Another Possible Change to the Champions League

By: Bob | March 29th, 2007

In their continued efforts to make the Champions League the center of the football universe, UEFA officials are toying with the idea of including domestic cup winners from across Europe into the qualifying mix. Under proposals that will be discussed by UEFA in June, the winners of each country’s main domestic cup competition could be included in a new playoff system at the end of the season which will determine the final Champions League places.

The logic behind all this? Domestic cup competitions are too boring.

“Giving the cup winners one of these spots is something which we will discuss. We want to revitalise the cup competitions in each country which have suffered in recent years,” William Gaillard, special advisor to UEFA president Michel Platini told Reuters.

“But to be honest if the same team that finishes first, second or third ends up winning the cup, the the place would go to the next team in the league.

“If the cup winner goes to the Champions League, then that third or fourth-placed team goes to the UEFA Cup. There has to be some reality.”

The reality to me is that domestic cup competitions are far from boring and far from needing a Champions League boost. Even with an overcrowded schedule caused in part by the Champions League, domestic competitions across Europe still produce some of the most exciting games of the season. Sure the cup luster for some big clubs is not as great now that there are gobs of money at stake in European competitions, but a club like Watford in England doesn’t need the carrot of a Champions League playoff to make it want to win the FA Cup. The FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham last season didn’t need a Champions League spot to make it thrilling to watch.

Domestic cups are a crapshoot and the teams that win are often not among the best in a country. Adding them into a Champions League playoff when they automatically qualify for a UEFA Cup spot already seems unnecessary especially if the matches are to be played at the end of a long season when both teams and fans need a break.

Just for shits and giggles I decided to look at the clubs that won their domestic cups last season. It is about an even split between clubs that qualified for the Champions League anyway and those who might have benefited from the proposed changes.

England – Liverpool
France – Nancy
Spain – RCD Espanyol
Germany – Bayern Munich
Scotland – Hearts
Holland – Ajax
Italy – Inter Milan
Portugal - FC Porto

Category: Champions League, Europe, World Football

Tags: Champions League, Europe, UEFA, World Football, World Soccer

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• Sam |  March 29th, 2007 at 12:00 pm

  
  
  

  Now try to find the team that doesn’t belong…

  Posted from Canada

  

• Peter |  March 29th, 2007 at 12:03 pm

  
  
  

  The cups in Italy and Spain have been diminished the past few years. I’m not sure this is the CL answer or whether it is part of the problem.

  Posted from United States

  

• Greg |  March 29th, 2007 at 12:07 pm

  
  
  

  Redheaded stepchild here from the Portugal blog. Just letting you know that FC Porto won the Portuguese Cup last year. To give you an idea of how important the Portuguese Cup is, give it a Googling (it’s the Taca de Portugal). You’ll find the first Wiki article listed is actually the Portuguese Cup of foosball (table soccer). Yikes.

  Posted from United States

  

• Bob |  March 29th, 2007 at 12:10 pm

  
  
  

  Duly noted and updated, Greg. Cheers

  Posted from United States

  

• Ian |  March 29th, 2007 at 2:03 pm

  
  
  

  I really don’t think that domestic Cups are at all boring, or need any help from the CL. I’d have to say, considering the teams that often come out of the domestic cups, that a UEFA Cup spot is a lot more appropriate than a CL one. If they can’t finish in the top one or two spots in their national top flight league, they won’t be reaching the late stages of the most competitive club tournament in the world. It would water down the CL more than it would help Cups.

  Posted from United States

  

• Tom |  March 29th, 2007 at 2:07 pm

  
  
  

  It might save the F.A. Cup, which is in dire straits when even teams like Reading field weakened teams. Of course, cup competitions on the continent have long been taken much more seriously than in Britain, so it would be interesting to see how it played out there. Personally, I’d rather see a couple of lesser-known European teams out there than four British clubs in the tournament to begin with.

  Posted from United States

  

• Tom |  March 29th, 2007 at 7:21 pm

  
  
  

  umm, i meant “much less seriously” in the previous comment, for anyone not fluent in my devious doublespeak.

  Posted from United States

  

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