UEFA Cup: Does Anyone Really Care?
The Champions League has long reverted from being a competition for the ‘Champions’. From the top leagues across Europe, we are now used to seeing as many as four teams representing one nation.
The format has undoubtedly been successful. The Champions League is not only where the money is, but each evening of football provides the viewer with some of the highest quality entertainment – even outstripping the international game in terms of the level of ability on display. Gone are the days when we would see the likes of Skonto Riga as the whipping boys of the group. Nowadays each of the six initial games are closely fought affairs involving the best clubs around.
However, what has this meant for Europe’s secondary competition – the UEFA Cup?
12 years ago, the competition was taken by Bayern Munich in a 5-1 aggregate victory over Bordeaux. The names that graced the first round included the likes of Roma, Internazionale, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio and Manchester United. If we care to look down the fixture list for the 2007/8 version and the only major European powerhouse we can see is Bayern. There are some names that have fallen from grace in recent years – Sampdoria and Fiorentina are prime examples, but generally, the sides are average at best.
The revision of Europe’s premier competition has left the UEFA Cup in tatters. Now we are beginning to ask the question as to whether continuing the trophy is necessary? Surely winning the UEFA Cup now is just a matter of saying you’re the best of an average, sub-standard bunch?
The Champions League can’t be held to account for all of the UEFA Cup’s woes however. Much of the blame has to be placed on the individuals who thought it would be a good idea making the format to the competition as ridiculously complicated as possible.
At present we have 2 preliminary ‘qualifying’ rounds, followed by a ‘1st’ round, all two legged affairs. The next stage for the victorious sides is a place in a group of 5 clubs, where strangely each team only plays each other once and its left to chance as to who you’ll be facing home or away. The top 3 are able to qualify through the groups, where the knock-out stages begin again, although are mixed in with eight failures from the Champions League group stages.
Still following? After this, the competition reverts to some sort of normalacy with two-legged matches up to the final, whereupon the final becomes just the one-off extravaganza.
There many issues with how the UEFA Cup is currently run. Ok it is obvious it’s never going to retain the allure of the Champion’s League. So the idea is to at least make it as exciting as possible. What’s wrong with a series of one-off knockout ties up to the final? The group stage of the competition is just a joke.
Two homes and two aways seems fair on the surface, but anyone with even the tiniest bit of football knowledge knows that a trip to Kiev in the middle of winter is not as appealing as say an away game in France. Some teams are obviously going to get the short-straw.
Other problems include the ludicrous idea of adding Champions League rejects to the mix, about two-thirds of the way through the competition. Not only does this give off the image of second-class competition, but does seem a bit harsh on a club that has played in the UEFA Cup from the beginning and perhaps contended with as many as 11 games up to that point. The Champions League sides could scrape into the UEFA Cup with a meagre return of one win from their six matches.
The UEFA cup over the years has steadily become an after-thought in European week. Coupled with the awful format is the fact there are simply too many teams in it. Consequently, we will definitely have Groclin or Crvena Zvezda going through to the group stages. Who, if you do pardon my ignorance? The solution is obviously to cut the competition down to size, because in truth there is potential for some decent games.
Lens, Panathinaikos, Zenit St Petersburg, Galatasaray, AEK, Leverkusen, Toulouse, Fiorentina, Tottenham, Everton and more are all compable of playing some decent football… let’s get these clubs playing each other earlier rather than wasting time with ridiculous match-ups between a bunch of unknowns.
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Great article, you obviously are more articulate with the very same feelings I’ve held for the competition for a while now- for entertainment value you’re far better off with the Carling/Worthington/Coca-cola/Panda Pops/Whatever it’s called now Cup and that’s saying something!
Keep up the good work!
Big time agreed, nice article. Even still tho I do like at least looking at the results for UEFA Cup haha but I’m unlikely to watch a single game until the way late knock out rounds.
I agree that there might be a few too many teams, but I’m glad that it lets some non-huge clubs compete on the international setting. Certainly the team list in the group stage is going to be a lot more interesting than that of the Champions League, which is dominated by the top clubs in the three biggest leagues (which are the ones most likely to progress to the knockout stages). And there’s no question that last season the UEFA Cup final was a lot more exciting than the Champions League final, perhaps because Liverpool and Milan have both been there way too many times already to really make it exhilirating.
As an arsenal fan, I enjoy seeing spurs toil against the mighty famagusta or whatchacallit teams .. makes my season. If for no other reason, I vote for it to remain because there will be mass suicides at shite fart lane if its abolished (tempting as that prospect remains, my humane side reckons its better to see their twisted pain at our successes than not .. damn, I am a humanitarian ).. LOL
I disagree. Although the format of the competition needs altering (get rid of the group stage) it is a worthwhile competition for smaller clubs. I am a Blackburn Rovers supporter and it is unlikely that we will qualify for the Champions League so the UEFA Cup gives us something to aim for. The competition also gives European minnows a chance to play the big European clubs, and even pull off a shock, as Greek side AE Larissa did against my beloved Rovers!
