Don't mean to be rude to any Pompey fans out there, but am I the only one that thinks that Portsmouth v AC Milan in a competitive fixture sounds really strange?
It's a strong lineup in the final year of the UEFA Cup, which as of next season will be called the Europa League. It certainly sounds cheesy, but I quite like it. It does imply a higher level of importance, and the axing of the utterly ridiculous five-team group stage is long, long overdue. Everyone realises that you can draw every game and still qualify with ease, right?
Still, it's hard to understand how UEFA can be so anxious to improve the image of a flagging cometition, while still offering it as an unwelcome booby prize to the debris of the Champion's League group stage.
Allowing teams with a good fair play record to participate (this year: Hertha BSC and Man City) seems like a nice idea, but why only clubs from 'big' leagues? If we really want to award fair play, why not open it up to every team from every division? Why is fair play in League Two less important than fair play in the Premier League? Of course, the obvious desire to want underacheiving big names to have a sneaky back door into European football outweighs a potential Scunthorpe v FC Metalist Kharkiv tie, but I don't care. I want a dwarf fight.
Either way, I'm excited about Matchday 1 on Oct 23rd. It's like drinking cheap vodka out of a plastic bag compared to the champage of the Champion's League, but that's probably why I'm excited.
08/10/08 @ 11:58