It’s a knockout ... why we need the European Cup
THE Champions League kicks off again this week. And, guess what? Every reader of this column is being afforded a free insight into the way the competition will pan out.
The last eight will comprise the following: Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
Thinking about it, PSG might sneak in. Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United have a squeak of making it too. Hardly sticking my neck out there...
It’s like Groundhog Day.
One season melding into another. Largely the same teams, mainly due to their financial prowess, exchanging punches year in, year out – with faux tears being shed if they lose in the last eight. Purlease... Quite frankly, it’s boring – I know, how dare I? Hear me out. To my mind, the Champions League never possessed the magic that made the European Cup special.
For a start, you don’t have to win your league to enter.
That, in itself was like earning a ticket to the hottest club in town on opening night. It was a guarantee that, just for one moment in time, you are going to be facing the very best the continent had to offer.
And given that there was no seeding, you could meet a Real Madrid in round two. It was all part of the fun. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to, or read, any description of Liverpool’s sorties during their great European nights.
The game against St Etienne in the European Cup quarter-final in ’77, for instance. And the reason why it was special? Because it was a one-off. There were no second chances. And that St Etienne team was decent, too. But lose – and that’s the dream dead for another season – oh, and you’ll have to win the league again to enter the next one. It’s not the same, finishing in the top four. This week, Liverpool play Paris Saint-germain, Spurs take on Inter Milan. They may be great games. But the losers will still have a shot at qualifying. Feasibly, you could lose three and win three of your group games and still get through to the knockout phase. Where’s the sense of excitement, living on a knife-edge? Surprise, surprise, it’s been sacrificed at the altar of the god of money.
It was ex-italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (left), attending the Real Madrid versus Napoli match in 1987, who sewed the seeds of the competition we see today.
He was aghast that one of these two heavyweights could be eliminated in the first round – failing to grasp the point that was what made it captivating.
Later, when he assumed control of AC Milan he turned his idea into reality.
Approaching UEFA with a plan to revamp the European Cup, he proposed largely the Champions League. As club owner, all Berlusconi was looking at was the bottom line.
The Rossoneri would lose millions in broadcasting revenue if they were kicked out of the competition early on.
“We have to reach an audience beyond the stadium,” he said almost 30 years ago. “At the highest level winning or losing is often a matter of luck. What is important is that we are the main actors.”
What has changed since then is that television’s influence is on the wane. People have choice, via live streaming.
The audience outside the stadium can be reached. But the novelty value of a winner-takes-all scenario may now be worth more – in cash terms – than a few meaningless group games.
So, why not revert back to a competition for winners only? It can be called the European Cup.
The second, third and fourth-placed teams could take part in the Champions League. UEFA want a third competition, after all.
Advertising revenues for the European Cup would rocket. Every game truly would be special.
A knockout game in the quarterfinal between Manchester City and Bayern Munich in the European Cup?
Do you know what? That really would be something to set the juices flowing.
And it would give fresh meaning to a competition where over-familiarity is breeding staleness.