With the group stage of Champions League commencing next week, I wanted to share some revelations I had about Europe’s greatest football tournament with you fine folks.
Bottom line: It’s dead. (well, until the quarterfinals at least)
I pondered for weeks after the World Cup ended how this Croatia side could possibly bow out of the tournament in such weak fashion. A Croatian team that has star-studded Champions League power from the back line all the way up to striker Mario Mandžukić. A midfield that consists of Real Madrid’s Luka Modrić, Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitić and Inter Milan’s Mateo Kovačić.
How could they not get out of the group?
We all know the story. We all know the players. We all know the talent some of these Croatian players possess.
Rakitić free kick vs. Huesca Wednesday in Copa del Rey
And when September struck, I was fairly excited to get to see our boys once again play at the highest level: Champions League. I (tried) to watch Champions League but the excitement was gone. The days of skipping class and taking long lunches in the middle of the day to watch Europe’s best were over. Minus the Manchester City/Bayern Munich matchup, every other game was junk. Even a much anticipated Bayern/Roma encounter in Italy ended up in a lopsided 7-1 result.
Olympiakos/Malmo. Schalke/Maribor. Basel/Ludogorets. Shakhtar/BATE.
The average fan couldn’t even tell you which countries these clubs play in let alone be interested enough to watch them.
I believe there’s a correlation between the drop in Champions League competition and the Croatian national side. (this goes for other national teams whose domestic leagues act as feeders to Europe e.g. Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium)
Week in and week out, I hear Croatian fans say, “our players play against the best competition in the world with their clubs, why can’t they do the same thing for the national team?”
And then I thought to myself: “Do they really play against the best?” And my answer is NO.
Let’s use Luka Modrić as an example. The midfield maestro does play with some of the best players in the world at Real Madrid, but he DOES NOT play against the best competition every week. Excluding a measly four matches against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona every season, Modrić is playing the likes of Granada, Eibar and Rayo Vallecano, to name a few clubs, every weekend. In Champions League group stage, Real Madrid faced Ludogorets, Basel and a lackluster Liverpool side, winning all five matches thus far while only conceding two goals.
Still far from playing the world’s best.
With winning the group, Modrić and Madrid may even play the likes of a Sporting Lisbon or Monaco in the Round of 16. Still nothing to lick your lips to.
It’s not until you get to the quarterfinals that you really start paying attention. That’s when the Bayerns/Barcelonas/Chelseas meet each other with just as much talent as ego on the line.
Even with players on the best teams in the world, the Croatians only get together for one week at a time four times a year. With that said, you can’t expect them to compete with players from Germany, Spain and the old Serie A, whose national players play with each other domestically throughout the year. In the end, it’s chemistry.
Croatia is in the same class as Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium. Tons of individual talent but none of the players have the proper time to build chemistry. That’s why these teams can make some noise at the big tournaments but can’t finish.
Chemistry.
Half the German team is Bayern Munich. The entire Spanish team is either Real Madrid or Barcelona. The old Serie A had the complete Italian team made up of Juventus or AC Milan players. *England is the only exception to the rule as their love for club is greater than country.
Money, sponsorships and ratings rule the world. This is no secret. If Heineken, Sony and friends could double the amount of Champions League games, they would. But this current format is only weakening their product and hurting players. I don’t have an issue with players playing two games in one week, but give me some ‘bang for my buck’ when it comes to Champions League. Most of these guys are playing 180 minutes per week for nothing.
Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, PSG, Barcelona and Chelsea all clinched a spot with nearly two games remaining. The competition is watered down and these big clubs with these world-class players aren’t truly being challenged on a week to week basis.
The true solution is to cut back games and go to a ‘quality over quantity’ format that sees mega match ups played in place of watered-down games. After all, it’s called Champions League, not “we finished 3rd in Portugal, let’s see what happens.” But then again, we live in the era of “modern football” where cash is king. Flopping reigns supreme. And championships can be bought by writing the larger check.
All you need to do is tweak a few things to improve match ups and the overall competitive factor of the tournament.
Let the big boys play while the Dinamo Zagreb’s of Europe have to earn their true stake; where only four clubs from smaller nations qualify. You want to play on the big stage? Earn it. There’s too many trash games out there. I don’t like it and it’s turning me off to the entire first half of the tournament. You shouldn’t be able to lose 2-3 games and still limp into the next round.
So how do you fix Champions League?
