersburg at the death to retain their title as champions of Russia. Both sides will be in the Champions League, while Lokomotiv and Dynamo Moscow, Krasnodar and Russian Cup winners, Rostov will play in the Europa League.
Volga and former free-spenders, Anzhi Makhachkala were relegated while Tom Tomsk and Krylia Sovetov Samara must play off to keep their place in the Russian Premier League.
Netherlands
Ajax Amsterdam were champions again under Frank de Boer as speculation looms that the former Dutch captain will be off to take a job in the big 3 leagues. They missed out on the double after a shock turnaround by PEC Zwolle in the KNVB Cup. Feyenoord will be in the Champions League while Twente, PSV and playoff winners, Groningen will play in the Europa League. RKC Waalwjik, NEC Breda and Roda were relegated.
Focus will be on Dutch football this summer with national manager and new Manchester United boss, Louis van Gaal picking plenty of local talent to go to Brazil. An impressive summer will see plenty of those players head overseas to join the likes of Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder plying their trade in the big leagues.
Belgium
Anderlecht broke Standard Liege hearts by snatching the title right at the end of the playoffs - Standard Liege at least are in the Champions League. Club Brugge, Zulte Waregem and Lokeren are in the Europa League while Mons were relegated. While Belgian football is soaring internationally, the Belgian league remains very much a poor cousin, a good breeding ground for the big clubs to loan their young players out and hone their skills for the big time.
Switzerland
Basel were champions again. Grasshopper will be in the Champions League with them, while Young Boys, Luzern and Zurich will be in the Europa League. Lausanne-Sport were relegated.
Greece
Olympiakos were runaway champions after a long unbeaten start to the season. They were clearly number 1 in cash-strapped Greece. Pananthinaikos will join them in the Champions League while PAOK, Atromitos and Asteras Tripoli will be in the Europa League. Apollon and Aris were relegated while Skoda Xanthi must playoff for their Superleague place.
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