Any similar route to success is now barred, with clubs permitted to spend only proportions of money that is considered self-generated. The vicious circle which the continental game’s governing body has unwittingly created ensures that the likelihood of Champions League football for lesser lights – and the subsequent bountiful financial gains – is ever decreasing.
The briefest glance at the current state of play in Europe’s major leagues offers a sizeable clue as to where we are heading. Prior to this term, Bayern Munich had lifted Germany’s Bundesliga only once in the preceding four years – to give that statistics its proper context, the 23 time champions have emerged top of the pile in eight of 14 seasons in total ahead of this one.
Borussia Dortmund had won the two most recent titles, but have been consigned this year to a place in the wake of a rampant Bayern whose strength has been fortified by the FFP regulations of which they were forceful advocates. The Bavarians wrapped up the 18 team league with a record six matches to spare, having lost only once and conceded a meagre 13 goals.
Bayern’s venerable coach, Jupp Heynckes, was able to respond to last season’s hammer blow of being pipped by Dortmund domestically and, crushingly, Chelsea in the Champions League final, by augmenting his already stellar squad with the pricey recruitments of Javi Martinez, Mario Mandzukic, and Xherdan Shaqiri.
In contrast, Dortmund’s charismatic young boss, Jurgen Klopp, has seen his Bundesliga triumphs prove insufficient to retain either Nuri Sahin or Shinji Kagawa – lured away by Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively. Even the progress of Klopp’s vibrant young team to the last four of this term’s Champions League, and an average crowd number at their Westfalenstadion which tops 80,000, will do little to halt speculation surrounding impending moves away from the club for the spellbinding talents of Mario Gotze, Marco Reus, and Robert Lewandowski – among others.
In common with Germany’s top division, Juventus lead Italy’s Serie A by a healthy nine points with only seven games to play, moneybags Paris St. Germain hold a seven point advantage over Marseille in France with the same number of fixtures remaining, while Real Madrid – who have long switched off from domestic matters to focus on re-capturing the trophy they have lifted on a record nine occasions– trail Barcelona in Spain’s La Liga by a distant 13 points with only 24 left to contest.
We are not immune to a similar same status quo in England. Monday night’s Manchester derby was customarily frenetic, but refreshingly imbued with a rarefied standard of football. The surprise came in the fact that the majority of the fluent and inventive play came from the game’s eventual winners, Manchester City.
Despite the compelling nature of the contest it lacked the drama of containing any wider significance than that of a parochial squabble. In this most curious of Premier League campaigns Manchester United, even after this week’s chastening experience on their own patch, lead their fierce rivals in the table by an overwhelming 12 points.
The Red Devils have been far from imperious for large chunks of the season. It sounds incongruous to accuse a side which has won 25 of its 31 league fixtures – losing only four – of being inconsistent. That is exactly what the Old Trafford club have been this term.
Rarely can an impending championship triumph have felt so underwhelming. Even after despairingly witnessing their title snatched away from them in the dying seconds of the 38th and final game last May, joy at its re-capture will be tempered by what Sir Alex Ferguson described on Monday as a “curate’s egg” of a season.
The indubitable frustration that will have been keenly felt at Old Trafford upon being defeated by their city rival can be added to that experienced after losing to Chelsea in the F.A. Cup. Notwithstanding those hurtful losses, the most painful occurrence of the campaign for Manchester’s red side came with their being ousted by Real Madrid in the Champions League.
A man who is steeped in the history of football, and completely aware of the importance of his team creating a legacy, Ferguson would cherish his club wearing the mantle of the continent’s top dog just once more, in preference to success at home.
Yet, with their number one priority lying elsewhere, and without consistently hitting top gear, United have strolled towards their 20th English title. Their power, along with that of Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris St Germain, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and other established football behemoths is only set to expand.
The two combatants in one of the matches of this or any other season, Borussia Dortmund and Malaga, – as well as arguably even Manchester City and Chelsea –, and others of equivalent rank, must compete and progress annually in the Champions League or risk falling even further into the slipstream of the cruising juggernauts up ahead.
Of course, with every resource directed towards Europe, the ultimate prize need not be out of reach. That policy comes with some risk. Liverpool’s remarkable run to becoming the continent’s 2005 Kings came against the backdrop of a stuttering campaign at home – so much that rules had to be bent to allow the team which had finished 5th in the Premier League back the following year to defend the competition they had so memorably won.
All of Chelsea’s eggs went into the European basket during the second half of their victorious year. Failure at the last – the difference between a good and bad penalty shoot-out – would have resulted in a lot of free dates in what has eventually proved a chaotically crammed 2012/2013 calendar in West London.
The Champions League provides all the requisite drama, excellence, and allure demanded of football’s grandest competition. It is the club trophy coveted beyond all others by owners, managers, players and, increasingly, supporters. Mere participation is considered a golden ticket.
When UEFA first tweaked their leading tournament 21 years ago they can only have dreamed as to the standing it would grow to achieve – not to mention its agreeable status as a lavish cash cow.
At what cost do we savour the glamour and style of this multitude of Tuesday and Wednesday night entertainment? If it is at the expense of nine humdrum months across the continent’s top leagues is it a price worth paying? Furthermore, in conjunction with the pernicious FFP, will a progressively more influential Champions League prove to be a sustainable model?
The ultimate answers to these questions will go some way to determining what European football will look like a decade from now.
For more from me, head to my blog, or follow me on Twitter @McNamara_sport
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.