Last night came the incredible press release that risks changing the world of football forever. A real earthquake that leaves everyone uncertain, trying to understand with a little curiosity, and a lot of fear, what will change in the most followed sport in the world. Here is the European Super League!
The 12 founding clubs have formalized the birth of this new tournament that would revolutionize the existing champions and cups. Among the 12 founding clubs are the three pillars of Italian football: Milan, Juventus and Inter. The president will be Florentino Perez (president of Real Madrid), while the vice presidents will be Andrea Agnelli and Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United
12 European Top Clubs announce the creation of the Super League. Juventus Football Club among the founders.https://t.co/QGT8iF883o pic.twitter.com/r2dSq1nkbg
- JuventusFC (@juventusfc) April 18, 2021
What is the Superlega
It is a tournament in which 20 teams (12 + 3 founding clubs) will participate and another five that will have to qualify. The teams will be divided into 2 groups of 10 and the best 8 will qualify for the quarter-finals. The top 12 official teams are: AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur.
In short, a competition between the strongest teams in Europe which, however, would conflict with the Champions League and with the national championships.
Advantages for teams and fans
The participating teams will have a huge first economic advantage, with around 10 billion euros that will be shared among the participating clubs. Furthermore, there would be a competition where weekly teams of the highest level compete against each other, therefore a greater spectacle for the eyes and for the pockets. In the meantime, the fans would enjoy the splendid matches between the strongest teams in the world on a weekly basis.
Criticisms of ethics and values
The criticisms made by many exponents of the world of football and others, starting from the newspapers, but also presidents, former players and above all competent bodies (Uefa and Fifa), are above all of an ethical nature. This competition in fact foresees 15 fixed participants, which would remove the concept of meritocracy and equal opportunities from sport. Imagine Atalanta which for years has become an important reality of our football that all of a sudden would be excluded from the competition, therefore, completely neglecting sporting merits. Like Atalanta, the same goes for the other excluded teams in Italy and around the world. Among the many strong statements, those of Gary Neville, Manchester United legend (whose president is vice chairman of the Super League), the former footballer heavily accused United and all the clubs that have joined: “Punish those clubs. Take away the points, fine them, slam them at the bottom of the standings, take away the titles they have won. "
What will happen to the national championships?
This is the first question that anyone who is passionate about football has asked himself. What is the point of competing in the league if only first place is worth something? Why should teams fight to finish second or third if they are excluded a priori from the most important competition? And above all, how will the excluded teams compete against those who receive millions of euros more from the Super League? Probably no one would like the answers (not even the fans of the "privileged" teams). Indeed, a co-existence between Super League and national championships seems impossible.
What will happen to the Champions League?
What would the Champions League be without Real Madrid, Liverpool, Milan and all the other teams that made its history? From the most prestigious competition in football it would become a “Serie B” competition, devoid of the top European clubs. For now, among the strongest teams in the world, only Bayern and PSG are not part of the Super League, but it is hard to imagine a Champions League, with only two top clubs.
The oppositions
Of course, Fifa and Uefa immediately condemned this initiative, threatening the clubs that signed the agreement to be disqualified from all competitions, as well as a lawsuit of about 50 billion. Many presidents have also spoken out against, even three clubs in Serie A have asked the immediate exclusion of Milan, Juventus and Inter.
Uncertainty reigns
In these days we can expect everything, not even the conclusion of the championships and the Champions League is safe, given the head-on clash between the Super League clubs and the federations. We are witnessing a historic moment for football, which could change forever. Imagine Serie A without Milan, Juventus and Inter! We therefore have a beautiful week ahead of us, which will help us to clarify the future, but the fact is that the Super League formally exists, we will see if it will become a reality on the playing field as well.
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Interesting.