Changes might be coming to the Champions League

Some of you might be wondering why The Offside did not come out with a public endorsement for a candidate in the race for UEFA presidency. It wasn’t because we weren’t following the election or because we want to steer clear of football politics or that we hate freedom, but rather because we couldn’t choose which candidate we liked worse: Michel Platini or Lennart Johansson. The whole thing also seemed a bit boring. We all see enough old white dudes fighting for power in our everyday lives.

Even without our endorsement, Platini beat out Johansson in an election for the UEFA presidency today, a result that could shape the way the game is played in Europe for years to come. Johansson had been in the position since the invention of the combustible engine and it is possible that his lips are permanently chapped from kissing FIFA head honcho Sepp Blatter’s arse so many times. His departure does not make us shed a tear, but it does make us uneasy.

Platini was a hell of a player in his day but since then he has become an outspoken, self-important person who frequently makes comments that leave you scratching your head. Consider him to be Sepp Lite.

One of those comments, really his pet idea, is to change the number of teams the big European leagues can have in the Champions League so that there is a better equilibrium between the small clubs and the big clubs and the small leagues and the big leagues. Lest you think he is just blowing smoke like he did when he suggested a while back that the World Cup be played every two years, Platini reiterated today that he wants to see changes to the Champions League with each country limited to a maximum three teams. Such a move would take away a spot from big soccer nations such as England, Spain and Italy, giving more space to smaller clubs.

Not surprisingly, this notion isn’t sitting well with the big clubs and managers like Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson. “If you take away the fourth place teams, the only way to address that is by reducing the competition or by giving other countries two places,” Ferguson said. “The way it is at the moment, with the top countries getting the top teams in, is a fantastic prospect every year.”

Indeed, the very concept of having the top teams on the content battle it out is one of the reasons why the Champions League has grown into a money generating tournament that garners worldwide attention. Would that change under Platini’s plan? Probably not, but it might take a little luster off of its shine even if those famously popular teams from Andorra, San Marino and Montenegro qualify.

The Platini plan would need to be approved by UEFA’s committee and there are indications they will shoot it down, but when you bring a bunch of federation cronies together you never know what might happen. Try as we might to ignore it, this likely will be an issue we’ll be hearing about a lot in the coming months and Platini is a character we’ll likely be hearing from now until eternity.

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Category: Champions League