Jon Mcleod
Andrew MacdougallIs English dominance dulling the Champions League?
Midway through the last-16 round, English sides look set to dominate the latter stages of the Champions League once again this season. Liverpool and Chelsea are through while Manchester United and Arsenal are on the brink of qualification. English clubs, therefore, will in all probability account for half of the teams in the quarter-finals. Again it is already looking like an all-English final.
After the final in Moscow last year and Turin this, it appears we already have the ‘39th game’. But it is not looking that special. The European night is losing its appeal. What is the difference between a Super Sunday and a Super Wednesday?
Anyone watching Chelsea against Juventus in the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night will testify that the drama is still there. But it takes more than great drama to make a great knockout competition, as the FA Cup has discovered in recent years, it also requires quality. And at present the quality is rarified and confined.
That Juventus played better than many expected in the first half against Chelsea, reveals more about our estimations of their current standing and any European resurgence. Their best players, Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet, and Alessandro Del Piero, remain from a decade ago.
But the result that must have brought to a singe of disappointment to every football fan in Europe, apart from Liverpool’s faithful, was the one at Anfield. The once shimmering white shirts of Real Madrid were sullied by Liverpool’s 4-0 demolition on Tuesday night.
Over the years the European Cup and latterly the Champions League has thrived on an elitism that has thrown together the best sides on the continent. Currently they are all English. While this is positive for the English game, it the European game seems that much poorer at present.
After the final in Moscow last year and Turin this, it appears we already have the ‘39th game’. But it is not looking that special. The European night is losing its appeal. What is the difference between a Super Sunday and a Super Wednesday?
Anyone watching Chelsea against Juventus in the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night will testify that the drama is still there. But it takes more than great drama to make a great knockout competition, as the FA Cup has discovered in recent years, it also requires quality. And at present the quality is rarified and confined.
That Juventus played better than many expected in the first half against Chelsea, reveals more about our estimations of their current standing and any European resurgence. Their best players, Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet, and Alessandro Del Piero, remain from a decade ago.
But the result that must have brought to a singe of disappointment to every football fan in Europe, apart from Liverpool’s faithful, was the one at Anfield. The once shimmering white shirts of Real Madrid were sullied by Liverpool’s 4-0 demolition on Tuesday night.
Over the years the European Cup and latterly the Champions League has thrived on an elitism that has thrown together the best sides on the continent. Currently they are all English. While this is positive for the English game, it the European game seems that much poorer at present.