A) Keep the current format but only have the group winners move on directly to the knockout round, which would be the quarterfinals. This would not only spice up the group stage, making every game that much more important, but it ensures that clubs don’t get lazy. (Look at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, they locked up 1st place with two games remaining) *The team with the most points plays the team with the least in next round, and so on. Or even better, if you finish with the most points, you get to hand pick your next opponent in the knockout round. How cool would that be?
B) Keep the current format but only have three group stage games with Pot 1 teams hosting all three matches while the weakest club has to travel all three. This gives the ranked teams a home field advantage, which they have earned and will play to their advantage. The majority of matches would be played in more modern stadiums across Europe (England, Germany, Spain as they currently have higher coefficients) instead of dumpy and depressing Eastern European locations. Sorry guys, but if you want to host some big games, they clubs have to step up their game. Look at what Shakhtar did in Donetsk with the Donbass Arena. That needs to be going on all over Eastern Europe.
C) Go back to the old format. Start with 64 teams. Hell, start with 128…I don’t care, and have a straight two-legged shootout until you reach the championship game. Get rid of the lame, boring, watered-down group stage but seed the teams accordingly from first to last. Set the tournament up like the American NCAA basketball tournament and let them have at it. Every game is important and watchable, you’ll have your classic cinderella story every year and I guarantee you sponsors will be happy as viewership goes up. Spread the games out throughout the week with different times. Why do all these games have to start at the exact same second? It benefits fans and sponsors. Win-win.
How can you improve the Croatian national team?
Taking coaching and the HNS out of the equation, if 3-4 defensive or midfielder players were able to play on the same club team, they would build chemistry that would translate to the national team. Obviously this is easier said than done as the HNL is not an option to progress our players’ skills. Like I said before, that’s why Germany, Spain, Italy have been so good the past decade. All their players are together throughout the year.
How do you fix Europa League?
This one is so simple it baffles me that UEFA hasn’t implemented it yet. Keep the current format. It doesn’t matter how many teams start in Europa as it will always consist of Europe’s ‘step child’ clubs.
The semifinalists (Final 4) of every Europa League competition get an automatic berth into the following year’s Champions League group stage. That give these clubs life in the competition once they get out of group stage. It would only take them six more games to reach the semifinals; and instead of winning some rinky dinky second hand trophy, they get to play with the big boys the following season. That means the perennial Tottenham’s, Everton’s, Napoli’s and Hamburger’s of the world have legitimate shots at Champions League since they always fall short of making the cut domestically. I would rather see these clubs in there than APOEL, Malmo, Maribor, Dinamo Zagreb etc.
Nonetheless, I digress. Here’s where our Croatian players are in Champions League and what they need to do to make the Round of 16.
Ivan Rakitić, Darijo Srna, Mario Mandžukić and Tin Jedvaj are all through to the Round of 16 with their respected clubs. Luka Modrić should be back at 100% when Real Madrid begin their title defense in the knockout round in February. Even though wunderkind Alen Halilović is eligible to play for Barcelona in Champions League, don’t expect him to set one foot on the pitch this campaign.
Croatian #1 Danijel Subašić and Monaco only need a draw versus Zenit St. Petersburg in order to book their ticket to the last 16. Dejan Lovren and Liverpool have to defeat Basel at home on the last day of group stage to seal their progression.
The future of Croatian soccer–Halilović goal for Barcelona B last week
Yep…….as long as the stocks keep paying dividens, it’s all good.
Ah America, the nation where everyone protests over a cop shooting a criminal who is trying to take his gun but doesn’t protest the sending of billions to Israel or killing of innocents in the middle east. I love the country i live in
I do……and we shouldn’t allow that to happen either. A majority of emergency room visits are not “emergencies”……
@Ziva you realize your tax dollars does pay for the the uninsured emergency room visits or extended hospital stays right? At a cost that’s higher and far less efficient than universal health care systems.
I knew it the second you wrote your ridiculous trough full of ignorance and things you’ve only read on the Internet. I’ll remember that when Australia (and the rest of the world) needs help after a disaster. Who is the first country people call on for help? Exactly. If you want it differently, learn Chinese or Russian. I’m fine with my fat Americans who can lose weight if they really wanted to.
Well, I guess we agree to disagree. I dont think I should be paying taxes to finance universal health coverage.
@Jarac
You mean, you don’t care enough to argue this point after realizing you’re out of your depth? That’s fair enough, no shame in that. You’re comment about Levi jeans and Baywatch, I assume, was meant to funny / insulting? Good luck with your comedy career.
