Below: Barcelona 2011 UEFA winners. Photo from redcardfever.com—
Above left: Inter Milan 2010 UEFA winners. Photo from thestar.com—
Above right: Chelsea 2012 UEFA winners. Photo from whoateallthepies.tv
By Matthew Smith—
The UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League has been arguably the biggest sporting event in all of Europe.
The Champions League started in March of 1955 but it was not intended to be what it is today. The aim of the UEFA League was an establishment of a national team competition. However, a French daily sports paper had other ideas. The Champions League started as all about Real Madrid.
Real Madrid won the first five Champions League titles to take a commanding grasp of the overall trophy count. After winning their sixth in 1966, it would be almost thirty years before they won another final. One of the most notable finals came in 2005 between Liverpool and AC Milan. After falling to a 3-0 deficit in the first half, Liverpool fought back to not only tie the game in regulation but to win it in tie breaker penalty shootout. This game marked one of the most memorable finishes in a Champions League final. Liverpool had struggled through the quarterfinals and their semifinals and was facing one of the best soccer clubs, at that time, in the finals.
The UEFA Champions League is a stage set for performances of a life time. The League has been over shadowed by a few teams that have just dominated the scene. First is Real Madrid, who after winning the first five finals continued to win four more and now leads the overall trophy holdings with 9. Only two clubs trail behind Real Madrid- AC Milan with 7 and Liverpool with 5. Liverpool hasn’t won the trophy since the 2004/2005 season and Milan hasn’t won since the 2006/2007 season. Of the big three, however, Real Madrid has spent the longest title drought, having not won since the 2001/2002 season.
The Champions League has gathered a huge fan base since its initial year. In 2012 the UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea was the second most watched final ever. The ratings were up 67% since 2002, according to figures released today by Nielsen Media Research. There was an average of 2 million viewers that watched the UEFA final this year. The previous year’s final, between Barcelona and Manchester United was the most watched with around 2.6 million viewers.
Though they have since changed their criteria, the Champions League was originally started with the understanding that the teams with the biggest fan base should be in. However, there is a rigorous qualification process to keep the matches competitive. The UEFA Champions League comprises three qualifying rounds, a playoff round, a group stage and four knockout rounds. In order to make it through the three playoff rounds teams, must play two games against each other (one at home and one away). The teams with the highest total home goals move on to the next round, in the event of a tie then the away goals and if need be number of penalties is looked at. The ten winners in the playoff round ties join 22 automatic entrants in the 32-team group stage. The clubs are split into eight groups of four teams, who play home and away against each of their pool opponents between September and December to decide which two teams from each section advance to the first knockout round.
From the last 16 until the semi-finals, clubs play two matches against each other on a home-and-away basis with the same rules as the qualifying and play-off rounds applied. The final is decided by a single match. This season’s final will be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, May 25, 2013. This process along with the huge love the Europeans have for soccer, and the evident growth in an American fan base are part of the reasons the UEFA Champions League is one of the greatest sporting events.
