When UEFA first introduced a group stage to its fabled European Cup in 1992 few observers could have foreseen the evolution of the tournament into the monstrous Champions League to which we are treated today.
The first dalliance with veering away from a straight knockout format came in the form of the last eight teams standing being split into pools of four – the winners contesting the final. A year later, and the moniker attached to the premier European competition was changed to that which exists to the present day.
In common with the English domestic game – which launched its landscape altering Premier League in 1992 – the face of the continent’s eminent club competition transformed apace. More matches and more entrants have been at the crux of all the tinkering.
Put simply, Europe’s giants no longer wished to tread the perilous tightrope which comes with a straight knockout format – the prospect of potentially contesting only two matches before their season’s continental involvement was ended being deemed unpalatable.
So today, we have a beast of a tournament which trails its considerable footprint across every domestic league. Qualification for the Champions League is the holy grail – even to the farcical extent that it isn’t uncommon for a club to sacrifice their chances of the lifting the trophy itself in favour of channelling energies into ensuring participation for the following years edition.
There is little doubt that the desperate pursuit of a top-four position adds fascination to the top-flight beyond that which existed when a place in the UEFA Cup was the best that could be achieved for those teams finishing below the eventual champions. Arising from the same nuance, however, is an unsatisfactory situation.
Winning the league title is no longer the absolute pinnacle. A second-placed finish – and now third and fourth – comes with a hefty cushion to soften the blow of falling short in the 38 game marathon which determines the country’s number one team.
When Liverpool were bestriding the English scene in the 1970’s and 1980’s, during the magical era of Brian Clough taking provincial outfits Derby County and Nottingham Forest to the domestic summit, and indeed, when Manchester United awoke from their relative slumber in 1993, these clubs were rewarded for their number one status at home by being the nation’s sole representative in what was a competition for real ‘champions’.
Now, there exists the very real prospect that the lustre of being crowned kings of England is marginally eroded thanks to the riches on offer for filling the ‘next-best’ berths.
UEFA’s decision to admit domestic runners-up into the Champions League in 1997 was considered in many quarters as entirely contrary to the name by which the competition is christened. Similar misgivings have been expressed as entrants have multiplied.
The sheer quality and excitement provided by the current format has rendered such debate obsolete, and placed the old European Cup in the role of a charming but antiquated version of today’s all-consuming monster.
Many heads are being scratched while solutions are sought to re-ignite prestige to the Europa League, but UEFA’s premier event appears to have found its ideal form. Even the pre-Christmas phase – previously derided as stale and predictable – has morphed into a reliable platform for some wonderfully gripping fare.
Before we reached the enthralling knock-out chapter, this year’s tournament was as notable for the contributions of Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic, and Malaga as those of traditional heavyweights such as Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Manchester United.
What’s more, there is no room for even the grandest of names to ease into the action. Jose Mourinho was sliding on his knees on the first night of action after watching his Real Madrid side clinch a late victory against Manchester City. 24 hours later, Chelsea let slip a two goal lead in a high-class and frenzied tussle with Juventus. That swing ultimately ensured the Italians progressed and condemned the defending champions to the backwaters of Thursday night football.
Every single match is a major event in itself. Stadiums are increasingly being filled for each contest; from September’s post-qualifying openers, right through to the pomp and ceremony of the final. The manufactured theme tune which accompanies the pre-game rituals might not be to all tastes, but it is the music all of the world’s finest footballers long to hear.
Once the cut-throat action begins, the histories of major clubs are routinely re-written. Supporters of Borussia Dortmund will revel for evermore in their team’s astonishing grand finale on Tuesday which ensured a semi-final place at the expense of Malaga. Typically, that classic encounter was played in a chock-full and simultaneously nerve-filled and charged arena.
The faces of onlookers wracked with, at various junctures, tension, despair, horror, joy, and outright glee are increasingly unique in the most majestic football environments to these European nights.
Dortmund and their Spanish adversaries produced a truly great encounter which will stand the test of time. Nevertheless, these two clubs stand as totems for the unwelcome side-effects of the glittering competition we enjoy today.
Malaga have stretched themselves in their aim of competing on this exact stage, to the point at which they will not be allowed to partake in European action when they next qualify – the accusation against the Andalusian outfit being that they had failed to meet financial obligations to employees and tax authorities.
That penalty has been incurred under UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. Despite the club insisting their punishment was “disproportionate and unjustified”, and consequently taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (the case is due to be heard in May), their predicament offers firm evidence that the task for smaller aspirants to rub shoulders with the more illustrious establishment is only set to become ever more forbidding.
Malaga’s prominent rise was expedited markedly in 2010 thanks to their takeover by cash-rich Qatari Royal Family member Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani.