UEFA CUP vs CHAMPION'S LEAGUE

[Filho]

alright..title will turn out to be a little deceiving. But how important is it to you to watch big name players? If someone told you that the UEFA Cup final between..let's say Napoli and Sporting Lisbon was going to be an exciting goalfest, and the Champion's League Final between...Barcelona and Chelsea was going to be a boring 1-0 game with a fluke goal settling it. You can only watch one - would you still watch the CL final over the UEFA Cup final?

I only ask cuz in recent years the UEFA Cup final has been 100 times better than the CL final in terms of pure excitement and goals scored. Back in the day the UEFA Cup was real respectable..I bet a few people remember when Napoli (with Diego and co.) won it in 1989, but can't recall the European Cup winner that year.

But today..regardless of the product the UEFA Cup puts out in the latter stages...it doh make a dent in the allure of the CL for neutral fans. Even the Copa Liberatdores has more drama than the CL once you get to the latter stages. Curious to see if anyone realize this and more importantly..acts on it and watches these less reputable cups with more anticipation than the CL

[jai john]

alright..title will turn out to be a little deceiving. But how important is it to you to watch big name players? If someone told you that the UEFA Cup final between..let's say Napoli and Sporting Lisbon was going to be an exciting goalfest, and the Champion's League Final between...Barcelona and Chelsea was going to be a boring 1-0 game with a fluke goal settling it. You can only watch one - would you still watch the CL final over the UEFA Cup final?

I only ask cuz in recent years the UEFA Cup final has been 100 times better than the CL final in terms of pure excitement and goals scored. Back in the day the UEFA Cup was real respectable..I bet a few people remember when Napoli (with Diego and co.) won it in 1989, but can't recall the European Cup winner that year.

But today..regardless of the product the UEFA Cup puts out in the latter stages...it doh make a dent in the allure of the CL for neutral fans. Even the Copa Liberatdores has more drama than the CL once you get to the latter stages. Curious to see if anyone realize this and more importantly..acts on it and watches these less reputable cups with more anticipation than the CL

I guess its like watching the Championship rather than the priemiership because there are more goals scored. ...or watching college ball rather than the pro league . My view is that regardless of the outcome my interest will always be in football at the highest level and the Champions league involves the best teams just like the Copa Libertadores and of course the World Cup.

[Filho]

alright..title will turn out to be a little deceiving. But how important is it to you to watch big name players? If someone told you that the UEFA Cup final between..let's say Napoli and Sporting Lisbon was going to be an exciting goalfest, and the Champion's League Final between...Barcelona and Chelsea was going to be a boring 1-0 game with a fluke goal settling it. You can only watch one - would you still watch the CL final over the UEFA Cup final?

I only ask cuz in recent years the UEFA Cup final has been 100 times better than the CL final in terms of pure excitement and goals scored. Back in the day the UEFA Cup was real respectable..I bet a few people remember when Napoli (with Diego and co.) won it in 1989, but can't recall the European Cup winner that year.

But today..regardless of the product the UEFA Cup puts out in the latter stages...it doh make a dent in the allure of the CL for neutral fans. Even the Copa Liberatdores has more drama than the CL once you get to the latter stages. Curious to see if anyone realize this and more importantly..acts on it and watches these less reputable cups with more anticipation than the CL

I guess its like watching the Championship rather than the priemiership because there are more goals scored. ...or watching college ball rather than the pro league . My view is that regardless of the outcome my interest will always be in football at the highest level and the Champions league involves the best teams just like the Copa Libertadores and of course the World Cup.

guess I didn't make it clear that it was more than just about goals. Otherwise I'd go watch Indoor football right thru  I was inferring that there was more quality in the games as well. I also tried to make it clear that I am talking about the latter stages where the UEFA Cup seems to get more exciting, while CL teams appear to get more cagey..and players sem fatigued

[Bakes]

alright..title will turn out to be a little deceiving. But how important is it to you to watch big name players? If someone told you that the UEFA Cup final between..let's say Napoli and Sporting Lisbon was going to be an exciting goalfest, and the Champion's League Final between...Barcelona and Chelsea was going to be a boring 1-0 game with a fluke goal settling it. You can only watch one - would you still watch the CL final over the UEFA Cup final?

