Champions League

Courtesy of Peña Madridista NYC 

If you have just read the article below this one about the FA Cup, the the answer to the last question is yes, it can still get better than this. What we are about to get into is some of the best Football that planet Earth has to offer, The UEFA Champions League. Picture it this way: you have already heard about some of the best teams in English Football, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and so on; we can decide who is best in England because they will win the Premier League, England's highest honor. But what about who is best in Europe? Just because you win the Premier League in England doesn't mean you are better than Atletico Madrid, who won La Liga in Spain last year, or Bayern Munich, who won the Bundesliga in Germany last year. How do we decide how is really the best of the best? Simple. We let the players play.

The Champions League is an annual competition that features the top clubs from the football associations in Europe. The tournament starts with three knock out qualifying rounds held in July. From there 10 clubs will advance and join 22 other clubs who have automatic qualification based on position in their domestic league. This is why every position in the Barclay's Premier League matters. The clubs who finish in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd in the Premier League gain automatic qualification. The 4^th place club is sorted into the knock out rounds with the hopes of being one of the 10 clubs who survive. From there the 32 total clubs are drawn into groups of 4, refereed to by letters from A-H. There cannot be two clubs from one country in one group, which makes the draw a little difficult to follow at first. The clubs play a double round robin, meaning they play each club in their group twice for a total of 6 matches, and the top two advance to the Round of 16. Every round from then on, except the final, is a two legged match and uses aggregate score rules. The winners of the groups are drawn against runners up; with the runners up playing at home in the first leg of the match. In the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals clubs can be drawn against clubs from their domestic country. The Final is one match with extra time and penalty kicks if need be.

The Champions League is a great way to watch completely different styles of Football being played at the same time. It has familiar faces like Real Madrid and Barcelona from Spain, PSG and Marseilles from France, Juventus and A.C. Milan from Italy, and of course Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United, from England. It has underdogs like Ludogorets from Bulgaria, who showing astounding effort against clubs like Real Madrid and Liverpool last year. It has some golden moments too, such as the 2004/2005 Final between Liverpool and A.C. Milan which is considered as one of the best matches ever played. After going behind 3 goals in the first half Liverpool scored 3 goals in 6 minutes and then went on to win the title 3-2 in penalties. It is known to many as “The Miracle of Istanbul.”

I can't remember now if I've mentioned it, but I did name this blog Minus5 for the 5 hour time difference between England and New York City. But it isn't just English clubs who are represented here and in the spirit of the Champions League we're taking a field trip to Quinn's. Home to Peña Madridista NYC, or simply, the Real Madrid faithful. Real Madrid have recently become the first team ever to win the Champions League 10 times, completing what is known in Spain as “La Decima” or “The Tenth.” Supporters in New York City came to watch Real Madrid play Schalke 04 from Germany in the Round of 16. Peña Madridista NYC are very in touch with the club; there are autographed jerseys and footballs around the bar. Real Madrid finished with a comfortable 2-0 win in the first leg in Germany. Now it is on two the second leg and their next prospective opponents.