In American sports, it is unheard of for teams to compete in more than one competition. In the NFL, teams play other teams from the NFL. In baseball, hockey, and basketball, its the same. But in soccer, teams in every league play in multiple competition every season. The most prestigious of these is the UEFA Champions League.
The Champions League is known as the premier club competition. Simply put, it is a competition where the best clubs in the world square off until only one remains.
Many non-soccer fans do not know what the Champions League is. In this blog post, I will explain the significance and format of the competition.
The UEFA Champions League pins clubs from leagues all around Europe against each other in a tournament that resembles a World Cup-esc format. Casual fans know of the Champions League as a 32-team competition, split into eight groups, four teams in each. While this is when the tournament gets the most media coverage, the tournament actually begins way before this point. There are numerous qualifying rounds before the final 32 teams are placed into groups.
How are teams selected to participate in the competition? Well, teams actually earn their spots. Each confederation, or country, is offered a certain number of berths. The higher the quality of the league, the more berths that domestic league is offered. For example, Europe's top four leagues--England, Spain, Italy, and Germany--are each offered four spots. Other leagues are offered three, two, or one spot, based on their UEFA coefficient. These berths are awarded based on the teams' finishing position in the league at the end of the prior season. While it is true that these top four leagues, along with the next few, make up the majority of the Group Stage each season, many people don't know that it is possible for a team from any of Europe's 55 nations to qualify for the last 32.
Prior to each round, a draw is administered. Teams are drawn out of a pot to decide who they will face. This is simple in the qualifying rounds: Whoever you are drawn against, you will play. The winner of the two-legged tie will advance. Each team will play one home match and one away match, and the winner will advance to the next round. The score will be added up after both matches. This is called the aggregate score.
If the aggregate score is even after two legs, the tie-breaker is away goals. The rational behind this rule stems from the idea that it is more difficult to play away from home, so it is essentially "more difficult" to score when playing the away leg. In this competition, is is normal to have to travel hundreds of miles across Europe, often to hostile venues. Therefore, this thought process is emphasized. If the tie is completely even after two legs (even on total goals and away goals), extra time will be played. If still knotted after ET, penalty kicks will decide a winner.
In the case of the Round of 32, a draw will take place again. In this draw, teams will be drawn into groups. Teams are divided into Pots. Teams in the same pot cannot be drawn against each other.
Pot 1 consists of the winners of Europe's top six leagues, last year's Champions League winner, and last year's Europa League winner. Pot 2, 3 and 4 are decided by coefficient in descending order. Thus, one team from each of the four pots will make up each group. Groups are denoted by letter; for example, the first team to be draw out of Pot 1 will be drawn into 'Group A'.
The other only restriction when drawing groups is that two teams from the same country cannot be drawn into the same group. This is true in qualifying rounds, as well as the Round of 16. If two or more teams from the same nation advance to the Quarterfinals (last 8), they then can be drawn against each other.
The Group Stage consists of six matches; each team will play the other three teams home and away. Points are awarded as usual in soccer; 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. The top two point-getting teams will advance to the R16, while the 3rd place team will qualify for the Europa League. The 4th place team is eliminated.
If teams are tied after the conclusion of the six matches, its head-to-head results are the first tie-breaker. If still tied (which often happens), the next tie-breaker is goal difference. A full list of tie-breakers can be found here.
Although both teams advance, finishing first or second in one's group can make a massive difference. This is because for the R16 draw, group winners are guaranteed to be drawn against a runner-up from a different group. This is another reason why the afore-mentioned tie-breakers are important.
Qualifying round, R16, Quarterfinal and Semi-final ties are all two legs, home and away. However, the Final of the competition is a one-off match at a neutral venue. If the score is tied at the end of the match, extra time will be played and then penalties if the score is still tied.
For soccer fans, the Champions League is a unique opportunity to watch the world's best clubs face off against each other. Each year, this competition provides unparalleled drama and incredible moments.
The objective of this blog was to explain the Champions League is and some of the subtleties of its format. In future blog posts, I will break down this season's Champions League; specific teams, moments and players.
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