I agree with Dan. Whilst I would concur that the format of the tournament is absurd (and would highlight along with you the entrance of the Champions League losers into the UEFA Cup draw - and UEFA claim that they refuse to recognise G15, my ass!), your argument about smaller clubs is frankly elitist. You have to realise that in footballing terms, Sevilla were not that big a club (1 league win, in 1948) until a couple of years ago, and yet now they are indispensable on the European football scene. Equally, in international terms, Greece are a “smaller” club, but that didn’t stop them winning Euro 2004. Smaller clubs and clubs from countries whose leagues are not laced with the spoils of capitalism need to be encouraged and given a chance to compete, not cast aside so that we get to see dream matches (many of which can end up dire affairs anyway).
A overhaul is needed, agreed.
DC, what do you think about Platini’s proposed changes for the Uefa Cup?
the champions league has killed the Uefa cup and it won’t be long before it loses its value compleatly. they need to stop leting teams that finish 4th into the champions league and then the qualty of the Uefa cup will become better. bring back the Cup Winners Cup and if the team that wins the domestic cup finish outside the top two in their own league they must play in the Cup winners Cup. this would give you teams like Arsenal in the Uefa cup and over the last few seasons Liverpool in the Cup winners Cup. Don’t let winners of the intertoto thing into Uefa cup, nor the 3rd team from Champions league group. It wasn’t to long ago that Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and even Barcelona won the Cup winners Cup.
bet you can’t guess who i support?
You are forgetting some great games last season in the Uefa Cup - who can forget Sevilla’s stunning comeback in Russia and the goal from Palop that kept their dream of retaining the trophy alive!
Spurs played some great games too - the match in Braga - the game in Seville!!! Remember the final itself - you had to feel sorry for Espanol in the end, they seem destined never to win that trophy.
You ask Espanol fans about the Uefa Cup and they are becoming as obsessed with it as Barca are with the big one!
I still don’t know whats wrong with having a simply knock out format. I guess UEFA know that the more matches played, the more televised games are possible, therefore more money.
I agree with some of your points, but I have to disagree with the idea that the smaller teams in Europe don’t deserve a competition. Sure, you can guarantee a big TV audience if you have a Tottenham play a Bayern Munich every match day. But, the UEFA Cup has always been about the mid-range teams. You might not have heard of Crvena Zvezda (though you might have heard of Red Star Belgrade, the more popular name for the team), but they are a fairly large European team. Just like an FA Cup final of Chelsea v. Man U was destined to be lame, a UEFA Cup without the midrange teams would be sad. On a purely competitive level, the UEFA Cup has always been a better measure of league strength than the Champions League, because of the fact that its the mid-level teams across the continent going up against each other.
I agree with Daniel that Platini’s new format is better, and that failure in the CL shouldn’t mean a second chance in the UC. But I love the UEFA Cup, even though I know I’m in the minority.
I actually never said I didn’t want smaller sides participating in the competition. It is great that mid-level sides have something to aim for in europe. In fact my formatting of the competition would actually play into the hands of the smaller clubs in many ways. It is much more difficult for the smaller club to qualify out of a group of 5, but in a one-off knock-out game the differences between teams are often narrowed.
I’m joining the general consensus of the responses Daniel, namely that your bashing of the smaller clubs is a little uncalled for.
Call me nostalgic, but personally I long for the days in which the Champions League was what it was: a Champions league. That is, the only teams you’d find in the competition at any given time were the CHAMPIONS and VICE-CHAMPIONS of each league. To include teams that ranked 3rd and 4th-place the previous season makes for some good matches, but takes away a lot of which the competition was based on originally, which is not to have a ‘Superleague’ of the same rich European clubs over and over again, but rather a diverse tournament regrouping the winners of each league across Europe, be it the big ones such as Italy, Spain, and England or the small ones such as Austria, Bosnia, and Czech Republic.
To rebound on your last paragraph in comment #10 Daniel, of course it’s about money! If we go back in time to the date the new European Cup format was adopted (abolishing the Cup Winners Cup, and extending the Champions League), we find that the main reason for the change was purely financial. The ‘big European clubs’ such as AC Milan, Liverpool, Man Utd, Barcelona etc. were not happy some of them were left out of the biggest European competition (at the time, only the top 2 of each league qualified for the CL), and threathened UEFA they would form their very own ‘Super League’, in which participation was not based on merit (i.e. league ranking the previous year) bur rather on invitation.
Why such a threat? The Champions League, as one would expect from the top European competition, was (and still is) where the big money lies. TV Rights and prize money awarded for each win are astronomical, so it is simply very counterproductive for a big club to be left out of it: the sums of money lost during that season are enormous. What did UEFA do in response to the threat? The took out the Cup Winners Cup (the least popular of the cups), expanded the CL to include 3rd and 4th-ranked teams, and extended the qualification line for the UEFA Cup.
