We’ve just witnessed the greatest season in the UEFA Champions League in recent memory, even if Sunday morning’s final failed to live up to expectations.
Congratulations to Liverpool, manager Jurgen Klopp and of course the thousands of Reds supporters who call Australia home.
As a neutral fan watching the decider, it was nice to see Liverpool get the job done in Madrid after the disappointment of losing last year’s final in Kiev.
They could hardly have got off to a more fortunate start at the Wanda Metropolitano after Spurs midfielder Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handled Sadio Mane’s cross with less than 30 seconds on the clock.
Was it a penalty? Sissoko’s arm was clearly well away from his body.
Hugo Lloris actually went close to saving Mohamed Salah’s spot kick as well, but the pace of Salah’s penalty ended up beating Lloris through the air.
And after that, not a whole lot happened.
Lloris tipped over a rasping Andy Robertson drive and James Milner dragged a left-footed strike the wrong side of the post, but on the whole it was another one of those European nights where both teams played as if terrified to lose.
Which is a shame, because the two semi-finals produced some of the most dramatic football we’ve witnessed in years.
But it wasn’t until the 80th minute that Tottenham really tested Reds goalkeeper Alisson as he stretched to keep out a stinging effort from Son Heung-min.
And the Brazilian shot-stopper did well to palm away a curling Christian Eriksen free kick with just over five minutes left on the clock.
What a difference a year makes.
Where the gone and swiftly forgotten Loris Karius cut such a disconsolate figure in last year’s decider against Real Madrid, this time around Alisson was a colossus between the posts for the Reds.
And when Divock Origi angled his low drive into the far corner, it signalled the start of the celebrations as Liverpool notched their sixth European Cup crown.
(Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
This one was a little bit different to the first few editions.
Just like their win over Milan in 2005, Liverpool didn’t enter this season’s UEFA Champions League as the reigning champions of England.
It’s been 26 years since the old European Cup was rebranded the UEFA Champions League, and just over two decades since more than just league title-winners were allowed to enter the competition.
The Champions League in its current form is one of the most lucrative sporting events in the world. It’s also the pinnacle of football.
Where once the FIFA World Cup was the best place to see the world’s finest players go head to head, the Champions League surpassed it long ago.
But the alleged plans of some of Europe’s biggest clubs – including Liverpool – to break away from UEFA and form their own European Super League will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
It seems almost inconceivable to think that some of Europe’s most storied clubs actually believe this is what fans want, until you realise what’s driving them.
It’s not trophies – it’s money.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that clubs like Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Celtic and have used Champions League broadcast money to monopolise their own domestic leagues, now a select group of self-appointed big clubs want to get even richer still.
How much is enough? If we wanted to watch the exact same clubs go around season after season, we could simply tune into the A-League.
And a European Super League will destroy the very essence of what made Liverpool’s win over Tottenham so special in the first place.
Football fans follow the game to watch their team win on the park, not on some balance sheet.
Clubs should try and remember that before they hand over total control of the game to the accountants.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Well, people in Huddersfield and Watford and Girona and Leganes obviously care. And that, in a nutshell, is the problem with all this talk of a Euro Super League. It's all well and good to blithely declare one club or another as a 'super' club worthy of playing in some closed-off, purely for profit league. But their stadiums are (mostly) full of local fans. And attendances at big European clubs aren't on the increase, they're generally trending downwards. So unless Barcelona or Manchester City or whoever else can find a way to ship 50,000 tourists in on a weekly basis, all this televised European football that we watch in far-flung destinations like Australia isn't going to mean much if it starts being played in front of empty grounds. And that's a real possibility in countries like Germany, where fans still feel a strong connection to their local club. (A point that seems completely alien to many Aussie fans, judging by some of these comments).
johnnoo
Roar Pro
The champions league group stages have got so boring if you ask me, I'd make the round of 16 onwards just one game knockouts where the highest placed team hosts the match, and the two finals teams, the highest place team should host the final.. But the final stuff ain't always so easy as you have to organize venue booking etc...
johnnoo
Roar Pro
You say all this critsicing the model, but don't fans of these top leagues get sick of always playing each other in europe.. Or are they content to have a closed shop these fans, as fans ultimately pay the bills and if fans don't watch then there is no game.. Look at NRL with it's salary cap any team can win and does, unlike spain or scotland where the usual barc/real madrid/celtic/rangers have an almost universal monopoly, oh what fun for fans.. Leiscter winning the EPL i thought is better at making more fans interested than liverpool wining UCL or Man City the EPL.. But maybe football fans of the big sides like a monopoly and that pays the bills, not endless teams winning like a hot potato that is the ALFL/NRL..
Jim
Roar Rookie
This is a very damaging development Eden and will harm the EPL significantly as a result. A great part of the leagues strength has been the relatively wide distribution of the majority of funds from TV revenues. But the overseas revenue continues to grow at huge pace and will soon be far more important than the domestic part of it.
