Football: Has the away goal rule outlived its purpose?

August 21, 2013, Estadio Vicente Calderon, Madrid, Spain

The final whistle blows as the first leg of the Supercopa d’Espana ends in a 1-1 draw between defending league champions FC Barcelona and Copa del Rey winners Atletico Madrid, both goals being scored by newcomers in either side. While former Barcelona man David Villa scored for the Madrid side struggling to emerge from Real Madrid’s shadows, Barcelona’s marquee signing Neymar made Blaugranas all around smile by scoring his first competitive goal for the club. All eyes remain on the return leg in the Nou Camp on the 28th.

However, a burning question bothered this scribe that late in the night in India…

The final whistle blows as Gerardo Martino and Diego Simeone shake hands with one another, with the promise of providing another cracking game the coming Wednesday. A word of praise is reserved by the media for the supposed underdogs in Atletico, who got a well-deserved draw with a solid first-half display. The ‘other Madrid’ employed a high-pressure defensive style, allowing Barcelona to retain the ball but not allowing them any space to sneak through. Assuming that this wonderful defensive display doesn’t remain a one-off, the second leg will be a real decider of sorts.

Even though the game and the result will be below-par from what we culés have come to expect since 2006, barring that one subsequent season, the last one under Rjikaard, eventually most of us will rejoice on the fact that we got a solitary away goal, and most ‘glory hunters’, a phenomenon covered in another recent piece, will find solace in the ‘advantage’ gained by Neymar’s late strike on the away goal count.

The question remains, does the away goal rule contribute to improving football as of now?

The main purpose of the away goal rule was initially to do away with the concept of a rest day and eliminate wastage of time by a replay between teams deadlocked post two games of football. Also, a third game would always lead to cries for the game being played at a neutral ground to deny any unfair home advantage to either of the two teams. While such a home advantage is usually justified on the basis of partisan crowds or differing pitch conditions (see following example), it is hard to understand how difficult can a combination of these two factors make for an opposing side to score.

Home advantage decides a tie

20thFebruary, 2013. After AC Milan famously defeated away team Barcelona 2-0 at the San Siro, the Barcelona staff widely criticised the San Siro grass of being a bit too tall to allow their free-flowing passing.

While the world scoffed at this remark, Barcelona used the home advantage three weeks later to humble Milan 4-0 at the Nou Camp.

In this case, the knowledge of the home conditions makes clear the existence of a certain home advantage undeniable. However, another case, again from the same campaign, makes these arguments redundant.

Two draws and a winner! How?

In the quarterfinals in March-April, Barcelona and PSG drew 2-2 after a poor Blaise Matuidi shot met a Victor Valdes howler and allowed the French side to equalise. However, the resulting safety net of two goals to Barcelona allowed the Catalans to logically play out their own leg on a lower tempo, the game ending 1-1. Even though Barca progressed on away goals, the jury is always open to whether they deserved it or not, since neither of the two games produced a result.

And finally, the worst case of an away goal rule ruining a campaign.

The UEFA Champions league Round of 16 draw pitted Arsenal against Bayern Munich. A mouth-watering clash was effectively shut out by the Bavarians when they beat the Gunners 3-1 at the Emirates. However, Arsène Wenger’s side snapped a long-standing home record at the Allianz Arena by beating Bayern 2-0. Jupp Heynckes side went through on away goals.

Perhaps one of the more inglorious moments of the season. Arsenal had been fighting for a Champions League spot anyway in the BPL, and such a win definitely merited more than a knockout on away goals. Also, such a response in the face of a two goal deficit and three away goals against a team is more than commendable. Revitalized by this ‘jailbreak’, Bayern went on to win the championship.

Footballing effects

The effects of this rule seem to be bringing down the quality of football more than enhancing it. Teams are more than content to score a couple away, and then shut shop at home to prevent conceding a goal. Also, it gives the team playing away first a distinct advantage over its opposition, as every fan must have noted. Lastly, the culture of mediocrity it breeds among both players and fans alike is sad for a competitive sport, as we satisfy ourselves with draws instead of digging deeper on why we couldn’t win. Throw in the factor on missing out the excitement of extra time and a penalty shootout, which IS the litmus test for any good side, and we have a perfect cocktail for disaster.

It is imperative to rethink the need of such rules in order to safeguard the quality of football. After all, the essence of sport is to entertain a spectator, and no true fan can ever stomach his beloved team shutting shop in defence instead of attacking and threatening the other team. As one can say, ‘The Beautiful Game would never be beautiful without brave teams attacking beautifully’. Seriously, what has this rule made of ‘Offense is the best defence?’

However, these are but the opinions of a little guy pouring his heart out. The jury is open to deliberation, and counter arguments shall be more than welcome, even desirable. After all, let’s see what the away goal supporters can come up with!