@Ziva
I agree in part, a good job / contribution to society sholdnt even be questioned. Although I don’t agree with no insurance = you’re own your own. Everyone deserves health care and privatising this is nothing short of disgraceful.
@Poglavnik
tell me about it, unfortunately these drones know nothing more than Facebook, Twitter and evidently their own borders. Crazy thought for them to think other countries have better ideas, everyone else is dumb apparently.
@Anonymous
What a cringe worthy rebuttal. Firstly I have been to the USA but I wasn’t at a age to really focus on such issues, so let’s just say I haven’t been there to make you feel like you made a good point.
I’ve never been to a Justin Bieber concert, does that mean his “music” isn’t shit? Haven’t been to Syria, does that mean ISIS may be just “misunderstood”? By your genius theories, if you’ve never played professional soccer you shouldn’t be commentating on the sport.
Back to your facebook page buddy and let the adults talk.
Bye bye
well put ziva,
at the end of the day franjo, I dont care enuff to argue this. Enjoy watching reruns of baywatch while ur wearing ur nikes with levi 501 jeans 😉
even worse are the diaspora hrvat jock sniffers who “like” or “follow” a pro athlete.
Come on…..fess up???? How many of you “like” the pages of our national team players. You can’t be ripping on FB when you yourselves are using it to jock sniff.
@Franjo
Well said about Facebook!
Nothing to be proud of.
I’m in my 30’s and I’ve never had a desire to sign up for that shit.
Seems so high-school to me.
If your out of college and still using facebook is it worse than a grown man wearing jerseys with other people’s names on it? I think not. 😉
The health care system in the US is fine, at least for me. When you have a good job with a good company, no issues at all. Don’t why some of you are crying. Start living healthier lives if you don’t want to incur heal-related costs. Stop drinking, stop smoking, work out, lose weight, live the “za dom….spremni” lifestyle that I advocate.
Franjo, I see you’re from Australia so one quick question-have you ever been to America or does your morphed view only come from watching YouTube “research” videos? My guess is that you have not.
@Franjo you seem to understand America better than Jarac. That’s exactly the issue in the good ole USA.
As you’ve correctly observed regarding our higher education, Americans for the first time ever need to weigh the debts accrued after graduation vs salaries gained in chosen career field. If they can even find a job in their given field. Our health care “system” is a joke. Won’t even go there. Cracked me up when I read Jarac telling someone else to not be a homer. lol!
@Jarac
When you say “best college system” you are correct I guess, the operative word being “system”. Don’t talk about political bs when you shoot (no pun intended) yourself in the foot in the same post. Your college ‘system’ is the best for capitalism, not education, how ironic that this point evades you. How much does an education (and healthcare) cost in the US? Now use your Google machine (remember that thing you claimed made USA The best country?) To research other countries in the world, even though you aren’t taught about these in school. Shock horror, your ‘system’ is borderline immoral. The basic pillars of society are sacrificed for profit margins. But I’m sure you’ll claim that having Nike runners and an ipod makes this irrelevant.
@Franjo
Damn franjo you really dont know wtf ur talking about but its ok I’m here to educate you. I repeat the US has the best college system in the world (education), leaders in research, healthcare u name it. Best hospitals in the world, get ur fucking head out of ur ass and stop buying into the political bs.
And in other news.
Jews extort Croatians for $4 million in “Holocaust” reparations
http://www.therealistreport.com/2014/12/jews-extort-croatians-for-4-million-in.html
@Franjo well said. I believe our obesity rate is still #1!
Bravo Franjo, put the fool back in the box where he belongs.
@Jarac
Wow, you use Facebook? Hopefully you’re under 20 years of age, otherwise you’re even more of a sheep than first thought. Nice to see that list of consumer products is what you equate to what a country stands for. Never mind the pillars of society which is health and education as a start. As long as you have Facebook, ipads and guns huh? Back in your box little boy.
There is no point in him joining a sinking ship. Kramaric has to go to a decent side where he can start.
8 million pounds is about the asking price for him from Rijeka. But I’d rather not see him play in the Championship next season, no matter how much more prestigious that is than the HNL. Hope they wait for another offer.
Leicester City is going to get relegated this year, so I hope Rijeka brushes that offer away. There is no hope for him there.
Leicester City coming in for Kramarić with an £8 million bid.
They’re gonna wait it out for other offers.
