I decided to spread this across two entries, to keep them to a more manageable size…
According to an entry on the G-14 site yesterday, the Guardian’s claims are all fiction. Fair enough, but the illustrious pressure group *is* campaigning for more matches in the Champions League competition. Given their belief that it should be the clubs (not an overall ruling body) who wield the power in football, the evidence does seem to point to a gradual strengthening of the Champions League at the expense of national competitions.
Incidentally, although four more new members were allowed to join in 2002, G-14 is now a closed shop. In the previous entry I alluded to the dynamism of multi-level football systems, and sure enough, this has had an effect on G-14, even with in its six-year existence. Here’s the full list of members…
Ajax (Netherlands)
Arsenal (England) 10
Barcelona (Spain) 6
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Bayern Munich (Germany) 7
Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Inter Milan (Italy) 9
Juventus (Italy) 4
Liverpool (England) 8
Lyon (France) 15
Manchester United (England) 2
Marseille (France)
AC Milan (Italy) 3
Paris St Germain (France)
Porto (Portugal)
PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
Real Madrid (Spain) 1
Valencia (Spain) 19
The numbers refer to the teams’ positions in the top twenty richest clubs in Europe. Highlighted in purple are the teams who, based on their current league position, will play in the Champions League next season. Of the remaining teams, some will play in the UEFA Cup or pre-season Champions League qualifying round, while others are out of the running for European football.
While there’s obviously still quite a bit of success in that list, it’s interesting to see how G-14 represents a snapshot of European football at the turn of the Millennium. Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen have returned to mid-table anonymity, as have PSG. A few of the biggest clubs in the list are still competing for European places, but are seriously underperforming.
And then what about the clubs notable by their absence? The most obvious one is Chelsea… currently the 5th richest team in Europe, almost certain to retain the Premiership title and backed by the seemingly bottomless fortune of Roman Abramovich, 24th richest man in the world. Even on a lower level, there are plenty of legitimate claims for inclusion in G-14… Roma and Newcastle are the 11th and 12th richest clubs in Europe, while Hamburg SV, AZ67 Alkmaar and Bordeaux are all riding high in their respective leagues. Flashes in the pan? Maybe, but that’s precisely what Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund were.
The bottom line is that having an exclusive selection of the world’s biggest clubs taking the future of the game into their own hands, for their own gain, is horribly wrong. That the dynamism of European football has already rendered the selection partly obsolete makes it all the more ridiculous.