Champions' League Update

Fifteen years ago, I used to watch a lot of European soccer.  But since then, I've largely stopped.  Why?  Because most of the games are literally meaningless.  The F.A. Cup, which I loved, is now mainly an opportunity for the top teams in England to play back-up squads, at least until they reach the quarter-finals.  The English League is usually decided by the middle of March.  (This year's winner will be Manchester City, for the second year in a row.)  The other big European leagues are usually decided long before that.  In Germany, for example, Bayern Munich has won every league title since 2012 -- and they are in first place again this year.

So the only time you can see really meaningful soccer these days is in the UEFA Champions' League.  Even here, there are only a few teams that could actually win it all.  Here's a list of winners since we started this blog:

2011:  Barcelona (ESP)

2012:  Chelsea (ENG)

2013:  Bayern Munich (GER)

2014:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2015:  Barcelona (ESP)

2016:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2017:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2018:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2019:  Liverpool (ENG)

2020:  Bayern Munich (GER)

2021:  Chelsea (ENG)

So there's not a whole lot of drama in the Champions' League.  But at least everyone is really trying to win, and you don't get the same winner every single year.

As you probably know, there are months and months of games in the Champions' League to eliminate dozens of small clubs with no real chance.  For example, this year -- for the tenth year in a row -- the Bulgarian champion was Ludogorets Razgrad.  In June 2021, they eliminated Shakhtyor Soligorsk (the champion of Belarus) 2-0 in the first qualifying round.  Then in July, Ludogorets defeated Mura (the champion of Slovenia) 3-1 in the second qualifying round.  But in the third qualifying round, in August, Ludogorets was defeated by Olympiacos (the champion of Greece) 3-3 (4-1 on penalty kicks).  Anyway, you get the picture.  Lots of little teams get knocked out, and now we are down to the Round of 16.  And so, for the first time all year, important teams are playing truly meaningful games.

Here are the matchups in the round of 16:

Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v. Bayern Munich (GER)

Sporting CP (POR) v. Manchester City (ENG)

Benfica (POR) v. Ajax (NED)

Chelsea (ENG) v. Lille (FRA)

Atletico Madrid (ESP) v. Manchester Utd (ENG)

Villareal (ESP) v. Juventus (ITA)

Inter Milan (ITA) v. Liverpool (ENG)

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v. Real Madrid (ESP)

Anyway, they play two games (one at each team's home park) with the winner being the team with the most goals over both legs.  (I think they have eliminated the away goals rule, but I'm not sufficiently motivated to look it up).  The Round of 16 will be completed by March 16.

To be honest, I wouldn't advise you spending a lot of time on the Round of 16, except for the match between PSG and Real Madrid.  (PSG won the first leg 1-0 yesterday), and the one between Inter Milan and Liverpool, who are playing on CBS right now.  You should wait and tune in for the quarter-finals, because that's when the drama will really start.