Champions League

J

Johnny

Well-Known Member
I'm starting this thread because I would like to know the general opinion of the uefa champions league.

I'm a fan of this tournament, but there are a few things that really bother me. First, the fact that some countries can send four clubs, and other countries none, if their champion doesn't make it through the selection rounds. It should be for champions. Now we had 3 (!) english teams in the semi-finals.

And second, I don't like the way some teams are throwing with money, while smaller teams don't have those means, and don't have the chance to improve their position because the rich clubs can afford the best players in the world, and have much higher chances of succes.

Because of this, dutch teams for exaple will never be able to win the tournament, because they simply don't have the money, and less chances to reach the tournament ( only the first place is sure of that), and make money out of it.

Am I the only one who thinks this is unfair?
 
As a supporter of a team who in all probability will never qualify for the Champions League (Stoke City), I enjoy sitting back as a neutral and watching top European teams compete.

I do find it a bit boring that the same four English clubs qualify year after year, but this doesn't seem to be the same in the other leagues where 2 clubs will always be present, but there will usually be a surprise each year (Milan missing out on qualification last year for example and Sevilla, Villareal, Atletico and others competing for 2 places in Spain)

The monopoly of European qualification in England ensures that these same 4 teams continually gain the Champions League money and a cycle develops which means they stay stronger than the other 16 top-flight English clubs. Because teams in the Dutch and German leagues often swap positions and therefore the money is split more evenly throughout the league but does not allow one particular team to reinforce itself (with exceptions such as Bayern Munich).
 
Cat-Man said:
one thing Johnny, ajax?
Click to expand...

What about them?

Ajax are no longer the force they used to be in the early to mid nineties because the Spanish, Italian and English leagues have overtaken the Dutch league in terms of finances and have been able to pry away Ajax's (and other Dutch clubs') players (e.g. Ronaldo, Van Der Sar, Kluivert, Overmars, Seedorf, Davids).

The most consistent Dutch team over the last 5 years or so has been PSV Eindhoven.

Is that right, Johnny?
 
Ajax has won it 14 years ago, when only the champions were allowed to play in this tournament. There's no chance a dutch club can achieve this anymore.

PSV eindhoven has been the most consistent over the last years with 4 championships in a row. The netherlands have known a traditional group of three clubs which competed for the championship; ajax, feyenoord and psv. Feyenoord is in serious decline and in danger of going bankrupt ( allthough they have won the uefa-cup in 2002, which was clearly an exception), ajax is not wat they were in the past, and for the first time since 1981 another team became champion, namely AZ. But I don't think they'll stand a chance in the champions league.
 
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