What’s the result of this though? The CL effectively has the top European clubs each year, even though it can’t really be called “Champions League” anymore (IMHO). Meanwhile the UEFA Cup is devoid of those talented 3rd and 4th ranked teams (who are now in the CL), and ends up being a competition for ‘lower clubs’. Therein lies the problem: not the format of the cup itself (once it starts), but rather who gets to qualify for it in the first place!
I just hope Platini’s revisions will be accepted, because giving a CL spot to the League Cup winners would effectively enable that 4th-ranked team to get back in the UEFA Cup and bring some more talent in a tournament that desperately needs it.
I find your comments contradictory. At first you say my ‘bashing’ of smaller clubs is uncalled for, and then conclude that the UEFA cup needs 3rd/4th place sides from the champions league in it! If the bigger sides from the champions league went into the UEFA cup, wouldn’t this make it worse for the smaller clubs, not better?
The point is you can’t have it both ways - exciting contests between the better sides in Europe AND a more democratic and fair representation of all countries in Europe. Something has to give.
It does need an overhaul but I wouldn’t call it a pointless competition. It gives valuable European football experience to teams who may well end up in the Champions League at some point in the future.
Not rocket science. Just let the domestic cup winners and those whom finish below the Champions League qualifers be eligible for the UEFA Cup. Don’t let the 3rd placed group losers from the Champions League in.
An interesting idea: Let the winner of the UEFA cup play in the Champion League the next season. Drop one of the 4th placed slots in the major leagues in exchange.
Sorry Daniel, by the time you posted comment 12 I was already in the process of writing comment 13. I missed your response.
Anyways, it’s not about what makes it ‘worse’ or better for the small clubs Daniel, it’s about re-invigorating the interest of a Cup no spectator really cares about. I’d rather have the CL lose a few of its best teams (because then we’d really have a “Champions” league i.e. Champions & Vice-champions of each league, rather than a “3rd/4th rank league”) to the benefit of the UEFA Cup.
From the point of view of the clubs it would probably be better, because bigger teams = more money in the competition. A small team would get paid a lot more in TV rights by hosting Liverpool than by hosting Red Star Belgrade. It would also mean more prestige, because it’s a lot more stimulating to play Liverpool.
From the spectator point of view, it’s also a bonus because they’d get to see more exciting games.
Daniel, in re-reading your post, I think you’re right that I and some of the others jumped on you a bit much in defense of our favorite mid-level teams. Sorry about that. I guess what I would propose to “have it both ways”, as you say, would be less CL spots for the big leagues (no one should get four), but to leave the lower-ranked leagues alone. A maximum of two Champions League spots for any one league would bring a bit of the “Champions” feel back to the CL, and still allow the little teams that guys like Marco and I love to watch their place in the UC. True, they’d have to take on Liverpool instead of Everton, but that I could live with.
I like the CL the way it is now. If Platini’s plans go through I don’t think I’m going to enjoy watching a group stage where Arsenal thumps Robotniki or Elfsborg 6-0 every game. There’s no point for a group stage if you only give the top leagues 2 slots. Every group will have 2 obvious teams who will go through and 2 obvious teams who won’t(altho this can happen in current CL format already). So it’ll simply be a battle for 1st and 3rd. Not very exciting.
The system isn’t broken. Only thing that needs to be changed to echo others here is get rid of UEFA Cup group stage and do full knock out tourney(kinda like March Madness! ooo im getting excited already) or else go to 4 team groups who play each other twice and then to knock outs.
I enjoy the fact that the 3rd place team in each CL group gets into UEFA. For instance Group G has Arsenal, Sevilla, Steaua, Slavia this year. Well, it’s pretty clear that it’s a battle for 1st and 3rd. If you don’t give any incentive for taking 3rd to Steaua and Slavia then what do they or the fans care? By their 4th game in group they would have absolutely nothing left to play for.
You’re right there mate!!
The Uefa Cup is boring. I prefer to watch the Carling Cup than the Uefa Cup. I only watch 1 semi final and the Final
Why bother having any teams except the top 4 in each major league. Have a European league made up of the richest 20 teams in Europe and just cancel all other football.
UEFA Cup football is boring for people who only like the Champions League.
If you reverted the “Champions League” to what was the European Cup and the UEFA Cup to being as it once was… all only 2-legged matches, you would solve the problems of fixture congestion and meaningless matches instantly. But it won’t happen because of the money.
20 richest clubs? So you think clubs currently ranked in the top 20 of wealth like Newcastle, Man City, Hamburg or Celtic would have more right to be in there than Valencia, Sevilla, Porto or PSV?? It’s a stupid idea anyway - would kill domestic leagues and make football less interesting for fans of other clubs and maybe even for big clubs too (only 1 league prize to aim at rather than domestic and europe)
Both the champions league and UEFA cup have an element of boredom, too many teams over too many legs rendering anything but the latter stages irrelevant.
The solution? Make it straight knockout - each match becomes much more meaningful and we’d only have to watch Arsenal choke once.