This week’s Europa League second-leg encounters sparked something not readily associated with the much maligned – chiefly in this country – competition, namely interest and excitement.
Perhaps helped by having four English clubs involved on the same day, and with all of those involved in ties whose outcome wasn’t settled until the final whistle, the enthusiasm of supporters concerned and neutrals alike was spiked to a degree beyond any level reached since Fulham’s tumultuous run to the 2010 final.
Indeed, since the UEFA Cup was merged with the old European Cup Winners Cup in 1999, the only occasions on which the newly formed hotchpotch of a tournament has captured national attention have been when an English team has battled its way through countless rounds to reach the showpiece climax.
Michel Platini’s hapless attempt to re-brand the continent’s secondary competition as the Europa League – with the intention of establishing a prestigious subsidiary to the Champions League – has merely added to its unwieldly nature.
The Frenchman’s predecessor as UEFA President, Lennart Johansson, made the similarly misguided decision in 2004 to introduce a group stage to the then UEFA Cup, in his own attempt to mimic Europe’s premier competition, and in turn guarantee all entrants a greater pot of cash for their troubles.
Johansson’s move pointed to his fear that clubs who found themselves encumbered by Thursday night European football viewed their continental participation as an inconvenience rather than a treasured reward for domestic success. That attitude has held sway in this country for more than a decade.
That the unwelcome tinkering with the Europa League has occurred during an era in which the Premier League has become so incredibly powerful with its associated ceaseless money making ability, has contributed vastly to the propensity for managers of its clubs to prioritise domestic point gathering at the expense of all else.
Matches in the Europa League being played on a Thursday night adds an intangible feeling of the trophy being little more than a consolation prize. The Thursday burden is never more apparent than in the pre-Christmas stages, when 48 teams are asked to play 6 group matches apiece, – often requiring travel to far flung European destinations – in order to earn the right to be one of the last-32 standing.
Add the fact that those 32 include eight sides whose Champions League campaign has ended in failure, and UEFA’s entirely unsatisfactory attempt to both satisfy its member clubs and develop a competition worthy of eminent status is complete.
The derisory English mind-set towards the Europa League isn’t replicated in southern Europe, the last two finals being all-Portugal and all-Spain affairs respectively. Similarly in the east, outfits from the coming leagues of Russia and Ukraine have approached the tournament with extreme vigour, seeing it as a chance to announce their arrival as a continental force.
Supporters undoubtedly take a lead from their clubs. If the paying fan perceives a hint of any competition being placed low on the priority list there is little incentive to fill the ground and back the team. Hence, Thursday night action in Premier League stadiums – often jam-packed on a Saturday afternoon, – is frequently played out to the back-drop of a raft of empty seats.
Last night however there was discernible change. The flat match-day atmosphere at Anfield this season has attracted much comment.
It was the challenge faced by Liverpool of overturning a two-goal deficit against Zenit St Petersburg which finally stoked the fires of the Kop and drew a feverish and notably partisan backing for the home team. Even after conceding a deflating early goal the Reds only fell marginally short of completing a European comeback to rival those which have become an Anfield speciality over many years.
That clash was broadcast live on ITV, as was Tottenham Hotspur’s first-leg match up against Lyon – a distinct step-up in profile from the backwaters of Channel 5 and ITV4. That may in part be reflective of the insatiable appetite of English audiences for televised football, but the confidence placed by a major terrestrial channel in Europa League football – screening its action in a prime-time slot – is a welcome, not to mention surprising, boon for the Champions League’s historically poor relation.