The æG-14,’ Europe’s big clubs, sided with UEFA on the Super League, but they hold the power

Welcome to the future of European soccer. If it doesn’t appear exactly as Silvio Berlusconi might have envisioned it a decade or so ago, rejoice. There’s still room in the Champions League for the Moldes and Maribor Teatanics of Europe ù there they are, in Groups A and E ù but make no mistake, this is the Super League so much fuss was made over a year ago. We should perhaps be thankful it’s not the Superleague, the Berlusconi-backed plan that forced UEFA, the sport’s governing body in Europe, to drastically alter its cup competitions, leading to this: ò An expanded Champions League, with a 32-team field (up from 24) with room for four clubs from Germany, three from England, Italy and the Netherlands, and two from France, Norway and Portugal. A second group phase, starting in late November, has been added to schedule, which has also become denser, with weekly matches in September, October and March. In all, the finalists will play 17 matches, more if involved in the preliminary rounds. ò The Cup Winners’ Cup is dead, and UEFA Cup has grown, starting with 121 clubs and getting another 24 out of the Champions League. Losers in the League’s third preliminary round and third-place finishers in the first group phase aren’t out, they’re just battling for a different trophy. ò More cash, if not nearly so much as imagined, is up for grabs ù some $552 million ù with a far greater percentage of the revenues going to the competing clubs. The champion stands to earn somewhere around $55 million, nearly four times what Real Madrid received for winning the title in 1998.

Big clubs are going to get richer

It’s a lucrative business these days, more so than ever before, and the primary impact of this year’s league is simple: Molde or no Molde, it’s the big clubs that are going to get rich(er). That was the whole point behind Berlusconi’s Superleague, which was unveiled as France celebrated its 1998 World Cup victory. The plan called for Europe’s biggest clubs, the Manchester Uniteds and AC Milans, to participate in a 36-team competition every year regardless of performance. Other teams ù a Dynamo Kiev or a Bayer Leverkusen, maybe a Molde ù also would be invited to take part; prize money would total $1.2 billion per season. AC Milan owner (and former Italian prime minister) Berlusconi, employing his Milan-based Media Partners in connection with investment bankers J.P. Morgan and law firm Slaughter and May, had the attention of other top clubs, many of them unhappy with how UEFA was doing business. Out of the talks emerged the “G-14,” a band of the 14 most powerful clubs in Europe: Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Liverpool, Ajax, PSV, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille, Paris St. Germain and Porto. It was a wakeup call for UEFA president Lennart Johansson and his deputies, who weren’t about to cede control of their biggest annual event to a private organization, no matter what European law ù and Media Partners was petitioning EU courts ù might have to say. They quickly chose pragmatism over ideology, and UEFA won the clubs’ favor by shifting some power ù and a good deal more money ù the clubs’ way. There’s more room to move. UEFA refused to consider automatic Champions League berths for, say, former champions (AC Milan asked last year), and five of the G-14 failed to qualify for the Champions League this year: Juventus, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Ajax and Paris St. Germain. That may have to change; the revenues are too great to miss out on. And the clubs want more control over television and its revenues. UEFA still controls Champions League broadcast rights, although profits are shared with the clubs.

Schedules are more congested

Clubs’ schedules also have become more congested. With weekly Champions League games, most teams will be playing twice per week; the bigger clubs can be expected to field two different teams, one for domestic play and the other for Europe. Some officials may complain, but more matches ù especially more high-profile matches ù means more money, and more money means more power. That’s the future: The game, more and more, is being ruled by Europe’s biggest clubs, and it is more important that they please their stockholders than their fans. There are billions to be made, and the businessmen assigned to reap those billions aren’t about the leave the critical decisions up to the politicians. It’s a new world. Consider this year’s Champions League your welcome to it. by Soccer America senior editor Scott French