European Competition... your preference

kevh26

All,

I was having a conversation yesterday about football in the pub with my mates, they were basically banging on about how there's no real german presence in the champions league, to which i actually started thinking to myself, I actually think i prefer to see bayern in the Uefa Cup at the moment!

Lets face it, since 2001, Bayern haven't really been world beaters, a harsh fact but true none the less, and yeah, fair enough we've got as good a squad as I can remember in recent history, but do you rally think we could win the champions league?

I personally have had a much more enjoyable season watching the thrills and spills of the Uefa cup, against these supposedly 'lesser' teams than the elite competition that is the champions league. My question is who here is like me, who would rather see the team (at least for the moment) pushing to win the Uefa cup (option a) than see the board happy with securing a quarter final place in the champions league (option b)?

lets think about it for a second, yeah the UEFA cup isn't the glamourous competition, and no it doesn't establish us as one of the biggest teams in europe... but we're getting a longer run in the competition, we're winning the matches, and with the likes of the first leg at anderlecht, in some style, and it's really a joy to watch! think of the getafe game, even against such a young club, the game watch thrilling and game slike that don't come along every day, this seasons tournament has been a delight to watch as a fan and not just a neutral like in previous seasons. Financially too, yeah the champions league pays a bigger prize at first glance but... really?

if each of you here think realistically, then you'll probably agree with me that we wouldn't have won the champions league this season, and probably wont next year (i'd love it if we did, and i might just be being pessimistic, but there's other teams with more money and pulling power than bayern and i see the next few seasons as a starting point to increase our reputation and attract those better players), so assuming a quarter final finish, we're playing an extra two games and getting a share of those gate receipts, as well as a share of the money from the final and possibly a lump sum for winning the competition... which must rake in a larger amount for the club!

ooh, and btw i've just put in a bid on ebay to by two tickets to the final... I'm confident I'll be watching my team in a european final this year!

FCBinNYC · I'm a chatterbox! Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 317 votes: 4

I don't think the board would be happy with a quarter-final spot in the CL. We made the quarters last year and if it weren't for a shocking home result (first Euro loss at Allianz) we would've/at least could've made the semis. Not to mention that we beat both Inter and Madrid on the way there. I thought that team could win it, I know this one could.
Don't get me wrong, the UEFA Cup has been fun this season, and no one will cheer more than me if we win it. But I can't say that I enjoyed our Getafe matches more than the matches with that other team from Madrid last year. (Both 4-4 away goals victories.) The best part about the CL is seeing your team go up against the best of the best, and for that reason its tough for everyone to get really psyched about the UEFA Cup. Case in point: the game v Zenit was the first UEFA Cup sellout at the Allianz this year. In the CL every game is sold out, and I don't think it's because of the song. It's the prestige.
Another reason for this apathy towards the UC is because any path Bayern would have to take to get there as opposed to the CL would leave me (and others) bitter about not doing better. This has most certainly been the case for me this season, and honestly I'm only going to truly feel better when I see Olli lift that salad bowl in two weeks. The UC, as great as it would be to win, is just icing on the cake, whereas winning the CL would be the cake itself.
Back to where I started: quarter-finals? I believe at least the semis have been the board's aim every season, and in this respect the team has failed to live up to expectations for the past 5 years or so. There's no doubt about that. But you don't spend 100mil euros (I say 100 since I'm sure we'll see some more investment this summer) on players and then only aim for the quarters. Next season we will see Bayern rise back to the top, and if we don't make it all the way then we will have barely lost out against another powerhouse team, with no shame. But I don't see that happening, since from what I've seen Bayern has been more consistent this season than all the teams left in the CL except for Man U. Maybe Chelsea too, but there's no doubt that Bayern plays better football than Chelsea. If Poldi can learn to take his chances like Toni, next season will be a serious redeemer and the rest of Europe will respect. And everyone connected with Bayern will say "what's the UEFA Cup again?" Cool

kevh26

I've got to say, very positive attitude, and it might just be my pessimistic view, but i honestly think there are teams in the CL that would stuff us, our home form in europe in this season has seen draws against bolton, aberdeen, getafe and now zenit, we were odds on favourite in all those games, if that had been Man Utd, Barca or a number of other CL teams, I don't think any amount of grit and determination would have got us through!

