Champions League 2017/18

[Luftstalag14]

I doubt much of the rest of the world cares to watch any La Liga games without Barca, Real Madrid and to a much lesser degree, Atletico playing.

EPL is where the biggest money are and most of the viewers are.

 

[JackaL]

Hypothetically - you think nobody would buy Classico rights if it was just a yearly guaranteed fixture and both teams were in separate leagues? Classico isn’t representative and isn’t about proving who is best in Spain. Not anymore anyway. People would still watch it if Barca played in a Catalan or French league. If Real had a guaranteed match with Man United counting towards some form of a trophy the rights would be bought all the same.

Again, people don’t pay attention to the winner of La Liga nearly as much unless Atleti has a chance. Just look back at the interest prior to Simeone era. Even back when Seville had Renato, Kanoute et al neutrals didn’t truly care who won the league more than they cared who was the better of the two teams in H2H.

Check back what you have written before. Barca has >50% chance of winning against Real Madrid but 80% of the world seems not to care about it. It's just factually wrong because El Clasico rights sell pretty well. You might have meant something else, as you pointed out obviously, but that post was purely about Barca vs. Madrid and 80% not caring about Barca having a winning percentage over 50%.

 

[serghei]

Like who, lol. Name one. Fergie treasured it and to this day Keane goes on mild rants on ITV on how pussy and impassionate players have become about it since they started crashing out and couldn’t cut it abroad anymore. Any manager who thinks a trophy basically making you the best team on the continent that year is not special, is a moron. It is universally the most iconic televised sports competition on the globe. It’s how many of today’s iconic clubs got famous like Liverpool. Only the major internationals carry more prestige.

Of course they view it as special, but not to the absurd level fans view it as to make an obsession of not winning it. And it's true managers and big teams don't usually prepare for CL in a special away except Madrid. Madrid have won the CL a lot of times, but in a lot of those times they kind of focused only on the CL while taking it easy in the other competitions, finishing, 3rd, 4th or even lower in La Liga in those seasons. This is a big asterisk sign, as it's a lot easier to not have to fight on multiple fronts late in the season when tired legs start to appear. If you look at United under Ferguson, they won it two times in years where they also won the title in England. Bayern, the same, 2001 and 2013 Champions in Germany as well. Barca have won it 4 times in a little more than a decade as part of double or treble. Madrid just 1 out of 12 wins has them winning the league that season.

So the CL is special, but when you sacrifice a league season as to be more fresh and mentally charged to win it, you clearly as a club value it more than other teams do. So, it can't be denied that Madrid is kind of obsessed with the CL in ways other teams aren't.

Also, the winning the CL doesn't make you the best team on the continent. It's very easy to contradict that claim, as I'm sure you know it already.

 

[El Gato]

Check back what you have written before. Barca has >50% chance of winning against Real Madrid but 80% of the world seems not to care about it. It's just factually wrong because El Clasico rights sell pretty well. You might have meant something else, as you pointed out obviously, but that post was purely about Barca vs. Madrid and 80% not caring about Barca having a winning percentage over 50%.

... „on the Spanish turf” I wrote. Point stands. Classico sells and would sell the same way no matter if next year Barca played in Serie A.

 

[JackaL]

... „on the Spanish turf” I wrote. Point stands. Classico sells and would sell the same way no matter if next year Barca played in Serie A.

Don't want to bring this to ad absurdum but yeah exactly that's what I read, it does not matter whether it's on spanish turf or not, Barca vs. Madrid sells, unless one of the teams gets a winning percentage over 70% consecutively over the next 10 years.

As for the EPL and other comparisons, the numbers speak for themselves I guess. No league comes close to the EPL, especially considering international TV rights. This also seems like a winner-take-all market. It's not easy to get those international market shares from the EPL.

 

[El Gato]

Madrid have won the CL a lot of times, but in a lot of those times they kind of focused only on the CL while taking it easy in the other competitions, finishing, 3rd, 4th or even lower in La Liga in those seasons. This is a big asterisk sign, as it's a lot easier to not have to fight on multiple fronts late in the season when tired legs start to appear. If you look at United under Ferguson, they won it two times in years where they also won the title in England. Bayern, the same, 2001 and 2013 Champions in Germany as well. Barca have won it 4 times in a little more than a decade as part of double or treble. Madrid just 1 out of 12 wins has them winning the league that season.

While true, this is the first time Madrid had the manager + deep, quality squad combo all the other teams have had when winning trebles so it’s kinda not the same. No other arrangement makes it a regular occurrence with maybe the Lucho treble being the sole exception.

Of course not everyone can afford to obsess about it, but they damn well would if given the resources. It brings viewership and marketability abroad like no other thing can. One good season in the CL out of nothing can start years of affluency. Borussia’s title win didn’t put them on the map for the first time since late 1990s, subsequent CL campaign did. Being exposed to worldwide humiliation is part of the reason why Arsenal now takes top4 finish as their yearly target despite actual talent displays here and there. Imagine how far they’d gone if they sacked the manager who doesn’t see that as a problem lol.

Also, the winning the CL doesn't make you the best team on the continent. It's very easy to contradict that claim, as I'm sure you know it already.

No, it is broadly correct, naturally with minor exceptions. Still the general rule. 3, maybe 4 times in the past 17 years this wasn’t the case.

 

[serghei]

No, it is broadly correct, naturally with minor exceptions. Still the general rule. 3, maybe 4 times in the past 17 years this wasn’t the case.

I'd say up to 40% of the CL winners were not clearly the best team in Europe that season overall. Juventus were probably the best team in Europe in mid to late 1990's but won only 1 CL.

 

[Morten]

CL trophy is a CL trophy, i couldnt care less if we are not "the best team in the world" as some people seem to be obsessed with.
A CL trophy isnt suddenly tainted or whatever, just because you didnt win the league, its a massive trophy on its own.

 

[Birdy]

CL more prestigious than all other European leagues and competitions in general. No question.
CL by nature does not reflect which is the best team in Europe that season, though.
And that should be pretty clear to everyone as well. There are countless examples, no need to start writing pages and pages. What it normally reflects is which team had the best series of European nights.
The identity between the two (best team in Europe to actually cling the CL title) sometimes takes place, but it actually happens less and less during the CL era.

The problem with Barcelona, contrary to Madrid, is that we never win it unless we are the best team in Europe that season

 

[El Flaco]

[tw]984723597402001408[/tw]

 

[raedkuwait]

Fuck you EV

 

[Luftstalag14]

Bayern - Real madrid

Liverpool - Roma

 

[El Gato]

Oh my. Roma will be on fucking fire for this tie.

 

[ThwiX]

So if Real gets past Bayern, it is pretty much done.

 

[raedkuwait]

Rome will be in the final i just feel it