I only ask cuz in recent years the UEFA Cup final has been 100 times better than the CL final in terms of pure excitement and goals scored. Back in the day the UEFA Cup was real respectable..I bet a few people remember when Napoli (with Diego and co.) won it in 1989, but can't recall the European Cup winner that year.

But today..regardless of the product the UEFA Cup puts out in the latter stages...it doh make a dent in the allure of the CL for neutral fans. Even the Copa Liberatdores has more drama than the CL once you get to the latter stages. Curious to see if anyone realize this and more importantly..acts on it and watches these less reputable cups with more anticipation than the CL

I guess its like watching the Championship rather than the priemiership because there are more goals scored. ...or watching college ball rather than the pro league . My view is that regardless of the outcome my interest will always be in football at the highest level and the Champions league involves the best teams just like the Copa Libertadores and of course the World Cup.

guess I didn't make it clear that it was more than just about goals. Otherwise I'd go watch Indoor football right thru  I was inferring that there was more quality in the games as well. I also tried to make it clear that I am talking about the latter stages where the UEFA Cup seems to get more exciting, while CL teams appear to get more cagey..and players sem fatigued

Jai interpretation was fair... I too was about to come say I'd rather watch quality over quantity (of goals scored).  I think people automatically associated a higher quality of play with the bigger named squads than with two lesser known ones.

[jai john]

Well I am sure a lot of us can remember seeing an exciting game where no goals were scored and what was important was the quality of the play. At the highest level you get competition among the best players, sometimes they nullify each other or coaches employ defensive tactics but they are still the best.
Who among us would say I eh watching de world cup final because the final is always less entertaining than the semis ? we might say dat ..but we watching the final becuse it is the result of the best representative teams in the highest level of competition.
It always amazes me when man have to name their best ever local teams and Compre and St Anthony's does come up in dat !

[Blue]

Filho, lewwe make your example a lil more extreme....would you want to watch the men's World Cup Final...probably a tense affair with few goals....or an intercol final, where goals normally flow like water?

I think most people would go for quality (but I suppose if ur example is taken literally, if i somehow knew for sure that one game was boring and the other was exciting, i would pick the exciting one....)

[Filho]

Well I am sure a lot of us can remember seeing an exciting game where no goals were scored and what was important was the quality of the play. At the highest level you get competition among the best players, sometimes they nullify each other or coaches employ defensive tactics but they are still the best.
Who among us would say I eh watching de world cup final because the final is always less entertaining than the semis ? we might say dat ..but we watching the final becuse it is the result of the best representative teams in the highest level of competition.
It always amazes me when man have to name their best ever local teams and Compre and St Anthony's does come up in dat !

Bakes, Jai..thanks. I didn't make my point clear enough.

Jai..I've seen many great 0-0 games and I always anticipate the finals of the biggest competitions. I too always choose CL over UEFA cuz I always expect quality and I like to watch players I recognize. BUt lately, I find the final gameS of the UEFA Cup and the Copa Libertadores have been far better than the the Champions' League.

Ryan. I'm actually being specific here and I am talking about competitions with players of similar quality. I did not say one competitoin vs the next. Simply CL vs UEFA (or Copa Lib). Professionals vs Professionals. My observations and question are based on very specific group of competitions. Any other analogy moves away from the intent of the question. Especially something like Intercol vs the WC.

I'll try another way...Does anyone think the final of the UEFA Cup has surpassed that of the CL on all levels, except for star names. Ever since Porto beat Celtic when Mourinho was in charge, only one CL final has really lived up to its billing (when Liverpool came from 3 goals down to beat Milan on pks) If so..is that enough to make you watch the UEFA Cup over the CL or is the draw of the big names and (the seemingly false) expectation of a high level games too much to resist. I find the Champion's league final is about teams afraid to lose and stars tend to look fatigued and unable to replicate their best form. Of late the UEFA Cup final appears a more full blooded, high energy affair with no shortage of quality with.. imo

[Blue]

