What if the European Leagues had an MLS-style Playoff System?

By: Bob | October 31st, 2007

In the circles in which I run, most people I know accept MLS having a playoff system as simply being a part of sports in the U.S. Other sports have it so fans are used to an end of the season competition that determines the league champion. There are some who will argue that this system devalues the regular season and that it rewards average teams by giving them a shot at winning a championship that they don’t deserve based on their performance over the course of 30-plus games. There are others who think it is exciting and good for the leagye.

You’ve undoubtedly heard the arguments in favor and against playoffs before with many “purists” advocating that MLS follow the lead of leagues around the world by scrapping the playoffs and awarding the championship to the team that finished first over the course of a season.

Rare has the case been made that other leagues should adopt the MLS playoffs system. Some People are on the Pitch present that argument and show what this would have meant in the English Premier League last season. Taking this one step further, I decided to see how the playoffs would have stacked up in some of Europe’s other leagues.

Mind you, this is simply an academic exercise because there isn’t a movement underway to do anything like this, but looking at some of the pairings that would have taken place last season is enough to make one wonder “what if…..” Would watching these teams play a home and away really be so horrible or would it be the best thing since sliced bread?

England
Manchester United (1) v Reading (8)
Chelsea (2) v Bolton Wanderers (7)
Liverpool (3) v Everton (6)
Arsenal (4) v Tottenham Hotspur (5)

France
Lyon (1) v Auxerre (8)
Marseille (2) v Sochaux (7)
Toulouse (3) v Bordeaux(6)
Rennes (4) v Lens (5)

Germany
Stuttgart (1) v VfL Bochum (8)
Schalke (2) v Hamburg (7)
Werder Bremen (3) v Nurnberg (6)
Bayern Munich (4) v Bayer Lverkusen (5)

Italy
Inter Milan (1) v Atalanta (8)
Roma (2) v Empoli (7)
Lazio (3) v Palermo (6)
AC Milan (4) v Fiorentina (5)

Spain
Real Madrid (1) v Recreativo Huelva (8)
Barcelona (2) v Atletico Madrid (7)
Sevilla (3) v Real Zaragoza (6)
Valencia (4) v Villarreal (5)

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Category: Europe, MLS, World Football

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Nolan

No.
Shane

It's not that a playoff system would or wouldn't work in Europe or the Euro system would be better in the MLS. It's that every trophy means something in Europe. Winning the "league" in MLS is not important. The US Open Cup is not important.
The league has to make winning important.
Mac

Playoff systems make more sense to me for sports like baseball, where there is a general progression throughout the season in which teams start off "rusty" (which is why Spring Training exists) and then progress to the playoffs if they've been good enough. By October, teams are usually playing on their full potential, and the Best Out of Seven playoff system helps ensure it's not pure luck whoever wins.
Ian

Actually, the MLS system has grown on me a little. Since the playoffs don't really decide the champion anyway (that's the supporters' shield for the regular season), the playoffs are an exclusive cup competition. Unlike the FA or league cups in every European league, the MLS Cup is a cup that only the top eight teams in the league can enter. In that way, I kind of like it. I do think the season as a whole should be used to determine who goes to continental competition, though ... it just makes sense to always send your best team, and the best team is the one that is best over the whole season, not a short stretch.
Sam

Naw. It wouldn't make sense to crown Auxerre champs if they're on a lucky streak or something going into the playoffs, or because other teams suddenly come down with injurie crises, and so on. Notice that the Championship playoffs don't apply to the club that finishes first.
Thierry

Well i think the play off system is good for MLS because of the special geography of USA(Gigantism). I don't imagine NY fans made a trip to LA a week then a trip to Dallas three day later then go to the Colorado...In smaller european country moves are easier. If we compare the winners of championship with the cups 'ones(two generally) in France we usually amators club or L2 club in finale, often the winner of the cup isn't the best team of the season. i think it's like the poker with one hand you can't make a difference between the quality of the player and luck, but with 300 000 hands the luck has no incidence. The more there are matchs the more the team with the better depth, the better trainer, the better manager, the better roster,... will win.
Its for that reason Uefa get dropped the two round robins for one, to have more suspense.
Zach

I love how Europeans act as though league playoffs are some insane invention of US money maniacs, when in fact leagues all over the world use them.
Jan

Interesting. Hamburg would have had a chance to win the title or at least make it into the Champions League with this system (as I suppose UEFA Cup and CL participation would also be decided this way). And I think they would have mounted a serious challenge. They were the second best team behind Stuttgart in the second half of the season.

Anyway, will never happen. Not because it's a particularly bad idea, but because you already have a packed calendar. Impossible to do with either the Euros, Copa America and the World Cup scheduled for the summer. And coaches would generally not be happy with having their season preparation time cut by several weeks each year.
Christian

So Reading could have in theory been champions? Wow. Let's just let that one sink in.