Is Football The Most Competitive It’s Ever Been?

In the late hours of the morning on the 20^th December in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw for the Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League was made. After the normal long drawn out proceedings, as is the way of modern football organisations, football legends of the past drew from the pot a set of ties which left fans around the world drooling with excitement.

The emergence of the Sky era since the 1990’s has led to a huge growth in the economic size of the beautiful game, making it an even more global brand with the potential to dictate the economies of areas around the world. The lure of the biggest and most famous clubs has increased by a huge standard, and these teams are followed and supported from not just all around the country, but all the corners of the world. As a result the growth of the game has led to a higher development of facilities and therefore players – hence creating a rise in the standard of the game. With the sheer amount of money involved and the huge quality on show on a regular basis, the top standard of European club competition has, in many people’s opinions, taken over from the World Cup as the pinnacle of the sport – and with this draw, there is nothing to suggest against this.

The Champions League is looking even better than ever this year

Accompanying the usual European giants in the latter rounds of the competition is the emergence of a newer brand of teams – the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Malaga, Shakhtar Donetsk and PSG (who do have more experience of continental competition, but minimal compared to the likes of Real Madrid and co.). This new breed epitomises the Sky era, showing how the takeover of these sides by multi-millionaires, or even billionaires, has helped them to become forces in today’s game (not the case for Dortmund, but they have grown exceptionally in recent years). Whilst it is unlikely that any of these sides will win the competition this year, there is no doubt that a number of their players have the credentials to play at the top level for years to come.

It’s also easy to forget that a number of very good teams are not included in the competition at this stage as well. The fact that last year’s winners Chelsea went out in the group stages epitomises the strength surrounding them. Money bags Manchester City went out of the group stages as well, finishing last despite the huge talent in their squad. Then there are the likes of Atletico Madrid, Tottenham, Liverpool, Internazionale, Benfica, Zenit St Petersburg, Napoli, Ajax and Lyon in the Europa League, most of who didn’t even qualify for the Champions’ League group stages in their domestic countries. With domestic leagues becoming stronger than ever, I think it’s a fair conclusion that football is at the peak of its power since its invention – and there are no signs of this rise stopping either.

The draw in Nyon pulled out some superb fixtures to look forward to

As I've said, some of the draws at this early stage are mouth-watering. The return of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho to England, and the first meeting between Real Madrid and Man Utd at Old Trafford since the 4-3 epic in 2003. Two of the most successful sides in the history of European football go head to head as AC Milan and Barcelona meet again for the 2^nd successive season – a total of 4 games between them last year. A struggling Arsenal side face a trip to Bavaria in an attempt to become just the second English team to beat Bayern at the Allianz Arena. Shakhtar Donetsk vs Borussia Dortmund is a tie of the underdogs – after both contributing to the knocking out of English heavyweights with a style of fast, free flowing football, this could be a potential tie of the round despite the previous games mentioned. All of the games provide a case for watching them, no matter where your allegiances lie.

There are a number of teams which have the strength to progress into the latter stages of the Champions League, and many others who have the strength to provide an upset. The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus (my 4 tips to reach the semi finals before the draw was made) look like the favourites, but all can change based on the form of the teams coming into the matches.

It’s almost impossible to tell who will be competing in the final at Wembley come May 2013. What is easy to predict however, is that the road to it will prove to be an absolute thriller. The 12^th February 2013 cannot come soon enough.