Champions League Format Changes

      The UEFA Champions League has to endure a lot this season. The season itself - just like last season - was impacted in several different ways by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We all had to witness the extremely and unequivocally unsuccessful European Super League project.

     While the Super League was in many ways unnecessary, those behind the project - for as disappointing as their ulterior motives were - brought up some good points. Their are some changes that would make the current Champions League format better.

     Real Madrid's President Florentino Perez, one of the biggest backers of the proposed European Super League, made the point that some fans may not be as excited to watch the big boys of European club football play against the minnows of the European game. I do agree with the concept that we may not need games such as Real Madrid vs Basel or Manchester City vs Shaktar Donetsk, with no disrespect intended whatsoever to the latter two teams in each of those examples.

     However, I take the concept of Champions League reform in a different direction entirely. I believe that the allure of the competition stems from having smaller clubs earn their way into the Champions League and to have the opportunity to play against the bigger clubs.

     My idea for reform in the competition pertains to recent reports, albeit unconfirmed reports, that UEFA executives are exploring the possibility of ditching the current two-leg playoff system in the knockout stages, in favor of a single-elimination format.

     I believe that this is the best way Europe's premiere club soccer competition to proceed.

     As it stands, after the group stage of the Champions League, advancing to the next round is contingent upon scoring more combined goals over two games than the opponent. Both games will come against the same open with each team playing one home game and one game on the road. Ties are settled by who has scored the most goals as the visiting team and if that is deadlocked as well, then a penalty shootout is used to determine who will progress and which team will be eliminated.

     Believe it or not, I do not have any serious quarrel with the current system. I actually like the idea that even when the game may be out reach in the first leg that there is still something to play for. As a result, teams must continue to keep their foot on the gas in the last few minutes of game that may already be, in effect, settled.

     I like that system. So, why would I support a change?

     Because - as those who read my article on single-elimination versus a best-of-seven series playoff format would know - I like the idea that more favored teams cannot rest on their laurels. I have always felt that a team that comes in to a big game unprepared should be punished for that. While I do not mind the relative leniency, I cannot say that I love that idea.

     The idea of a less-fancied team winning and advancing to the next round becomes much more realistic when they only have to win once. I think that if UEFA wants to solve an alleged problem of fans losing interest - something that I do not believe is as big of a problem as those behind the Super League project previously suggested - then why not make things a little bit more interesting?

     UEFA would really thicken the plot by making the scenario of an underdog advancing to the latter stages of the competition, that much more likely.

     Full disclosure, I do not actually believe that this potential change will take place any time soon - if it all. UEFA's best chance at maximizing their revenues and profit would be to still have two games for each tie in the knockout rounds.

     I am just of the belief that a single-elimination knockout stage format would solve a lot of the problems that various people have with the UEFA Champions League.