Uefa's voyage of discovery is a mystery tour for fans
The Independent|September 16, 2024
It isn’t so much how the new-look Champions League is going to work as will it work at all, writes Miguel Delaney
Miguel Delaney
Uefa's voyage of discovery is a mystery tour for fans

As star players approach the new Champions League season this week, there are still many who don’t get the new format. Uefa even joked about it in its promotional video at the draw. The players are far from alone in this, with plenty of fans and even club executives having the same discussion.

It could be argued this is a real problem for the basic functioning of a competition, not to mention how it represents the needless complication of a sport that is historically popular due to its simplicity. There is still hope within Uefa that everyone will understand once the reality of the games and the table take shape in front of their eyes. That’s quite a rare justification but then, this whole change represents quite a leap. It also represents the start of an era where our understanding and expectations of how football works will be completely scrambled.

The new Champions League is only the first step in a cycle that will see changes to most major parts of the calendar. The structural and psychological architecture of the game is being rearranged. The World Cup is going in a similar direction, by expanding to 48 teams, at the same time as Fifa is introducing a new expanded Club World Cup. The very fact the European season runs right through the “winter break” of January is already a major difference.

In the case of the Champions League’s specific structure, a classic format of eight groups of four with the top two going through is now ending after 25 years. Despite its simplicity, the format had become predictable in recent years and lost some of its magic. It is being replaced by something that has never been seen in elite football before, which is 36 teams all put into one giant table but where each club only has eight fixtures to try and reach the top 24 places. A super league, if you will.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 16, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 16, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE INDEPENDENT مشاهدة الكل
All Blacks offer benchmark for Irish great expectations
The Independent

All Blacks offer benchmark for Irish great expectations

Victory for Ireland over New Zealand this evening won't wash away the pain of 14 October 2023.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Arteta's vision for Arsenal at a crossroads after Edu exit
The Independent

Arteta's vision for Arsenal at a crossroads after Edu exit

Arsenal have become unaccustomed to being underdogs.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Centre stage for England's most in-form midfielder
The Independent

Centre stage for England's most in-form midfielder

After becoming a parent, after earning a place in the tabletopping team, after a stellar player-of-the-match performance in a high-profile game and after providing one of the Champions League highlights of the week, Curtis Jones has another milestone occasion in his sights: a first senior international cap for England.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 08, 2024
United win ends year-long wait for success in Europe
The Independent

United win ends year-long wait for success in Europe

For a club who have been champions of Europe three times, a win in continental competition really shouldn’t be such a rarity.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Hoorah for interest cut but we need another one soon
The Independent

Hoorah for interest cut but we need another one soon

After a turbulent few weeks, the Bank of England yesterday delivered a soothing balm to Britain's hard-pressed borrowers with a quarter-point cut in interest rates.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Sainsbury's to raise prices due to Budget 'pressure'
The Independent

Sainsbury's to raise prices due to Budget 'pressure'

Sainsbury's has said shoppers will face higher prices as a result of the surprise tax changes announced in last week's Budget, which will hit the retailer with an extra £140m in costs.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Keyboard warriors: a night at the Superbowl of esports
The Independent

Keyboard warriors: a night at the Superbowl of esports

The O2 arena sold out in a Glastonbury-esque frenzy, with resale tickets going for up to 1,000 online. All this for the chance to watch people play a desktop game on a jumbo screen? Annabel Nugent went to see what the big deal is

time-read
5 mins  |
November 08, 2024
NOBODY'S PERFECT
The Independent

NOBODY'S PERFECT

Eddie Redmayne has won rave reviews as an assassin in a TV adaptation of The Day of the Jackal’ but Geoffrey Macnab says it isn’t a patch on the 1973 movie starring Edward Fox

time-read
7 mins  |
November 08, 2024
How a new generation is giving granny tights a leg up
The Independent

How a new generation is giving granny tights a leg up

Kayleigh Werner explores how Gen Z superstars like Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift have reclaimed a hosiery staple most Brits associate with Nory sa and made it me

time-read
4 mins  |
November 08, 2024
PREACHY CLEAN
The Independent

PREACHY CLEAN

Videos of CleanTok influencers making their homes shine have more than 150 billion views. Ellie Muir looks at whether their bizarre methods are setting unhealthily high standards

time-read
5 mins  |
November 08, 2024