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The Champions League starts on Tuesday, but not everyone is eagerly awaiting the prestigious tournament as if it were Christmas approaching with a sense of anxiety. Here, "The Independent" columnist James Lawton writes in his article that the most important thing in this tournament is not the battle on the football field, but the money, and even offers possible alternatives.
Here are some excerpts from his commentary.
James Lawton: The Champions League has lost its intrigue. Is it time for a Super League?
("The Independent")
...
London's "Chelsea" coach Carlo Ancelotti's mission to win the tournament, which started so awkwardly with a draw in Monaco, is, of course, intriguing.
We can easily identify other interesting questions: will Jose Mourinho make Madrid's "Real" a competitive team at the highest level? Will Sir Alex Ferguson rewrite history again with "Man Utd"? And, possibly the most intriguing, will "Barcelona," which so convincingly defeated "Man Utd" in the final in Rome, rediscover the smooth game rhythm that was crushed by Milan's "Inter" defense in the semi-final, and was seen again in the Spanish national team at the World Cup?
These are the most attention-grabbing questions, linked by one fact - we can comfortably put them in the freezer for three and a half months until the group stage is over.
Because only then does the Champions League become what it should be.
Until then, it's not the Champions League. It's a European money milking scheme - a formal profit harvesting, maximizing income without trying to create genuine competition and tension.
Now we can see headlines about the "Battle for Britain" happening in the first round ("Man Utd" - Glasgow "Rangers"). But is this really such a passion-stirring duel, if all we can expect is at best a few problems off the field due to quarrelling fans' groups?
In group action, London's "Tottenham" will struggle with perhaps the most complicated and interesting opponents - Milan's "Inter," Dutch champions "Twente," and Bremen's "Werder." However, "Chelsea," "Man Utd," and "Arsenal" will confidently march back to the knockout stage from their groups.
We all know what the idea of a "Super League" is - it would destroy the current format and be classic and straightforward - champions would compete. However, in that case, there would be a lack of highly profitable matches. Instead, the growing demand for high-level (in every sense) games would be satisfied, which is lacking due to the separation between rich and poor clubs.
Now, looking at the schedule with matches like "Chelsea" - "Zilina" or "Arsenal" - "Partizan," we understand that the differences are huge, although they were supposed to disappear.
Who couldn't guess which teams will make it to the knockout stages? Without ruling out the possibility that the forecast could be changed by the intervention of a club like Kazan's "Rubin" or "Tottenham," we name: "Inter," "Werder," "Lyon," "Schalke," "Man Utd," "Valencia," "Barcelona," "Panathinaikos," "Bayern," "Roma," "Chelsea," "Marseille," "Milan," "Real," "Arsenal," "Shakhtar." Before the attention-worthy battles in the quarter-finals - 48 matches that will definitely harm the ozone layer. Waiting will be too long, and someone will surely notice.
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