I'll try another way...Does anyone think the final of the UEFA Cup has surpassed that of the CL on all levels, except for star names. Ever since Porto beat Celtic when Mourinho was in charge, only one CL final has really lived up to its billing (when Liverpool came from 3 goals down to beat Milan on pks) If so..is that enough to make you watch the UEFA Cup over the CL or is the draw of the big names and (the seemingly false) expectation of a high level games too much to resist. I find the Champion's league final is about teams afraid to lose and stars tend to look fatigued and unable to replicate their best form. Of late the UEFA Cup final appears a more full blooded, high energy affair with no shortage of quality with.. imo

Porto-Celtic was d best UEFA cup final and one of the most exciting matches I've ever seen. That was the Larsson vs Deco show 


edit: actually Liverpool-Alaves was d best UEFA Cup final....and definitely in my top 5 matches of all time 

[JDB]

I only ask cuz in recent years the UEFA Cup final has been 100 times better than the CL final in terms of pure excitement and goals scored. Back in the day the UEFA Cup was real respectable..I bet a few people remember when Napoli (with Diego and co.) won it in 1989, but can't recall the European Cup winner that year.

Joe Public vs New England Revs had plenty goals too but that doh mean yuh should watch it.

The UEFA cup has been devalued by UEFA down to nothingness. It doesn't even make money for th eclubs these days. A couple years ago United went out of the CL at the group stage, missing the 3rd place UEFA cup parachute, and it wasn't even a bother.  Basically for a big club playing UEFA cup ball is almost like not being in Europe.

Things used to be very different. Several seasons the UEFA cup used to be better because the 2nd place team this year would be a championship contender the following year. Many years you were seeing better teams in the UEFA cup than the CL because the previous year's champions were not as good.

Now 2nd, 3rd and 4th going into the CL so you getting scrubs (relatively speaking) in the UEFA Cup.

[palos]

I would pay to see Arsenal, Brazil, Holland, AC Milan, Spain, and Trinidad & Tobago play.  I would also pay to see games at a World Cup.  Ah might even pay to see Marta play.

De ress I content to watch on TV.

[sinned]

i understand your point Filho. but i will most of the times watch a CL final because it almost always have a 'big side' that is either your team, your cousin team or one ah yuh padner team. I will always be happy when my team win and if my team not in it and my padna team in it and loss I will constantly harass him about it.

In CL you will find teams that the majority of fans identify with, so this situation occurs more often than the Uefa Cup (or lesser cups). I know this isn't answer isn't from a strict footballing point of view but is my two cents.

[Filho]

I only ask cuz in recent years the UEFA Cup final has been 100 times better than the CL final in terms of pure excitement and goals scored. Back in the day the UEFA Cup was real respectable..I bet a few people remember when Napoli (with Diego and co.) won it in 1989, but can't recall the European Cup winner that year.

Joe Public vs New England Revs had plenty goals too but that doh mean yuh should watch it.

agreed. but not the point i was making. already explained....notice I said goals and excitement. You could interpret excitement to mean good drama and high quality play. agree with you about the UEFA Cup in part. I was very specifically talking about latter stages and including the final where your comments about quality are off the mark imo. your point about money made by the teams are off the mark too..or noone would play the Intertotop Cup to get into Europe. Truss meh..they do it cuz there is plenty money to be had. But agree with a lot of what you said. it's a marketing thing too imo

[kicker]

Ever since Champions league, UEFA Cup has taken on the stigma of the tournament for teams in the losers bracket....kinda like watching the NIT as opposed to the NCAA tournament

or watching the 3rd place playoff instead of the WC final.....

[2cents]

Reading this post, this question is for football 'watchers' and not football 'fans'. This is basically asking what would u watch, cuz a football watcher will take in Real vs Barca or CL final and such, maybe some lesser games too, to be in d talk. Football fans watching ANYTHING almost...once they have d time. As a fan I does watch youth in d park, intercol, maybe some US college ball, USL, MLS, EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Copa America, Concacaf Champions League, UEFA Cup,UEFA Champions League, Gold Cup, European Championship, World Cup, Argentine League, PFL. I livin a normal life still...so all this is irrelevant...it jus simple that some men does watch football...d men who u have to tell Barca vs Atletico is tomorrow and it have men waitin 3 weeks now for that game who are fans...blessed!!!