Page 20 - Soccer360 Issue 104

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THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WILL BE CHANGING DRASTICALLY FROM NEXT SEASON. OUT GOES THE GROUP STAGE AND IN COMES A ‘SWISS MODEL’ LEAGUE PHASE. DAN ROBERTS EXPLAINS THE NEW FORMAT AND ASKS WHETHER IT SHOULD BE REGARDED AS A POSITIVE STEP FORWARD FOR UEFA.
There should be more games between the big teams in the new format
‘UEFA DECIDED THAT THEIR OWN JEWEL IN THE CROWN WOULD NEED TO BE CHANGED’’
DID YOU KNOW?
At the age of 40 years and 254 days, Pepe made history by becoming the first player aged 40 or older to score a UEFA Champions League goal. This milestone was achieved during Porto’s 2-0 victory against Antwerp.
Are you enjoying this season’s UEFA Champions League? Or has the
group stage become a little tired and predictable? If you answered yes to that last question, you may be interested in the revolutionary format changes set for next year. But UEFA has already been criticised for its new- look tournament - and for the reasoning behind the
change.
Traditionalists may still be unhappy that it is not just the actual champions of each European league that gets to compete in the Champions League.
But for 20 years there has been a distinct format to the premier club competition in Europe. Since the energy-sapping additional group stage was done away with in the early 2000s, there have been eight groups of four, with the winners and runners-up going through to the round of 16. But from next season all that is going to change.
In a response to the wealthiest clubs in Europe announcing that they were going to set up their own breakaway Super League, UEFA decided
that their own jewel in the crown would need to
be changed to persuade those sides that they would be happier still playing under the UEFA banner. Although the initial move by the ESL 12 was immediately criticised by fans, players, governing bodies, and virtually every other club in Europe anyway, there was obviously enough in the intent to spook those in charge at UEFA. Their response could be regarded, at the very least, to have been a little dramatic.
Out goes the group stage, predictable and boring say UEFA and many of the fans watching around the world, and in comes a new league stage consisting of 36 teams - four more places than
in the current competition proper. Each club will play eight games - four at home and four away. There will still be seeding of the teams into pots and the teams will play two teams from each of
the four pots. Is that all clear? There’s more. The top eight sides will progress to the round of 16, while those placed ninth to 24th will compete in an extra playoff round. Just 12 of the clubs will exit the
Get ready for a new format
18 SOCCER360
NEW FORMAT CHAMPIONS LEAGUE