Jim
Roar Rookie
Im a city fan and I absolutely hate the idea around the super league. I wish there was more opportunities for different teams to be involved in the Champions League then there is now - too many games are the 'same old same old' teams over and over. I'd love a return to the proper European Cup pre group stage and non-champions garbage that it has now. If I was running the game (Good job I'm not), there would be a 64 team (Is there enough nations to do this? If not 32 team + maybe 1 qualifying round) straight knockout, 2 legged competition. This would be the 'Champions league'. Then a second tier, Europa League, and even the 3rd tier Europa League 2 that is being talked about. That'll never happen as the almighty $$$ rules, but one coudl dream.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Firstly, I have no idea what a Port captain is, I thought most captain's left the port & went out on their ships/boats. I bow to your greater knowledge of the AFL & accept your synopsis on which games had the greater interest. The interest here was that the AFL were going beyond their comfort zones & see how their previous forays into the unknown, the abyss had progressed, the fact that the interest was so low, well, I leave that up to dwell on...... For what Mid was trying to portray on a football tab, was this proves what those that follow the world game has always known, AFL outside of AFL land is minimal at best (Sydney, Brisbane) & next to nothing outside of Australia.
Maximus Insight
Guest
Surely something like this is inevitable? Part of the reason the EPL is holding up better than the other big 5 leagues, in spite of the efforts of the big 5/6 EPL clubs, it has a relatively better distribution of TV monies which promotes a more interesting league season. But even in the EPL the premiership is becoming increasingly skewed and predictable The current model is unstable and unsustainable. The question is not if but how does it happen? It provides an opportunity to achieve a better competitive balance or it could make it far worse. I'm not sure how the half way houses being suggested can work in a way that doesn't further entrench imbalance but I can't see domestic premierships being fully relegated in the short term either
Maximus Insight
Guest
You mean when the Port captain made an innocuous if not fully qualified statement and unwittingly stumbled into a vipers den of insecurity? In terms of measures of the relative interests for Sunday's game...out of 9 games it was -the second lowest rating game combining Australian FTA and fox ratings -between the financially weakest Victorian club and fourth weakest non-Victorian club -the game with the second lowest highest ranked team going into the round So by measures or viewing interest, club support, and team quality it was probably 2nd lowest. Counterbalancing this, to be fair, it is the only AFL game that has been getting a mention btl of an article about the champions league
Waz
Roar Rookie
No it hasn’t. An independent A League has been on the table since the Crawford Report (anyone still remember that?).
Punter
Roar Rookie
How would we know it was bottom half of matches in terms of interest. We showed interest because 2 years ago the AFL discovered professional sport in the most populated country in the world & was wondering what progress there was.
Punter
Roar Rookie
It was a extremely harsh call, by the letter of the law, it looked accidental to me, it looked like ‘ball to arm’, instead of ‘arm to ball’. However, when you wave your arm like he was trying to catch a cab, he opens himself right up to the ref’s interpretation. Now imagine if that ball was hitting the top corner & he had his arms in the air like he did & the ball struck his arm, it would be, like this case very hard to prove it was not intentional.
Ad-O
Guest
To be honest, a Super League might just save European football and launch the financials into the stratosphere. Apart from England, the domestic leagues are so uncompetitive that its mostly a snore fest for the neutral. So long as there is promotion and relegation from the super league, its a natural progression. I understand the local fans would hate to lose their local rivalvries and it would probably have a detrimental effect on domestic leagues. But the growth in the game is in Asia and the US, and hundreds of millions of fans tune in across the world to watch the big boys go head to head. Whilst nobody really cares about Huddersfield v Watford, or Girona v Leganes.
Nick Symonds
Guest
NEWS: FFA backs second division as clubs chase pathway to main stage - Twenty months after the second division concept was first conceived by the then newly-established Association of Australian Football Clubs, FFA has decided to throw its weight into turning the dream into a reality. An announcement revealing details of the next step in the process is expected to be released by the governing body in the coming days, with an eventual promotion-relegation pathway the ultimate end game. - https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/ffa-backs-second-division-as-clubs-chase-pathway-to-main-stage
Maximus insight
Guest
But, you're talking about it mid! In AFL land it was probably in the bottom half of matches in terms of interest last round
Beach
Roar Rookie
Overdose of hyperbole. Nothing will be destroyed. It will simply change. It’s only football. We have a whole planet on the edge of an existential crisis.
Brian
Guest
Don't stress Man U and Man City will be in the league with Liverpool.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
In my opinion the so called "one season wonder" may prove to be a "career wonder". Sad when we lose out stars to the big clubs.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
I bow to your greater knowledge of the game. I've just seen instances where guys were obviously trying to get out of the way and the ball hit their arm and not called handball as deemed accidental. So it comes down to the ref so I thought it was a bit harsh. But if it's the right call, fair enough.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Indeed :) Doesn't help us win though, that and Liverpool keeps poaching our players for tiny sums.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Great strip Roma!