The big clubs have wanted a European Super League for years. It’s all about closing the door and making as much money as possible. The elite stay at the top, make all the money, and to hell with the rest of the football world. When it was announced out of the blue in April 2021 that a Super League would be formed there was immediate backlash from fans of the majority of clubs involved and the wider football world that hadn’t been invited to the party. Although the idea was shelved, after negotiations with UEFA, the Champions League was redrawn two seasons ago. The big clubs have essentially got what they wanted, a European Super League by stealth. More matches against other elite opposition, more games, greater prize money. But was it worth it? Financially, those clubs will say yes, but has the Champions League become boring already for the fans?
The new format for the Champions League (UEFA) meant that the group stages would be removed, replaced by one big league table of 36 teams, 8 matches instead of 6, 8 different opponents instead of 3. The big clubs from Pot 1 would play two other elite teams now, rather than playing only ‘weaker’ sides until the knockout stages.
There was already a rule change before the draw this year due to how predictable it has all become. Liverpool v Real Madrid and Inter v Arsenal could not be drawn as fixtures because they had taken place in the previous two seasons during the league phase. The reverse fixtures would have been fine though. It’s a European Super League in all but name when you look at the very top of the tree. For matchgoers, it’s all becoming a bit too predictable for the league phase at least. You might think that you want to watch Manchester City v Real Madrid every season or PSG v Bayern Munich, but once it becomes a repetitive fixture on the calendar, and during the league phase where there isn’t as much jeopardy, it can quickly feel more like a glorified exhibition than a match with something truly riding on it. If Arsenal lose to Inter, it doesn’t really have the same impact as it would have done in the group phase, because there are 7 other matches (most of which are against weaker opposition on paper) to play. Don’t get us wrong, in the moment it’s always great to watch the very best players compete against each other, but it’s not quite the same as it used to be, for some there is big-match fatigue.
Another problem for matchgoing fans I that it’s hard to get a grasp of what’s really going on until the last two matchdays. There doesn’t seem the same jeopardy whether you’re watching in the ground or at home on the TV.
What about the positives? Well, like we mentioned, it is always great to see the very best players on the field, no matter when or where it is. The new format has also been great for teams from some of the lower-ranked nations. This season for example there are two Norwegian teams in the Champions League proper for the first time since the 1999/2000 season. Como have broken the monopoly of the Italian giants and it will be interesting to see how they compete, and Sabah of Azerbaijan are debutants. Last season we had the magic of a Kazakh team in Kairat Almaty qualify for the league phase, and Bodø/Glimt surprising a succession of top-level teams to reach the round of 16, a year after making it all the way to the semi-finals of the Europa League. As much as it has been difficult to really understand the shape of the league until the last couple of matchdays, the final matchday of the league is maybe the best day of the entire season in football. All 36 teams playing at the same time, absolute chaos. It’s these nights that make a Goals Show appointment TV, as pundits try to keep up with the action as the highlights jump around every few seconds to another goal, another missed stutter penalty, another red card, another Mourinho kick off on the touchline.
A friend of The Football Dictionary thinks it would be better if the format was slightly different. Still a league format but split into two divisions side-by-side. You can’t play a team from the other division until the knockouts, creating that little bit of separation. 18 teams in each, stick with 8 games but maybe go back to playing home and away against the same team as you used to, but every team is ranked in the large table. The top 6 go through, placed 7-10 have a playoff for the final two places, keeping it competitive further down the table. Then you go into the round of 16. What do we think?
The league phase of the Champions League begins again the week of September 8th. Will any of us really know what’s going on and who’s going to get knocked out until matchday 7?
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