Am I alone in being left a bit cold by the repetitive nature of the Champions League these days? Take for instance Group E: Man Utd, Villarreal, Celtic and Aalborg. The Danes apart, all of these teams have faced each other in European competition in recent years.
Fans of these clubs may not complain but for the neutral the Champions League novelty is wearing off. The UEFA Cup, despite also including a group stage now, is in many ways a more interesting competition. The Champions League has the better teams and players but what chance is there of it being won by a team from outside of England, Spain or Italy? There is every chance of a "European Cup Final" between two teams from the same country. It could even be a local derby. Contrast that with last year's UEFA Cup final between sides from Russia and Scotland. Is the UEFA Cup the new European Cup?
2008-08-29 @ 12:35