Sports writer Alistair Mason asks whether the Champions League is losing its lustre.
Europe’s premier club competition – as the Champions League is routinely described – is coming to its climax.
Today’s semi-final draw pitted Barcelona against Bayern Munich, with Real Madrid taking on Juventus.
Bayern v Barca is one of the glamour ties of European football – with an added level of interest given Pep Guardiola’s involvement – and there was certainly plenty of excitement among fans and pundits when the draw was made.
Barcelona v Bayern Munich. That might be worth watching.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) April 24, 2015
It was inevitable. And absolutely fascinating… Barcelona-Bayern
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) April 24, 2015
Pep back to Barca semi final. Potential Messi v Ronaldo clash in the final. CL doesn't get better than that, no point covering it next year!
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) April 24, 2015
Among all the excitement though, was a sprinkling of tweets like these…
It's Barcelona v Bayern!!!!!! Just like two years ago!!! And just like it might be next year!!!! And the year after. Etc.
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) April 24, 2015
wow why are the semi final champions league games always the same
— juan (@juan_bofill) April 24, 2015
What a boring draw #UCL
— Tøkarev (@mccoy006) April 24, 2015
Certainly the Champions League is not the place to go for something new. We never see anything new any more – just the same teams playing against each other over and over again.
There was such a will to see Porto pull off a shock against Bayern in the quarter-finals, just because it would have been something different.
When was the last time one of the genuinely biggest teams was knocked out by someone from the tier below? Increasingly, it just doesn’t happen. Witness the way Bayern slapped down their pesky Portuguese opponents when it looked like a shock was on the cards.
Time and again now we’re seeing the same old sides get to the final stages of the Champions League, and this is how it will continue to be forever.
If you don’t particularly like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich or Chelsea – tough luck. Bar the odd exit in the last 16, they’re not going anywhere.
If you’re from Holland or Belgium or Sweden and you fancy seeing a side from your country getting deep into the tournament, forget it – this competition’s not for you. Go and play in the Europa League.
This isn’t really a pan-European competition – the last time a team that wasn’t from Spain, Germany, England or Italy made it to the final was over a decade ago, back in 2004, when Jose Mourinho’s Porto beat Monaco.
The last eastern European club to make it was Red Star Belgrade in 1991.
Financial Fair Play, which may have been well intentioned, actually looks like doing nothing except aggressively maintaining the status quo and beating down any side which might have the temerity to dream they can punch above their weight.
Naturally enough, the teams at the top want to stay there, and Uefa is perfectly happy to keep them there. A semi-final between Malmo and Anderlecht isn’t going to bring in the same global audience as one between Bayern and Barca.
But is it sustainable? Will people eventually get bored of seeing the same teams take part over and over again?
Some people already are. People are actually throwing their weight behind Juventus – a traditional powerhouse relegated amid a corruption scandal a few years ago – as the romantic choice, just because they haven’t been in the final for a while.
Hoping Juventus wins the champions league as it's the same few every year! #uclchampionsleague
— Ben Davies (@Benben_Davies) April 24, 2015
Why is the champions league draws always the same, Barcelona always play the same teams.
— Mete Coban (@metecoban92) April 24, 2015
#UCL is getting boring dis days… Same teams r meeting at d same Level every season. #UEFA shuld try something new if they don't want 2lose
— Tink Weird Wit BAIT (@bait4love) April 24, 2015
People are craving something new, but nobody at the top of the game is motivated to do provide it.
The big glamour clubs are what make the tournament so marketable, but if nobody else has a real chance of beating them it stops being a competition in any real sense and becomes an exhibition.
Variety is the spice of life – the Champions League is becoming a bland, flabby porridge of a competition.
Source: SNAPPA
