Does anyone actually care about the Uefa Cup?

[Cunny]

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2006/11/..._care_abou.html

 

Does anyone actually care about the Uefa Cup?

Once a forum for many of Europe's biggest hitters, the Uefa Cup is now so weak that even Newcastle are treating it with disdain.

 

Rob Smyth

November 2, 2006 02:49 PM

 

Eidur Gudjohnsen is never likely to have to sully himself in the Uefa Cup ever again, but he knows how much the tournament means. Gudjohnsen was five years old when his father Arnor, an Anderlecht player, had the decisive penalty saved by the Spurs keeper Tony Parks in a shoot-out to decide the 1984 final at White Hart Lane.

 

The Uefa Cup certainly meant plenty to Parks, who went down in White Hart Lane folklore as Nigel Spink had at Villa Park for his unexpected part in Aston Villa's 1982 European Cup win. It meant plenty to Cha Bum-Kun, the Bayer Leverkusen captain who scored the third goal as his side astonishingly overcame a 3-0 first-leg deficit in the final against Espanyol in 1988 before winning on penalties. It even meant plenty to Diego Maradona, who was delirious after captaining Napoli to glory in 1989.

 

The European Cup remained the most important prize, of course, but the Uefa Cup was fresh, funky and prestigious - a kind of alternative prom of European football. These days, it's more like a teenage booze-up down the local park with a four-pack: messy, undignified and usually forgotten the next morning. That isn't necessarily a problem if it still means plenty to those involved, but there is mounting evidence to the contrary: Newcastle, 17th-placed Newcastle, have left so many players behind for tonight's trip to Palermo that Albert Luque is going to get a game, with Glenn Roeder prioritising the über-mundane fixture against Sheffield United on Saturday. And the chairman of Livorno, seventh in Serie A, says he would be happier if the club went out of the competition sooner rather than later.

 

The very presence of a modest Newcastle shows how feeble the tournament has become: once the preserve of some of Europe's biggest hitters (1989, for example, was a real royal rumble: to win it Napoli had to beat Juventus and Bayern Munich, who themselves beat Internazionale), it has suffered inevitably from the Champions League's monopolisation of the top clubs. Some, like Barcelona in 2000-01, occasionally end up in the Uefa Cup, a consolation prize for Champions League failure, but generally it is B-list teams playing for a B-list prize, often in front of C-list crowds. It is a piece of chewing gum on the sole of G14's expensive shoes.

 

The return to a straight two-legged knockout, rather than the awful and unbalanced group stages - which involves 80 games to get rid of 16 teams - might help a little, but the fundamental problem remains: money is more important than glory now, and the vague possibility of qualifying for Europe again, with all the financial benefits that brings, outweighs the possibility of actually lifting a trophy. This is particularly disheartening of Newcastle, whose fans ache to see their side lift some trophy, any trophy. If they can't be bothered with the Uefa Cup, who will?

[Sion]

It used to be a good competition before the CL became top 3/4 and you'd get the top clubs going in it. Now the standard of teams is terrible.

[Benitez]

the reason Newcastle are treating it with disdain is cos they are in the s*** league wise and have injures. Daft really, cos it was their choice to enter it via the Intertwobob cup. There should be fecin rules about teams enterting it via that then not taking it seriously - chuck em out. They want best of both worlds - they want the money, but dont want to risk knackering out their players.

 

Spurs are taking it seriously.

 

UEFA Cup's problem is this stupid stupid group phase, sooner UEFA gets rid the better. It dosen't work, there isn't the quality. Win your first 2 games and you are pretty much guaranteed to go through. It's laughable. It only gets interesting and good after the group stage.

 

It's a shame, cos I really did used to like it. Last time it was good was when Valencia won it.

[Guest efcrmagic]

I used to think it was harder to win than the European Cup, it was a tough, tough competition.

 

I remember when Forest got to the 1/4 Finals in 96 and I thought that was amazing.

 

Back then though it was on the the BBC, straight knock out and obviously it had better sides in it.

 

Saying this, I'd cry for years if we won it next season.

[Guest Scot]

Saying this, I'd cry for years if we won it next season.

 

...or anything else, really

[Guest efcrmagic]

...or anything else, really

 

You got that right.

[madaboutlfc]

it used to be good till they changed it from straight knockout

[meepins]

If it ran like an FA cup competition where everyone could play in it then it would recapture it's prestige. I don't know how it would work with fixtures but really it's UEFAs fault it has been devalued.

[Crazy Horse]

It was great up until about, oh, 2001. Been meaningless ever since.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

it's odd - around the time everyone started slating the group stage in the EC, UEFA decided to introduce a b*****dized versioon to the UEFA - 5 teams in a group, but only play each once...

 

So now it's k/o, group stage, EC failures enter, k/o's again....it's got multiple personalities now

[Snoeker]

It was great up until about, oh, 2001. Been meaningless ever since.

 

Is correct.

[_00_deathscar]

I used to think it was harder to win than the European Cup, it was a tough, tough competition.

 

 

Nice try but we hold the British record for both (and the joint record for the UEFA Cup I believe...)

[Koogan]

We won it three times, we won it three times...

[Boca]

It's been in trouble since they started leaving the third placed teams from the Champions League join in. Also the Thursday night games don't help.

[Andy @ Allerton]

The UEFA cup is a top competition

 

To win that is something special

[Guest Jack Bauer]

When Boro get to the final and beat FC Basel in the semis to get there, it is hardly special.

[Andy @ Allerton]

When Boro get to the final and beat FC Basel in the semis to get there, it is hardly special.

 

b******s

[Benitez]

When Boro get to the final and beat FC Basel in the semis to get there, it is hardly special.

 

 

that won't be happening again anytime soon

 

Last seasons' UEFA Cup was really weak though.

 

This season it should be better. Although when you see Palermo deciding to fec it off last night and play a reserve side, maybe it won't be.

 

But really, till they get rid of this stupid group stage, it'll never be that good again.

Edited November 3, 2006 by Benitez

[Guest Jack Bauer]

And who the f*** did Sevilla beat?

 

It's a crap competition for rejects from the CL and has been for a while now.

[Flasher]

The UEFA cup is a top competition

 

To win that is something special

 

 

I agree. I think it's really prestigious to win the Uefa Cup, and bloody hard to do it.

 

It is however all about winning it. Coming 2nd feels like a complete waste of time, unlike the CL which by just making the final you get respect.

[CarraLegend]

It was brilliant when we won it beating Porto, Barca, Olympiakos and Roma, now the best teams are Palermo reserves, Sevilla etc so I cant really be arsed watching it.

[Andy @ Allerton]

I agree. I think it's really prestigious to win the Uefa Cup, and bloody hard to do it.

 

It is however all about winning it. Coming 2nd feels like a complete waste of time, unlike the CL which by just making the final you get respect.

 

 

Unless you're arsenal - in which case

[Guest Cameron]

It was an amazing tournament until the CL was expanded to include the teams that would normally have been part of the UEFA Cup. Now it's dreadful, I haven't watched a UEFA Cup game since we were last involved...and I can't even remember when that was. Think it was when Celtic knocked us out at Anfield.

I won't other watching the final either, it will be contested by mediocre teams who I have no interest in watching.

[_00_deathscar]

There were two years when the UEFA Cup was actually every bit as good/more competitive as the Champs League ~ the year we won it, and I think in 2003/4 when again teams like Barca, Roma (ourselves) and a few other big guns didn't manage to finish in the top 4.

[growler]

stop group stage

 

stop inter toto

 

stop cl 3rd place`teams going to uefa cup

 

winner of uefa cup in cl following season

 

job done