Leicester would probably pay him well, but they’re dead last in the EPL and I’m not sure if there is anything on that team that could feed him the ball.
Franjo,
let me guess Canadian eh?
Oh yea franjo I forgot you dont know about, google, apple, facebook, amazon, nike, etc….
Dont be a homer
Strinic to Napoli on a free transfer in January?
http://www.thesirenssong.com/calciomercato-napoli-transfer-rumors/2014/12/5/7337449/mercato-madness-napoli-may-sign-ivan-strinic-free-transfer-dnipro
No young hrvat in BIH will select BIH over cro……you got nothing to worry about there.
You can recruit all you want, but it’s not the savez who is at fault if we miss in a player or to praise if we get a player……that goes to the parents and cro community in the area where the kid is from. If the kid grew up living the “za dom….spremni” lifestyle that I and many others live and advocate for, then we will get that kid. But, if he grows up like the typical diaspora hrvat in the USA now knowing the language and culture, then you already lost him. Only money will bring him in.
Boban comes in if the other scum is gone……but, let me ask you guys this……what makes you so sure Boban is the answer. He failed already in cro as an executive and left his post. So, it’s not like he has a strong background and experience in leading an organization. He already failed once, although to be fair the people around him sure didn’t help.
@Jarac
Haha, you still believe everything is made in and by Americans? Lol, the US education system is worse than I thought.
@ Ante
Well written Brate.
We need to become the Argentina of Europe where we export a critical mass of world class footballers.
Mexico was a debacle with team selection/tactics.
Also we were still stabilizing from the Štimac reign of idiocy.
Kovač has stabilized the program and will see how far he can grow as a manager.
If Di Maria plays, Aguero is healthy and Tevez selected and comes off bench INSTEAD of Palacio then Argentina beats Germany.
I respect the German set up with the Bayern/Bundesliga system that cultivates their young immigrant talent.
As an admitted Domobranstvo I feel we have better players in Croatia and some studs out of Croatia.
We need to synthesize Argentina/German way and forge forward the Croatia way.
Step 1 is too attract each and every young Hrvat from BiH. They are all Hrvati anyway and give them opportunity to come home as the prodigal sons that they are.
The thought of losing the next Halilovic to BiH is concerning.
Step 2 is too recruit like Bilic did with Rakitic all the world class diaspora talent.
Step 3 is to de-Balkanize the Savez. This crap with Mamić / Šuker is classic Balkan boys running around like Muha bez glava.
Step 4 is to bring in the real Croatian footballing minds like Boban to bring us to the promise land of a major trophy.
Step 5 is to BE POSITIVE! Yes we have real challenges in Croatia and YES we can rise to meet them like the champions that we are!
Bog i Hrvati.
Hey dumb dinko dog
funny as u type on a computers, use cell phone, watch movies, use internet etc all on american products. ajde u kurac glupane.
Throw in a second tier Nations League championship while you’re at it uefa!! (europa league type of thing)
Nations League will be garbage. It won’t be considered a top competition by the players.
I get your anger towards group stage, but I highly doubt Mandzukic was practicing against Juventus or Rakitic against PSG. At least we get to see two usually good games from top-tier teams in group stage.
1) they should do 24 teams 6 groups of 4 teams group winners and two best runners-up advance to the quarter finals.
2) they have to get rid of the new champions qualifying route and leauge qualifying route. the better teams should play the weaker sides in qualifying best teams in europe should be in ucl.
If these two things were done then we would have an amazing champions leauge but we all know this will never go back to the good old days cuz money is all that matters..
Headline should read “What’s wrong with the USA?”, the answer would be, many things! But I’m sure you were all taught how you live in the “greatest country in the world”, right? Without even touching on your healthcare system, education, gun laws…. I wonder what you all think about Eric Garner, or the verdict of the police officer?
What a joke of a country.
Look at the new Euro. Have of Europe makes the tournament.
It not only waters down the actual tournament, but qualifying sucks now.
They should tighten up qualifying by having the Andorra’s, San Marino’s, Malta’s battle it out before being automatically put in a group with the big boys.
Or Champions League could go back to what it was originally intended to be, the “Champions” league. Every domestic champion would only be eligible to compete in it. That is why you had various champions from many countries. I know it’s impossible because of money, money, money. Football is ruined. Our generation definitely got the short end of the stick. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in 30 years.
@ Antwerp,
Can they? Yes.
But how many competitions can they throw at these players? And how prestigious will the Nations League become.
