BLOG POSTS ARCHIVE - March 2007
Posted Mar 9th 2007, 1:14pm
Is big club success in Europe good for national leagues?
As far as the rest of the Bundesliga is concerned, Bayern Munich’s progression to the quarter-finals of the Champions League will come as mixed news. On the one hand, for getting to the next round Bayern will get €2.5 million from UEFA with which to either put in the bank alongside the reported €130 million currently collecting dust there, or to use it for further team strengthening. In fact, fussball24.de reckons Bayern have banked around €11.8 million from UEFA so far in their Champions League run, which could rise to an incredible total in takings of nearly €40 million for winning a semi-final spot.
For teams such as Alemannia Achen, who will lose young striker Jan Schlaudraff, and likewise, Schalke 04, who’ll lose Turkish midfielder Hamit Altintop, both to Bayern in the summer, even more cash to spend for the Bavarians is hardly news to celebrate.
On the other hand, however, the better Bundesliga teams do in all European competitions – currently including both Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA CUP – the better the chances are of increasing – or, indeed, holding onto – the number of German representatives in European competitions in coming seasons. This is, indeed, no different to the English Premier League or Spain's La Liga.
UEFA in(co)efficiency
This is, of course, based on each country’s coefficient, disgracefully calculated – as far as I can see – by UEFA to ensure big nation and big club representation. For less successful footballing nations this is similar to a vicious circle, but one they’d rather like to hurl themselves into, but can’t afford the entrance fee: the most successful clubs get more money and then get seeded in future years. The more money they get from UEFA means better players, meaning more success and more money etc. etc. ad infinitum.
As many objective fans (ok, a touch oxymoronic) would agree, a stronger Bayern in Europe would be better for the overall health of the Bundesliga because of the increased European places it should provide. But if this means the competitiveness of this season’s Bundesliga is merely a blip, and Bayern go on to win the title 12 times out of the next 20, as they have in the past twenty years, the words “competitiveness” and the “Bundesliga” will rarely be mentioned in the same breath.
As I’ve mentioned many times before, Bundesliga tickets – including to see Bayern at the Allianz – are cheap when compared to the English Premier League. It’s not Bayern’s fault that much of the summit of European football is more concerned about exploiting fan loyalty than providing a semblance of an even playing field.
Posted Mar 7th 2007, 3:27pm
Exclusive interview with Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm
Exclusive interview with Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm - including Philipp's views on Bayern vs Real Madrid, Bayern's season so far and chances of Bundesliga success
Paul Wheatley in Munich
See the Guardian for my interview with Philipp Lahm: http://football.guardian.co.uk/championsleague200607/story/0,,2028367,00.html
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