Amid all the hype and excitement of the Uefa Champions League in Europe, few fans, players, directors or observers ever stop to assess the levels of pre-eminence.

Whatever European federation president Michel Platini is seeking to achieve in democratising access to the lucrative group stage, even he knows very well the dominant force in the world’s most eagerly watched international club competition is the Big Five.

In alphabetical order this means England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. These are the nations with the richest leagues, the richest television channels and the multi-national sponsors’ most intensely targeted consumer markets.

That commercial power is reflected on the pitch, too. Last season the winners were Italian (Internazionale), the runners-up German (Bayern Munich), the two losing semi-finalists French (Lyon) and Spanish (Barcelona) and the four losing quarter-finalists English (Arsenal and Manchester United) and French (Bordeaux) plus one lone outsider in Russia’s CSKA Moscow.

Only once in the last 15 seasons have the winners not come from within the Big Five and that was in 2004 when FC Porto beat French club Monaco in the final. One needs to go back to 1988, when Holland’s PSV Eindhoven beat Portugal’s Benfica, to find a final in which none of the Big Five was represented.

Yet… that club-level power has not been reflected thus far at the 2010 World Cup finals.

England have drawn their two games (both against supposedly inferior opposition): France have drawn one, lost one; Germany have won one, lost one; Italy have drawn one; Spain have lost one. Tally thus far: eight games played for one win, four draws and three defeats; six goals scored (four by Germany in one game) and six conceded.

On an individual level, no goals from Champions League supposed shooting superstars such as Wayne Rooney, Nicolas Anelka, Franck Ribery and Fernando Torres (albeit he appeared only as a substitute), while Miroslav Klose’s goal against Australia was compromised by his red card against Serbia.

Is it a coincidence that these are the leagues with the highest percentage of foreign players? Are initial results proof of the suspicion that open borders have undermined Europe’s World Cup-winning potential?

This is an argument which has raged for more than half a century, ever since Italy and Spain began the wholesale importation of foreign players in the late 1940s and early 1950s. No one dare deride the rich benefits Italian football gained from the incursions of giants such as Nils Liedholm, Juan Schiaffino, Omar Sivori, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Ronaldo and Kaka, or Spanish football from the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ladislav Kubala, Ferenc Puskas, Johan Cruyff, David Beckham and Leo Messi.

But — particularly in the case of Messi who arrived in Barcelona aged a mere 13 — have they denied opportunities to the very youngsters they also inspired?

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger sees it differently, according to his comments during a Football Association reception in Johannesburg with Princes William and Harry (Prince William is FA president).

Wenger said: “The biggest teams who have the highest level of expectation cannot express that talent yet. One reason is caution, fear of failure, response to huge demands. These teams will just glide through, most of them, then you will see them (play) really.

“Basically, the big teams with high expectations play these first round games just to get through. I don’t think that is so done much consciously but more through fear of failure. In the modern game, there is too much pressure, too much expectation and sometimes too much inhibition. England came here with an expectation from everybody to win the World Cup. It’s not easy to deal with that.”

Wenger’s theory was supported by Italy’s Marcello Lippi who, speaking with the status that befits a World Cup-winning manager, will not concede the doomsday scenario. A slow start, for him, is merely tournament tradition.

He said: “This is a long event, particularly when you also take into account the necessary preparation time. What matters is experience to withstand pressure and too much expectation. The best players will come through in the end. That’s why they’re here, after all.”

His own Azzurri have the chance to prove him right or wrong on Sunday against the perceived minors of New Zealand; Torres and Co. could also justify their bruised reputation against Honduras on Monday.

National — and continental — pride depends on it.

Also, surely, the enduring story of this World Cup.