Soccer seems to be in a constant state of flux. The World Cup has been expanded to 48 teams, the Club World Cup now happens every four years with 32 teams, and now, the UEFA Champions League format that we have all come to know and love has been tossed away and replaced with a new, and rather confusing, format.
If you are feeling lost after yesterday’s Champions League draw, do not fret. We here at Vendetta have you covered! Below, we will explain what this new format is and what your favorite team needs to do to advance to the knockout stages and beyond.
Without further ado, let us hop into it!
The Old Format
Before looking at the new format, it is important to remember what the old format was. For the previous 21 seasons, 32 qualified for the Champions League. These 32 teams were then drawn and split into eight groups of four teams. Each team played the other three teams in its group twice, both home and away, adding up to six total group stage games.
The top two teams from each group then advanced to the Round of 16, where the tournament proceeded in a knockout-style bracket. The third-place finisher was transferred to the Europa League where they entered into the knockout-round playoffs. The fourth place finished was eliminated from European competition.
The New Draw
Now for the new stuff. Unlike the old format which consisted of a group stage phase, the new format has a league phase with 36 teams rather than 32. And with this new format, the Champions League draw also has a different importance now.
Each qualified team is put into either Pot One, Two, Three, or Four. The Champions League titleholder (Real Madrid) is automatically placed into Pot One, with the rest of the teams being placed into pots depending on their UEFA coefficient.
While the Champions League draw was previously used to determine which group each team would be placed in, the new draw now determines which teams each qualified club will play. Each team plays eight league phase games, four home and four away. These games consist of games against two teams from each pot, meaning a team from Pot One will play two games against other teams in Pot One, two against teams from Pot Two, two against teams from Pot Three, and two against teams from Pot Four.
The only restrictions with the scheduling of these fixtures are a club cannot play another club from the same country, and a club can play no more than two games against clubs from another country, meaning PSG could not be drawn into three games against Premier League opponents.
As each club plays its eight league phase games, they will receive three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss just like the old format. Each club will be part of the same table, meaning all 36 teams will be competing with every other team for positioning.
The league phase will end in January and the top eight teams at the conclusion of the league phase will automatically qualify for the Round of 16. This is the spot every club wants to end up in as they will get a bye during the first knockout stage.
Teams that finish in spots 9-16 will advance to the knockout playoffs where they will be seeded. Teams that finish 17-24 will also advance to the Knockout Playoffs but will be unseeded. This means 16 teams will compete in the Knockout Playoffs with the winners from these matchups advancing to the Round of 16 where they will match up with the teams that finished in the top eight of the league phase.
Teams that finish in spots 25-36 will be eliminated from the Champions League.
Once the competition reaches the Round of 16, it will continue just as it has in the past with a knockout stage bracket culminating with the Champions League Final in late May.
I miss the old format. I thought it was perfect and I am sad to see it go. However, this new format will offer us blockbuster matchups in the league phase that we would have seen less of with the group stage model.
I have to admit; I hate change when it comes to the beautiful game, but this new format has the potential to be just as exciting, if not more so, than the old format. Plus, we will get additional games to watch, which you have to love as a spectator.
Time will tell whether this shift to a new format was a good move for UEFA. For the time being, however, let’s all get on board and get ready for another exciting season of Champions League action!
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