The reform of the Champions League should revolutionize the format. And yes, a lot has been changed – unfortunately only for the bad.
The preliminary round of the new XXL Champions League is over. Finally. The new mode with 36 instead of 32 teams and eight instead of six preliminary round games is a crime of football. Just looking at the almost infinitely long table reduces the desire for the European elite class.
The UEFA promised more excitement from the reform. Bavaria’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen explained: “The idea behind it is that we no longer have the ‘dead games’ at the end of a group phase, if the first two teams are almost certain after four game days.”
How much excitement, for example, Sturm Graz against RB Leipzig – the 33rd against the 30th before the last match day and both left – has offered the football fan, everyone may decide for themselves. Alternatively, you could also enjoy Young Boys Bern against Red Stern Belgrade. Oh yes, that was the game of the 36th against the 32nd before the last game-the DAZN subscription is worth it. More tension? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that.
Admittedly, the last match day was entertaining because in a conference with 18 games almost continuously a goal always falls somewhere. But it looked more like “all games, all goals” in the techno remix and less like real football. Keeping a real overview was difficult. In the end you were a little smarter. At least the first eight round of 16 and the twelve retired teams have been determined. But why the 9th and the 10th meet the 23rd and so on in the playoffs – a mystery. If you wanted to prevent the teams from tacting in relation to the final placement, they have been shot out. The placements in this league changed so often on the last matchday that no club could try to influence the result in such a way that a certain playoff opponent came out.
In addition, the system is completely confusing. In the well -known group phase it was clear who the opponents are and what results you need. If in the 2024/25 season after five match days you asked what the chances of progressing the clubs are, you usually only have shrugs. In addition to the fans of the clubs themselves, hardly anyone knew who the teams still had to compete against. Wait even crackers against Real Madrid, Manchester City and Juventus or are you against Dinamo Zagreb, Shachtar Donetsk and Slovan Bratislava?
A surprising preliminary round of a top team was also rather rare in old mode. But it happened. Fans of FC Barcelona will remember the seasons 2021/22 and 2022/23 when the competition ended after the preliminary round for the Spanish top club. This is almost unthinkable in the new mode. 24 of the 36 teams qualify for the knockout phase. You have to queue extremely stupid when you leave as a top club. In this preliminary round it has not happened.
What was really behind this plan of the UEFA was a purely monetary calculation. Instead of the previous 144 games, 189 games are now needed to crown the Champions League winner. More games, more marketing options mean more money for the UEFA and the top clubs. In this regard, the reform is of course a complete success. The players are thus led to the limit of resilience and sometimes beyond. Resistance of the active people has been formed for months, such as world football players Rodri. (Read more about this here)
The product was watered down, fans suffer and the strain on the players has grown. In addition to the UEFA and the top teams, there are only losers here. A year after the reform of the Champions League, the Champions League urgently needs the next reform.