Big European nights in September...
We all hold memories of football games deep in the annals of our footballing encyclopedia, hoping for that one moment when we can actually put them to some use... like the famous moment in 1995 when Nayim lobbed David Seaman from the halfway line or when Teddy Sheringham deftly flicked the ball into the path of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer way back in 1999.
Moments of chance, moments of glory and moments that were a sure build-up of cup competition finally culminating in an extravagant conclusion of football spirit and determination from the best at the game.
We've seen giants evolve from this format from the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, not to mention minnows who have succeeded and collapsed the challenge of Goliath with Jose Mourinho's Porto and, more recently, Roberto Di Matteo's mixed bag of Chelsea stars lifting the trophy in 2012 against the odds.
Fast forward to 2024 and we find ourselves with a whole new proposition in front of us, one that could potentially raise questions or concerns for the average football fan.
The Super League.
It wasn't too long ago that governments had us all locked up inside our own homes, and it also wasn't too long ago when Florentino Perez proposed, unsuccessfully, to build, thrust, and explode a brand new Super League into the world of football. A unique football competition with doors open for only the elite of the game to hoard, share, spread, and exploit even more wealth out of paying and subscribing football fans.
Globally, it would have been bought, and lest we forget, all the English clubs waiting at the grand opening ceremonial doors with hands outstretched like a Full Kit Wanker version of Oliver Twist. We know the clubs, you know the clubs, and probably the same ones that charge you a small mortgaged season ticket to watch your dearly beloved.
Football as we knew it has changed. We all knew it was a commodity, we all knew ticket prices would rise, but as the saying goes, "You can shear a sheep many times, but you can skin it only once." How many more years can football, and more poignantly, domestic football, continue at this rate of financial flux?
Discussion of this so-called Super League was quickly quashed, with Gary Neville acting Football Statesman and becoming the most outspoken about the raw implications it would have on the game we love - on competition, spectatorship, and heritage. He continually and almost single-handedly called out these money-grabbers, salesmen, and investors for having one thing and one thing only at the dead centre of their football competition: your money. But not only that, they also wanted the quest, the endeavour, the dreams, and the competition of your football club. That's right, those forgotten and loved football clubs who make up the pyramid that the big boys sit upon and laud.
I look upon this first round of fixtures of the new UEFA Champions League with AC Milan vs Liverpool, Man City vs Inter, and Juventus vs PSV and they've done it, haven't they? Under the noses, under the pretence of a new format, it's there. The Super League.
Shiny, bold, sparkling and Die Meister! Die Besten! Les grandes equipes! The Champions!
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