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The giant European Cup, or the Champions League trophy as it is now referred to, is one of the most coveted prizes in club football. To be crowned as a European champion is a feat that every player dreams of achieving. This competition is one of the most cruel, hard hitting challenges that a club faces, making that trophy all the more desirable. A club’s true pedigree is determined by its ability to challenge the world’s best in top flight European competitions. But certain rules in the competition have a serious effect on a certain breed of clubs, the ones with little or no European history. Or one of those fallen giants that is trying to reclaim its lost European glory.
Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund fit the category of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Currently well-placed in Bundesliga, BVB are almost back to their former best. I use the word “almost” because their European performances speak otherwise.
Borussia Dortmund, who have only recently re-entered the Champions League due to their domestic success, have so far failed to make a lasting impact. Tactics and performance levels aside, there is another daunting impediment ahead for Jurgen Klopp and his bid to rebuild BVB into a European powerhouse. UEFA’s Club Co-efficient.
To those oblivious of this term, there are two aspects that go into factoring a club’s coefficient. Their performances in the past five editions of the tournament accounts for 80% of it. The remaining 20% is accounted for by the club’s respective domestic league co-efficient which determines the number of teams that are allowed to participate in the Champions League from one country. So a club from England will score more in that 20% bracket as compared to a club from Netherlands. And 20% is no small margin.
Feel free to disagree but this vital factor proves to be a bane to many aspiring clubs looking to make it big in the Champions League. Seeding helps the big guns in the competition like Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, AC Milan, Arsenal, Inter Milan or Juventus. There’s a 1/8th possibility of one of them landing in a really tough group. Due to their consistent performances or appearances in the Champions League, they have been awarded points based on their number of wins. Some of them simply outscore the new entrants by their presence in the past editions of the competition.
But for a team like BVB, they have nothing to show for as they only recently joined the European elite. They could score marginally on one hand as the Bundesliga is ranked as the third best league in the world currently, which still accounts for only 20%, leaving Dortmund with a pretty poor club co-efficient.
This directly affects their seeding at the Champions League and dramatically substantiates the odds of the club landing in a very tough group. A team like Manchester City, boasting of some of the big names in world football, failed miserably in their first Champions League attempt. This goes to show the importance that experience plays over quality. An emerging team like BVB with inexperienced players would find it all the more demanding to make a lasting impression if confronted with very tough competition from the word go, irrespective of their quality.
Let’s take the UEFA Champions League 2012-2013 draw in the group stages for instance. Teams were segregated into four seeding pots in accordance with their co-efficient. One team was picked from each pot to decide a group.To give you a clear picture, these are some of the teams (not all) that featured in the first three pots:
First: Man United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real MadridSecond: Valencia, Benfica, Man City, SchalkeThird: Ajax, Juventus, Paris St. Germain, Galatasaray
A team with the bravado and class of Borussia Dortmund were placed in the 4th pot along with sides like CFR Cluj, Celtic, Malaga and current French Champions Montpellier to name a few. Simply because they could not rake up a decent co-efficient which in no way reflects their quality.
Sides from the first pot can be rest assured that their groups would be relatively easy as by being in the first category, they will have a slender possibility of facing each other in the group stages.
It is obvious that the probability of sides from the 4th pot being pitched against very tough opponents is drastically high, as teams from the first three groups are established with considerable European experience, going by their co-efficient.
Dortmund, who so easily outclassed Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, were ranked amongst the lowest teams of the Champions League and wound up in what was to be called the “Group of Death” with Real Madrid, Ajax and Manchester City. One could argue that this was only City’s second outing in Europe and their second pot treatment was unworthy. But it helps when a club can boast of a domestic league such as the Premier League, which makes a difference in co-efficient calculations.
In the 2010-2011 European campaign, Dortmund was knocked out in the group stages, not because they lacked class, but because they lacked experience. It would take a few years for Dortmund to build on a decent co-efficient to stand a better chance and until then, things look dodgy.
