It’s early February, yet it wouldn’t feel like a massive punt to lay a decent sum on naming the winners of Europe’s five major leagues. Just don’t expect a tempting price from the bookies. Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint Germain, Barcelona and Juventus are all sitting atop of their respective piles. Surprise, surprise!
In the cases of United, Bayern and Barcelona, the cushion is so plump, and so dreamily comfortable, that they could probably doze off for most of March and wake up just in time for the party at the end.
They won’t, though. They’ll just keep winning. For the neutral, this means the rest of the season looks pretty damn beige. Not that football should be geared towards entertaining ‘the neutral’, but if I start watching a game I want to feel like there’s something at stake, usually so I can abandon neutrality and take sides. This is rendered almost impossible when the result is either: a) utterly predictable, or b) utterly meaningless.
Sky will try to entice me to keep watching with constant replays of ‘Aguerooooo’ and the subtext ‘don’t turn off – remember what happened last year…’ But, I’m not buying it, not this time.
It’s with this in mind that I stand waiting with open arms, ready to welcome the return of Champions League football with a warm embrace. Now, seeing as I regularly lament the passing of the pre-monetised English game, I realise this makes me nothing but a big fat hypocrite. But, in my defence, I’m SO bored.
There may only be two or three teams genuinely capable of winning the Champions League, but as a competition it poses far more interesting questions than the Premier League. Like Manchester United v Real Madrid – how can you attempt to predict that one? United have silenced everyone (including me) who questioned whether they could regain their title without significant investment in midfield. But, that question comes right back into play in Europe. Look at Madrid’s squad – look at the talent they have – and to think if they were to lose this tie their season would be all but over in February. Ridiculous! There’s a huge amount riding on this game.
Borussia Dortmund aren’t in quite the same position, but they have almost completely lost sight of Bayern in the Bundesliga. The vultures are always hovering, waiting to to pick off their best players, so progress in the Champions League is essential, not only for revenue, but also for prestige – a show of force to let everyone know that this team is for real.
As for Bayern – just how good are they? Record breakingly good in Germany, and certainly good enough to see off Arsenal over two legs, but are they good enough to win it? PSG’s dominance of French football seems inevitable, at least for the foreseeable future, but their insane spending power does not guarantee European honours. And, even if they’re unlikely to go the distance, who isn’t mildly curious about seeing a Galatasary side featuring Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba? Questions, questions, questions – but, soon we will have answers!
I know this is what the big clubs and UEFA wanted – fans buying into the Champions League and ignoring its many damaging side effects. I guess they won that propaganda war; it’s hard not to be dazzled by the bright lights and bling. But, compared to a non-existent title race or, even worse, the ‘race for fourth’, there really isn’t any contest.
Sure, the group stage can result in some of the most tedious fixtures imaginable, but this is when it starts to deliver. This is the payoff. It might be contrived excitement, but then so is every single Super Sunday. Welcome back Champs League, come on in.