Svircic, Fisto and myself had this conversation a few years back. And I remember it well.
We were talking about club teams in England. Between Champions League, the Premiership, FA Cup and the League Cup (whatever sponsor it is nowadays) a club could only focus on 2 of these. If Manchester United had a Champions League semifinal midweek and a FA Cup quarterfinal match on the weekend, you don’t think they’re resting players?
We’ll see what happens in the next few years. But I’m not biting on the League of Nations quite yet.
We have to see where it falls with Champions League, World Cup, Euro Cup etc
@ ante
What do you think of the upcoming UEFA Nations League, designed to replace friendlies and make these fixtures more competitive? It might improve Repka’s play as they’ll take the Nations League more seriously than a friendly against Estonia.
If Croatia get seeded in the top division, they’ll be up against the best teams in Europe. They’ll be playing Germany and Spain. I think they can get Fired Up for that, don’t you?
@MartinHrvat,
What I meant with the correlation statement is that just because we have a bunch of players on Champions League rosters, that shouldn’t necessarily translate into national team success.
Champions League is crap until the quarters. Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic “practice” against the best in the world, but they don’t “compete” against the best week in and week out.
That’s why chemistry trumps all…
Talking about match fixing and different roads in a tournament is a different discussion.
I was very skeptical at the headline. Ante won me over with this well written breakdown. As much as I love to dream about a March Madness like bracket for the Champions League, it’ll never happen. UEFA seems so fickle in a certain setup. Ziva nailed it in terms of less revenue. Money rules as usual.
I’d love to see a Crottenham Hotspur like trio join the same team. Maybe Wolfsburg makes the Champions League and a player like Vida or Kovacic joins Olic and Perisic. Who knows, I’m just brainstorming. Other than that, it’s hard to see it happening. Croatia will just have to get hot like they did in 2008 to do something major in a tournament or at least play well like in 2012. Who knows what could have happened, if they weren’t in a group with two powerhouses (at the time, Italy is clearly not that anymore) in the group.
Ante…decent write up, however I do not see how it is possible to try and make a correlation between Champions League competition and our national team’s success (or non success in this case) at the World Cup.
The reason why I disagree is simply because many/most of the World Cup competing countries deal with the same Champions League connection that you are indicating above, so this is not unique to the Croatian situation nor does it have a bearing on their success.
Success at the world cup would be based on the following factors (in no particular order):
Individual talent, team chemistry, good coaching, tactics, climate, temperature, player fitness, player mentality and commitment, team depth, experience, mixture of youth and veterens, group draw, luck, etc
Then we can include the factors that likely take precedence over all fo the above:
corruption, pre set tournament results, revenue, ratings, fanbase (ties back to revenue) A small nation like Croatia doesn’t attract as much revenue, nor could anyone other than us care about their success, referee incompetence (or paid off), lack of technology in the game (ie video replay, RFID chipped boots and balls for offside determination, etc)
So taking my above comments into consideration, I believe the following:
The Brazil opener HAD to have been influenced for Brazil to win to set the mood for the tournament. It just so happened that Croatia was in the way of that falsified victory. The penalty shot call against Lovren, the non red card for the intentional elbow to Modric’s face courtesy of Neymar and of course the perfectly clean tying goal that we scored that was called back. Once the above three events happened Croatia was mentally out of not only the game, but the tournament. We outplayed Brazil (minus the blunders that allowed 2 easy goals), yet the final scoreline said 3-1…that on it’s own will kill a World Cup.
Then the Cameroon game showed some redemption, but that was lost when we were simply outcoached, out worked, lack of chemistry and lack of passion against the Mexicans who deservedly beat us.
Straight knockout would be great tv, but won’t ever happen. There would be less games played, which means less tv revenue. So, no chance.
Getting national team players on one or two teams is a dream. Guys would have to take pay cuts to make at happen. And that would be a dumb professional decision.
Brazil really didn’t impress me during the WC. And although they have a bunch of individual talent, they had chemistry issues in the end.
Look at Germany. A friggin machine!
Imagine if Modric, Rakitic, Perisic were all on the same club team. You don’t think that would make us 10x better?
I was a little iffy when i started reading at first….but you made some good points later on. I think a straight knockout tournament would be awesome (NCAA just like you said). Every game has to be taken seriously.
As for the national team chemistry…what about brazil? Other than oscar and willian + david luiz last season…their nat. team players play all across europe
cheers