'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The UEFA Champions League saw plenty of major results this week, but arguably the most seismic of them all happened on Tuesday, as Ajax dumped holders Real Madrid out of the competition following a 1-3 win at the Bernabeu.
Over the last 5 seasons, Los Blancos have had a stranglehold on the Champions League, winning the famous trophy 4 times and reaching the semi-finals in the lone season they failed to secure a victory. But only fans of Real would suggest that their loss this week is a bad thing for the Champions League.
In fact, it’s the complete opposite – Real’s exit is a great thing for the Champions League and for European football in general, and here are 4 reasons why.
#1 It means a new champion will be crowned
While it was kind of cool to see a huge side like Real Madrid become so dominant over the past few seasons, the fact that their exit this year means we’ll get a new champion at the end of the tournament is a great thing. Firstly, nobody wants to see a predictable tournament in any sport – that’s why the Premier League, which has multiple potential winners, tends to be more popular than France’s Ligue 1 or the Italian Serie A, which have been dominated recently by Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus respectively.
Secondly, the fact that Los Blancos have been eliminated in the Round of 16 makes things even better. If they’d have fallen in the semi-finals, as they did in 2014/15, obviously only the two semi-final winners would be potential champions. In this scenario though, there are going to be 8 potential new champions – and right now, with one side of the bracket not yet completed, we’ve actually got 12 of them.
Essentially, instead of seeing the likes of Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, and Luka Modric pick up yet another Champions League trophy, we could see it return to England, Italy or Germany – or it could even go back to Spain, but in the hands of Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. And that means the Champions League gets freshened up, which is only a good thing.
#2 It marks the return of Ajax to the elite of European football
Few European sides have as storied a history as Ajax. The Amsterdam-based side have won the Dutch Eredivisie 33 times, the Champions League on 4 occasions, and they’ve been home to some of the greatest players of all time – the likes of Johan Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, Marco Van Basten, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Edgar Davids to name a handful. But recently, they’ve suffered in Europe.
They won the Champions League in 1994/95 and made it to the final in the following season, but since then, despite having some talented players, European success has been hard to come by. Dutch sides, in general, haven’t done well in the Champions League recently but Ajax, in particular, have struggled, and haven’t made it out of the group stages since 2005/06.
Now though, by dumping Real Madrid out and making the quarter-finals, Ajax are definitely back in the big time. And while the vultures are already circling around their best players – Frenkie de Jong is already going to Barcelona and an exit is rumored for Matthijs de Ligt – it’s great to see the Amsterdam club back amongst Europe’s elite. If they can hold onto most of their current squad – and add a couple more talented players to their ranks – this could become the norm rather than the exception. And as a favorite of the neutrals, nobody would complain about it.
#3 Everyone loves a good upset
This week saw another huge upset in the Champions League as Manchester United came from a 2-0 first leg deficit to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 at the Parc des Princes and dump them out of the tournament. And strangely enough, despite United not traditionally being loved by neutrals, everyone but PSG’s own fans seemed to be supporting them. Why? Because everyone loves an upset.
While United’s comeback victory has gained most of the press coverage this week, Ajax’s defeat of Real Madrid was actually a bigger upset when you consider the difference – on paper at least – in the caliber of players between the two sides. Throw in the fact that Ajax also overcame a first-leg deficit to win away in Madrid and the result becomes even more staggering.
The Champions League has seen some major results in recent years – Roma’s defeat of Barcelona last season comes to mind, as does Barca’s own comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain in 2016/17 – but upsets have been relatively few and far between, simply due to the power of Europe’s very top clubs. A result like Ajax defeating Real Madrid throws that all into flux, and has given a new air of unpredictability to the Champions League – something that was very much needed after years of Madrid dominance.
#4 It might break some of Madrid’s power over Europe
As a fan of one of Europe’s bigger – but not the very biggest – clubs in Tottenham Hotspur, I can safely say that if Ajax’s defeat of Real Madrid this week breaks some of the power that Los Blancos have held over European football over the past couple of decades, it’s a great thing for everyone. Sure, the result may well have the opposite effect – we don’t know yet – but we can all hold out some hope, right?
Sure, other teams like Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City might flex their financial muscles a little more than Real, but no club seems to have the power to seemingly demand that the best players in Europe join them quite like the Spanish giants do. As has been said on numerous occasions before, when Real Madrid come after a player, the move is a mere formality. And that’s horribly frustrating for fans of Europe’s other clubs.
When they were winning the Champions League seemingly every season, of course, it was hard for any top player to turn them down – witness Thibaut Courtois’s move to the Bernabeu this summer. But now Ajax have dumped them out of the competition they believe is “theirs” in the Round of 16? Maybe players might think twice about a move there, particularly if they’re already at a side contending for European glory.
If Ajax’s victory over Real has broken some of their stranglehold of power to attract the world’s best players no matter what, then that’s excellent for the whole sport.
