Layce Erayce said:
This is what happens when UEFA controls the competition industry. The UEFA Cup should include more teams while the UCL should be fore Champions and second placed teams at most. Have they been forced to explain why they made their changes? Are they answerable to anyone?
UCL: League winners. Second depending on coefficients. No qualifying. 24 total teams. 4 6-team groups, top two going into QF Knockouts.
UEFA: Everybody else. Having to fight tooth and nail against 10,000 teams to victory. Whichever smaller team wins this will know what REAL glory is all about. Underrepresented leagues with shitty teams get a shortcut into third qualifying or group stage.
Naked CL Pix to come soon.
I'm all for giving the 4th seeded batch of teams in CL the boot to the UEFA Cup TBH, and therefore subsequently raising the standard of the UEFA Cup and also giving its participants more of the European revenue pie. Europe's second tier club championship has unfortunately gone downhill from its glory days, and the participation of obscure teams like Artmedia Bratislava, Thun and Rapid Vienna is meaningless for the most part, especially if they don't manage at least 3rd place in the group rounds, effectively rendering these supposedly CL-worthy teams unworthy of a place in the preliminary rounds of a lesser competition.
I understand that may sound pretty elitist but its just a means to not only raising the bar for the elite club competition in Europe(for the sake of making it a
League more for
Champions if nothing else) but also making the UEFA Cup more than just a poor man's CL.