There’s really no difference. The Champions League had a brand-new format unveiled today for the next season, and it’s really no different than how the original Super League proposed to play.
So, this is what it’s like when two money-obsessed entities compete for the heart of the Beautiful Game.
Despite fending off the most significant European-competition challenger (the European Super League) just a few years ago, UEFA has decided that the ESL was actually pretty neat for they have unveiled a brand-new Champions League format that is no different to the old ESL. And, to be honest, we all should have seen this coming.
Remember all of those pearl-clutching, pious Champions League defenders in the media during those dark Spring of 2021 days after the European Super League sprung to light their nefarious? If you don’t, then all you need to do is head on over to the YouTube channel and old broadcasts/newspaper editions belonging to Sky, BBC Sports, ITV, NBC, CBS, Telemundo, Marca, Mundo Deportivo, La Gazzetta dello Sport, kicker, etc. to see the evidence.
You will see quotes like, “The Super League is anti-fan!”. Or, “The Super League is going to destroy football!”. And perhaps the funniest of them all, “The Super League is EVIL and ANTHELTICAL to sports!” Not only was that a hilarious incorrect legal argument (the European Court of Justice declared so last year), but it also was just extremely effective propaganda and rhetoric meant to make out UEFA as an angel of heaven striking back against a dastardly demon from hell in the form of the European Super League.
Sure, you can’t convince me Florentino Perez hasn’t sold his soul to the devil to have the stranglehold he’s got over Real Madrid, but those quotes and opinions were not only wrong, but they also helped the TRUE and EQUALLY devilish party in this fight win the “Super League war”. Who might that be? UEFA.
Now, I was also fully against the Super League back in the Spring of 2021 when all of those clubs broke away from UEFA, but not for the reason many held. I had a HUGE issue with how sneaky, deceptive, and tyrannical the owners and presidents of the, respective, clubs acted in trying to force their Super League agenda across for that’s NOT how you convince fans the idea of a Super League isn’t a terrible one.
How you do that is by showcasing the hypocrisy of UEFA and how greedy, deceptive, manipulative, and ruthless that organization is.
Just a few hours ago, UEFA unveiled that they are removing the classic Champions League format of a Group Stage of 32 teams (8 groups, 4 teams each), followed by a Round of 16, then Quarterfinals, Semi-Finals, and the Final itself in favor of…a super league. Yeah, it’s not the utterly stupid and braindead idea the buffoons behind the European Super League came up with, but UEFA’s new format is in all but name a Super League.
All three levels of UEFA competitions (hmmm…kind of like the ESL’s Gold, Star, and Blue leagues) in the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League will no longer play in the group-stage, round-robin format that has been a staple of the European cup competitions for 30+ years.
No, now they will be playing in a…league of 36 teams with the Top-8 automatically qualifying for the Round of 16, 9-24 will play in a “playoff” for the remaining 8 spots, and the final 12 teams (25-36) are eliminated altogether from European Competition. How is this any different from the ESL? Seriously?
Yes, I’m glad that UEFA is still keeping it’s “merit-based” invitation (for now) to the competition that the amateurish plotters behind the ESL couldn’t comprehend, but these competitions are already so diluted they might as well be Super Leagues of the best 3-5 teams per major league in Europe.
I mean, taking England for example, by what right of championship and glory did Arsenal (2nd, no trophies), Newcastle United (4th, no trophies), Aston Villa (7th, no trophies), Brighton (6th, no trophies), and Liverpool (5th, no trophies) have to play in European competitions this year based on their performances last season? Are these competitions not for the champions of their, respective, European leagues?
By the very name of the Champions League, only Manchester City (1st, won EPL, FA Cup, and Champions League) and Manchester United (3rd, won EFL Cup) were championship teams in England and deserving of a spot in the “Champions League”.
Okay, I’m not THAT much a stickler on the rules and I’m not against the 3-4 best teams and the cup winners making the Champions League and the other lesser tournaments, but allowing teams that finished in 6th, 7th, and even 14th (West Ham United’s…who won the Conference League to play in the Europa League this season…standing in England last year) make it to Europe is stupid. And now there’s another 4 more teams playing in the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!
There’s not worthy 36 champions in Europe. Sorry.
I’m sorry this is turning into a rant, but the hypocrisy of UEFA and their supporters in the media has really annoyed me of late and this news set me over the edge. UEFA is just as bad, and IF NOT WORSE, than the fools behind the European Super League, and this new format for the CL has proven it!
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