Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
The international sports scene faced yet another controversy when UEFA announced the new Champions League format. This allegedly "revamped" system would have 36 teams, where each team has to face eight different opponents, four at home and four away, deciding the next 24 teams that go to the round of 16.
Before 2024-25 championship, teams would compete in groups of four, playing six matches. What is happening now is the top eight clubs would advance straight to the round of 16, the other group of eight being decided through battle once more in a separate playoff.
In this article, our goal is to answer a simple question: What do supporters have to say about it?
After reading through hundreds of pertinent opinions from fans all over the world and after engaging in several Reddit discussions, we noticed some "general" beliefs regarding this new UCL format. Here is why this enhanced format generated so much fuss and controversy:
"What would you expect from a game between Dinamo Zagreb and Bayern Munich?" said an anonymous Redditor as an answer to another user's open discussion after the final whistle. Many supporters question the level of competitiveness this new format comes with because high-performing teams like Bayern would destroy smaller teams in a direct confrontation. The 9-2 final score from their game with Dinamo Zagreb proved this to be true.
The Celtic - Slovan Bratislava match ended with a 5-1, followed by yet another loss added to their records, where Manchester City managed to break their defence four times. The game ended with a score of 4-0. At the same time, Celtic lost against B. Dortmund 7-1, marking some alarming discrepancies between match results, leading to confusion with no dominant team leading the board. At that point, powerful teams either scored more than 4 goals per game or lost against teams that had not won a UCL game in 10 years.
However, in an exclusive material for ESPN, Gabriele Marcotti, the Italian sports journalist, proved that there are still some experts who appreciate the new initiative.
Marcotti: "One hundred per cent. If you're a top seed, in the old format, you might stomp a bottom seed, win and lose against the third seed and -- presto! -- You have nine points, and all you need is one point from two games against the second seed. That's not exciting. Also, with the old format, the focus in each nation used to be on whatever groups had teams from that country in it. Now, it's more spread out. You see more teams. It feels more like a league."
Especially in the early stages, supporters were relaxed, and so were the teams. With 8 games in total, nobody felt any pressure after Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and PSG lost one of their opening games. There was plenty of space for the giants to catch up.
It is so common for these huge clubs to lose their initial games that you might ask yourself if this is part of a strategy to conserve the team's integrity. "The new format seems like it might result in less tension/excitement in the early stages; maybe until game week four, we won't really know what is happening compared to the previous format, in which each game counted a lot more." Redditor @BoonaAVFC expressed this in a Reddit post 7 months ago.
If you do the maths, the whole championship now has 189 games in total, which is significantly more than the usual 125 you would have with the old UCL format. While this expansion provides more football for fans, more betting opportunities, and the chance for some gamblers to take a break from the usual 30 free spins no deposit required keep what you win routine, it also raises questions about player fatigue and congestion.
This only makes it even harder for a professional football analyst to come up with the right bet suggestions and factual calculations. Everything collapsed when Manchester City lost its game against Sporting, even though they had more than 70% ball possession. What are the odds now, and would your money still be on the English to win the cup?
The odds are favouring Barcelona to win the final thanks to their relatively easy path to the final. They finished in second place after the league phase. They already won against Benfica, and we are about to see how the two games against Dortmund unfold in April.
With so many games and probable outcomes, it makes you wonder if, as a team, you should give 100% in every minute or take a step back and look at this new UCL format and start doing some maths.
Why are we putting it like that? In October, after only two match days, there were seven teams with a total of six points each, and the only way to separate them was by looking at their total goals. So, fans went crazy because in such an important championship, the number of wins should decide the champion, and not just some goal maths. Bayern had an amazing performance against Dinamo Zagreb, with a final score of 9-2.
Would you feel satisfied if your favourite team fails to qualify for the next stage because it scored less but still has the same number of wins? We are curious to see your answer.
The old format was all about points. Four teams in each group fought for each game like their lives were at stake. They wanted to win, not to score as many goals as possible.
It is too early to talk about embracing what's new and way too early to discuss if tradition should be left in the past but preserved in the future. One thing is clear: UEFA is trying to increase the appeal of this sacred competition.
It has to be entertaining, but it has to generate income at the same time. Finding the belance between these two will never be easy. While some fans and analysts welcome the novelty and broader matchups, others yearn for the old days and perceived fairness of the previous system.
As the 2025 final approaches, we are still here at a crossroads, debating whether these changes will eventually feel better in 10 years or if we will cry for the old format to come return. Only time will tell. Football does not change, but we should let this sport deliver excitement for fans because they are the ones paying for the tickets.
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