The UEFA Champions League draw was held in Monaco on Aug. 29 (local time). The Champions League, dubbed the “War of Stars,” is a competition to determine the best professional soccer team in Europe. The league is drawing keen attention as it is unfolding in a completely new way starting this season. Here is a look at the changes in the way the Champions League played and the notable changes in this season.
‘War of Stars’ Has Changed Drastically in 21 Years
The Champions League, which started as the European Cup in 1955, was renamed to its current name in 1992. The name of the tournament has been changed, maintaining the format of the tournament that was changed from the previous season. The format of the tournament, which was close to the “all tournament” during the European Cup, was changed to the “partial group stage” during the 1991-1992 season. The 32 teams that advanced to the finals will be divided into the first and second rounds of home-and-away tournaments, and then the top teams in each group will face off in the final after going through the home-and-away group stage. With the introduction of the partial group stage, the total number of matches has increased from 59 to 73. In 1992, only the name of the tournament was changed, but the management method itself has not been affected.
The Champions League, which was launched in earnest, has undergone several changes in tournament format. The semifinal tournament of the 1993-1994 season was created, and the number of participating teams in the finals was reduced to 16 in the 1994-1995 season, and the round system was abolished. The era of group league, in which four groups and quarterfinal tournaments are held, has begun in earnest. From the 1997-1998 season, 24 teams formed six groups to play, and from the 1999-2000 season, 32 teams participated in the finals, increasing the size of the tournament. Back then, the tournament changed to eight in the first group league and four in the second group league. It was interesting to see the team, which finished third in the first group league and failed to advance to the second group league, go down to the UEFA Cup, a lower-level tournament. The format of the tournament, which was applied from the 2003-2004 season, is familiar to soccer fans today. This is a method in which 32 teams of the finals are divided into eight groups to play the round of 16 tournaments. From then on, the format of the tournament was maintained for 21 years from 2023 to 2024, resulting in numerous championships and countless masterpieces. 스포츠토토
Under these circumstances, UEFA suddenly announced that it would change the way it played in the Champions League. “It will be a much more interesting tournament with more participating teams and fierce competition.” UEFA has recently been in trouble due to the fixed number of teams participating in the Champions League finals and the phenomenon of rich and poor between clubs. Interest has declined due to similar group matches in the past few years, and the difference in difficulty between the “Death Group” and the “Easy Group” was too large. It was also pointed out that the strong team confirmed its advance to the tournament early in the group league and played the 5th and 6th games without tension, or on the contrary, the weak team was eliminated too early, making them less motivated. The result of considering such problems is a completely new Champions League method introduced this season.