280B: The European Cup, The Trophy Cabinet, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League 2000, Millennium Edition Sticker Collection

A week is a long time in politics. It’s an even longer time in football. Last month the sport was rocked by the announcement of an agreement between six English, three Italian and three Spanish clubs to form a European Super League. This was met with such widespread anger, derision and disgust that within three days all but famed spendthrift and man of the people Florentino Perez had sacked the whole thing off. Fans of the clubs involved felt betrayed by their owners’ avarice with protests ahead of supposedly super Manchester United’s clash with equally exceptional Liverpool postponing what could have been a thrilling 0-0 draw. The rest of us ‘legacy fans’ had all of our prejudices against the ‘big six’ well and truly confirmed. Perhaps most distressingly an enthusiastic football blogger was forced to completely rewrite his piece on the state of the beautiful game in Europe.

I had originally started by eulogising about the Champions League anthem and its ability to spark emotions even in the neutral as well as convince us all we really need a pint of Amstel or some new Continental tires. I had then criticised the arrogance of Juventus kingpin Andrea Agnelli as demonstrated by his suggestions for restructuring the tournament to further reward teams who sell a lot of shirts to FIFA fanboys despite finishing mid-table rather than recognising the achievements of less marketable teams who happened to actually be good at the football. I then highlighted that such snobbery also mars the international game as best shown by Match of the Day presenter, and vehement critic of the breakaway tournament, Gary Lineker in his patronising comments about San Marino during their World Cup qualifier against England. I then came up with a farfetched but sentimental plan to save European football which mainly revolved around the re-establishment of the Cup Winners’ Cup. You might be reading this thinking that, having avoided the lengthy version of that post, that perhaps the European Super League wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

I do still feel that some of what I wrote rings true. From the inception of the oldest cup tournament, the FA Cup, the possibility of bloodying the noses of the big boys has been one of football’s most enduring qualities. When the whistle is blown it comes down to eleven players against elven players and literally anything can happen. More often than not the team with the best players on paper and/or the backing of a major investor/oil rich nation triumph over the lesser side but on the rare occasions the opposite happens we all fall in love with the game a little bit more. It’s hardly a surprise that, year after year, whoever is providing the coverage for the FA Cup delves into the archives for footage of Sutton United getting the better of Coventry City or Hereford United besting Newcastle United rather than dredging up some highlights of yet another insipid encounter between two Premier League sides from the previous campaign.

The Champions League could be reformed and, in my opinion, improved in a way that would benefit both football fans and the fortunes of the so-called minnows of international football. First of all let’s focus on the name. The “Finished In Fourth On Goal Difference” League really doesn’t have the same ring to it so let’s reserve entrance into the tournament purely for Die Meister and Die Besten from the previous campaign. Secondly let’s have a simple draw for a simple knockout tournament of home and away legs leading to a final in a neutral venue. This might mean that a fortunate draw for Europa FC of Gibraltar could see them through a few rounds but surely this is better than sitting through a lengthy group stage where both fans and players alike are 90% sure of who will make it to the knockouts before a ball is kicked. Not only would this ease the fixture congestion that all managers complain about but it would also ensure that every game meant something and introduce an element of jeopardy to every fixture. What would this give other teams to play for? Simple. Bring back the Cup Winners’ Cup! That way teams would actually take their domestic cup tournaments seriously rather than us having to endure the so-called bigger teams bitching and moaning about them before winning them anyway. 

When I wrote my original post I felt there was still some innocence in modern football that meant that Agnelli’s pretentious and preposterous suggestions for the Champions League would be blown out of the water. However, when he got together with his equally risible chairman chums across Europe he was able to produce something so distasteful that he ended up getting what he wanted in the first place on the basis it was marginally less abhorrent than the Super League. Deep down I know the financial implications for all those with a say in European football would be far too great to countenance the odd shock defeat to Connah’s Quay Nomads or Inter Club d’Escaldes but it doesn’t mean we should bow down to the petulance and delusions of a handful of businessman looking to exploit some global markets. The Super League debacle did bring some small crumbs of comfort in the unity of football clubs, fans and organisations in denouncing all those involved as well as highlighting that Barcelona aren’t the paragons of virtue and humility they have been painted as by a host of sycophantic commentators for the last twenty years. If the same energy could be harnessed to address racism and prejudice in the sport we might finally see some progress on that front. Ahead of Euro 2021 we can perhaps take some solace from the international game. In the last round of fixtures North Macedonia bested Germany, Armenia defeated Iceland, Luxembourg won in Ireland and Malta picked up a credible draw in Slovakia. Money may talk but the minnows are starting to answer back.