Negating from the pessimistic side of things, it could also take some brilliant displays from Dortmund to build on this system quickly. Seeding does not dictate everything. It only offers one a better chance of avoiding demanding opposition in the initial stages of the competition. Perhaps qualifying from this group amongst all odds would once for all prove that BVB has what it takes to challenge Europe’s main stays. It would be a real confidence booster. Every win in the competition will help improve their chances of better seeding in the following years. By beating Real Madrid, BVB are on the right track.
In the same way, Manchester United faced the same sticky episode in the early 90s when they first qualified for the Champions League after their premier league success. The 1993-1994 double winning team, which is still considered to be one of United’s greatest ever teams, failed in Europe. The rule to field limited foreign players was one that affected them severely. But being new entrants into the competition, they were placed in tough groups even though they had barely any European experience, due to their poor seeding status. It took Manchester United a couple of years and by the 1996-1997 season were finally established as a top European side. And they have been a top side ever since.
The French champions Montpellier face a similar situation. Their quality in comparison to Dortmund comes to question but their first crack at the giant trophy will be filled with hurdles from the word go. With barely a co efficient to go by, being an inexperienced side in Europe, tough fixtures will embroil them in pulsating games which in hindsight could benefit the development of their young players. But qualifying past the initial stages of the competition will be a challenge in itself.
Although, Montpellier’s plight is very different to that of BVB’s. They are an emerging side and will find the Champions League a hard taskmaster simply because their players need both development and experience.But in Dortmund’s case, it would be just a case of bad luck. A proven team that would have to face stiff competition from the start to the finish.
This challenge that emerging clubs face also puts the loyalty of every player to the test. Assuming BVB do take time to step it up a notch, would their best players prefer to stick with the club and wait for its growth as a unit or would they jump at the chance of playing for an established European side? Shinji Kagawa leaving BVB for United would be the perfect example to describe their situation.
This very seeding system in the Champions League could be very harsh for an emerging team from one of the more impoverished leagues. Picture this:
FC Basel have a good scouting system and youth academy and develop a stellar team that wipes out oppositions in Switzerland. After being inducted into the Champions League, they will be seeded into a group. Their co-efficient would be next to nothing as they have no appearances to show for in the past 5 years and come from a league that is rated on the lower side of the UEFA index. Chances are, this young team would find themselves in a really tough group and with inexperience heavily affecting their attempt, they are knocked out. With players’ mentalities these days, it’s safe to assume that their star players would be picked up by other European giants, and the club would be plunged into an abyss once again. The odds of their players sticking to a side that would require a few good years to stand a chance in the Champions League are next to nothing.
Would Basel have to wait a couple of decades for their domestic league to climb up the ladder of the UEFA index just so that they could have better odds at a draw?
Domestic prowess accounts for nothing when it comes to a club co efficient rating so Borussia Dortmund tearing apart Bayern Munich in Germany would make no difference to their status in the Champions League. They will for a couple of years, still be ranked as a 4th or 3rd category team in the group stage draws, unless they miraculously reach a quarter final or go even further consistently.
The UEFA Champions league needs a level playing field. The big clubs have it easy, and the smaller clubs trying to make it big are only discouraged by this seeding system. It almost reflects a communist notion.On one hand, seeding makes sure that some of the house hold names meet each other at later stages in the competition and effective viewership is ensured. Seeding ensures that consistency shown by a club is dually rewarded.
But why should the past hold any good?
Does a new league season account for a team’s histrionics in the previous season? Not at all. So why should the Champions League concern itself with past performances? A bonus could be awarded to a domestic league champion or the defending UEFA Champions League holder. A clean slate for the rest at the start of every competition. Isn’t that how men would prefer to duel?
Wouldn’t it paint a better picture if the emerging teams were given a chance?
Wouldn’t it make it even more enthralling if the Champions League was more competitive?
How about a set of new teams lifting the giant trophy sky high rather than same old household names like Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester United etc.
Ideally, this would work. Practically, no one really knows. But if a system can be developed that could come close to the ideal, the Champions League would be the most exciting competition by a country mile.