Last season again, I don't think I can draw the positives from it that you are, all in all I've felt that against teams from spain and italy, we've been relatively flacid, impotent, without flair... given that the only confirmed signing for the summer is Borowski, I'm desperate for a few creative types thrown into the mix, the team got away with playing gritty football in 2001, we had the player of all players that suited that game, who dragged the team by the scruff of the neck and in my opinion was the decisive factor in us winning that (effe)

unless, we bring in 2 or 3 big names, creative and exciting players, I see no more than a semi final finish (if we're lucky with draws)

on the other hand like everything in football, this pessimism isn't permanent, just like with the situation in italy, teams from england and spain wont dominate the the cl for ever, and I see some real positives emerging in german football at the minute, and i'm sure we'll see another cl final within the next 5 years!

mackoy

The best thing Bayern can do than any other team in the football of history is possibly only now! Bayern can win the UEFA Cup and then the SUPER Cup. Next season, they can win the Champions League and again the SUPER Cup and to top it all win the FIFA Club World Cup!! Talk about optimism Exclamation

P.S. While also winning the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal.

MunchenFC · I'm a chatterbox! Joined: 28 Feb 2008 Posts: 373 votes: 5

fcelber87 · Yeah, now I'm talking! Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Posts: 109

MunchenFC · I'm a chatterbox! Joined: 28 Feb 2008 Posts: 373 votes: 5

mackoy

kevh26

no offence lads but if this optimism gets any stronger i can see someone joining the forums with a strong belief that we'll win the cup of nations!

MUTU

Champions League football for me, without any doubt. The neutral supporter doesn't care much for the UEFA Cup. It's the "cup of losers", and winning it is not such a big achievement.

DS17

kevh26

MUTU

But it's a cup for mid-table teams... I was talking to a friend the other day and he said he considers Bayern winning the Bundesliga as a bigger achievement to winning the UEFA Cup. Nobody I know rates the UEFA Cup highly, and neither do most players. They would rather be tested against the best teams in the world, and they would want to join a club enjoying Champions League football. To me, the choice is obvious.

kevh26

to me, i feel that if we don't look like SERIOUS contenders for the CL within the next 2 or 3 seasons, then, we'll begin to slip again, I don't want to ride on the crest of a wave of optimism, just because the bayern board reverted their transfer policy once, if i see some more BIG signings this year, i'm sure my scepticism will be removed slightly, but for the time being, i'm not getting my hopes up... hence me thinking that the uefa cup is possibly so much the more appropriate cup (especially this season), I know we have a good team, but the CL really demands an exceptional team and a very good squad... something that I personally feel is a couple of seasons away just now!

fanOfBayern

Good topic, kev..

For me, its CL without any doubt. UEFA cup is not prestigious at all and no one gives a damn about it. I wouldn't be too excited about winning it. But something is better than nothing and winning UEFA cup would also improve our UEFA coefficient...so...

Coming to the CL, it all depends on luck, to be honest. Don't you think Inter Milan have a to team good enough to win the competition? How about Barcelona for that matter. They outplayed Man U over the two legs but didn't get through. Schalke gave a good fight but did not have enough quality upfront.
We, on the contrary, are considered a challenger every season(I would like to consider us as one of the favorites) and we have always done pretty good at home - whatever the opposition might be. That failures in the past few seasons could be attributed to us depending one 1 or 2 players to take us thru to the finals.
But it looks like the trend is changing with the acquisitions of Ribery, Toni and Klose. I am sure that we'll strengthen with 1 or 2 more star players before the next season starts.