Comments on: The Arrival of Champions League Parity

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:32:32 +0000

I would hardly call Bayern a smaller less popular club than Fiorentina, not that I think there was a conspiracy to get them through. Just a tragically bad bit of officiating.

By: lefutur

lefutur — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:51:24 +0000

^^ exactly how does FIFA benifit from have the smaller, less popular clubs advance in the CL?

sometimes these conspiracy theorists get on my nerves.

By: Luke

Luke — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:59:13 +0000

You’d think the strings on Al’s violin would have worn out by now..

By: Luke

Luke — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:52:32 +0000

I don’t know that parity is really the word, as much as diversity. It will only be a good thing if the trend continues in succeeding editions of the competition. Otherwise, it will just be written off as an aberration.

By: Al

Al — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:39:12 +0000

This year’s ‘parity’ or the whole of the Champions’ League is only good if you like a fix. The taint of Bayern Munchen’s theft with background applause from FIFA putting in another crooked ref for the second leg makes this year filty and stinks of an infected Blatter.

By: Danni Ketju

Danni Ketju — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:36:34 +0000

Of course it’s a good thing. Just like in leagues, when four maybe five teams control the Champions’ League, it turns reatively dull.
The fact that most people have a hard time figuring out how well will Girondins and CSKA perform (even Bayern Munich, which is a sleeping giant)is a good sign for everybody. That translates in a better experience watching the game, more people tuning in (which means both the UEFA and the sponsors are happy), and an increase in chances of actually having a major shock this season.
Depending on what goes on this friday, when the UEFA draws names to decide who plays who, we could all be in for one of the most exciting editions of the decade.
Now, those who are really bitter are the English and the Italian. England went from landing three semifinalists last season, to have just two teams in QF. Italy is in what could be a turning point in Calcio. Of seven teams qualified for European competitions, just two remain. AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina, Genoa, and AS Roma have all bitten the dust, and rather early in the season too.
The other big league in Europe (Spain) can’t complain. Usually it’s Real Madrid and Barcelona who have made it this far (with an occasional Villarreal and Valencia), but havn’t been able to seed three of their own in QF.
The big winner: France. and if you count the Europa League, Germany too.
They’re allowed to have six teams, and yet four are still active. What’s even more astonishing, is that all four teams from both countries have great chances on making it to the next round. Europa Leaguers define who makes it to QF today, and Marseille, Lille, Hamburg, Wolfsburg and Bremen have the upper hand in their games.
Maybe this could be the begginning of some new trend in European football…

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:25:57 +0000

Definitely a good thing for fans of smaller leagues. (Ligue 1 fans are still pinching themselves.) And good thing for those who like underdogs.

Less good for those who are counting on many big teams to get big ratings to bring more big money to make the bigger teams bigger to get more big ratings to bring in more money to…

Wait. Yeah. Good thing. Very good thing.