Things are bad and could get worse

Who has dominated European football over the past 30 years

Fast forward to the present day and the comparison would be of a wee independent bookshop trying to take on Amazon.

Two years before the back-to-back wins over Barca, the Tannadice side had reached the European Cup semis, where they went down to Roma.

And two years before that, Aberdeen had won the European Cup-Winners’ Cup by beating Real Madrid, having earlier accounted for Bayern Munich.

In the current market, such overachievement is unthinkable.

The big clubs earn even more off the park from their worldwide fan bases than they do from domestic TVdeals or from selling out their modern-day coliseums.

The best Scotland can hope for are the sort of second-tier competition runs put together by Celtic and Rangers when reaching the UEFA Cup Finals in 2003 and 2008.

One look at our graphic tells you why Scottish football is treated with such disdain by the big boys.

Spain, Italy, England and Germany have cornered most of the UEFA silverware since Dundee United made that UEFA Cup Final.

Worryingly, all the signs are that things will get worse and worse for smaller nations like Scotland

The English Premier League landing a staggering £8.3-billion contract for TV coverage put in motion a succession of changes which could mean that, from 2021, the game will be unrecognisable from today.

With UEFA leadership in turmoil from corruption inquiries, clubs from the mostpowerful countries have forced through a Champions League carve-up which guarantees four top nations (Spain, Italy, England and Germany – surprise, surprise) four places each in the Champions League group stages – half of the available slots.

And in the future, insiders advise that anything is possible.

Champions League action on a Saturday, a North Atlantic League in which Scotland’s top clubs could compete against their peers from Poland, Holland, Belgium and the like, or even the departure of Celtic and Rangers to England via the creation of a fifth senior division south of the border.

All that against a backdrop of fears in Europe’s elite they may be in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Mismatches, even ones in which Messrs Messi, Suarez and Neymar sparkle under the Nou Camp lights, are a turn off. But so too is too much of a good thing – Real Madrid v Bayern Munich, Manchester City v Juventus season after season.

So the European giants should remember – be careful what you wish for.