UEFA now runs two European club competitions in the form of the Champions League and Europa League. This club, with its fancy footwork, lovely style of play, and rich history of excellence, finds itself as team to beat in Europe.
UEFA officials are keen to expand their competitions to welcome the continent’s smaller nations.
The third-tier competition could be completed before the end of the calendar year, as opposed to going right through to the conclusion of the existing European season.
The simple notion of where he plays-defense or midfield-may decide the outcome of this match, but make no mistake, in order for Roma to pull this one off, they need a vintage performance from Danielino.
There is a growing concern that goalscorers are an endangered species in Europe after a campaign in which six of the eight leading Champions League scorers came from South America.
Turkish champions Galatasaray enjoyed their finest European hour in 2000, when they defeated Arsenal on penalties to win the former UEFA Cup.
Such a competition would appear more attractive to smaller clubs rather than English Premier League clubs like West Ham and Southampton, which failed to reach the Europa League group stage this season.
To win the Champions League is to know what it’s like to achieve European glory. Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has suggested the Europa League is a hindrance, according to the Guardian’s David Hytner.
Inaugural matches for both leagues this season will both be available to watch for nothing on Freeview HD set-top boxes and TVs as well as other United Kingdom digital terrestrial TV platforms, like YouView and EE TV.
Not many Premier League managers welcome Europe’s lesser competitions.
That’s the challenge facing a third tournament. The teams from the leagues further down the UEFA coefficient table that realistically have no shot. One thing that would help is scheduling. Since the creation of the Europa League for the 2009-10 season, UEFA’s main attempts to improve its competition amounted to staggering the Champions League knockout rounds and moving the final to Saturday. He also cites logistical worries, such as travel, which would naturally be more hard for less cash-rich clubs to manage.
They also considered whether the competition could be reserved for teams from smaller countries who never participate in the group stages of the existing cups.
Without properly answering these issues, UEFA might as well leave its proposal in the boardroom.
The highlights of the opening round of fixtures include Celtic’s trip to Amsterdam to face 1992 UEFA Cup winners Ajax and Liverpool’s opener in Bordeaux.