“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, join the dance.” Those are the prescient words of the philosopher and writer Alan Watts. And though he may not have had the new Champions League table in mind when he wrote them, they are entirely pertinent when it comes to getting our heads round this generational change. The new format was initially tricky to understand, but it soon became clear that this would actually be rather fun. We’ve joined the dance.
Who would have expected Brest, Monaco and Sporting to be jostling for top position at the mid-point of the league phase? Or Dinamo Zagreb to make the equivalent of the El Cap ascent in Yosemite with their climb from rock bottom after a record-breaking opening day defeat against Bayern München, to the respectability of mid-table by the half-way stage? Bayern put a record nine goals past them on the first evening, but fast forward to matchday four and the Croatian side, on seven points, were in 16th place, ahead of their German nemesis with six. That’s certainly a dynamic shift of fortunes.
Dare we say that the new format even brings a sense of freedom to how teams approach games, untethered by the tight confines of the old group stage? This is a whole new ball game. There is even a sense of mystery as to how much can be read into the standings, as at first glance you don’t know who has played their most difficult games, and who has them still to come.
“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, join the dance.” Those are the prescient words of the philosopher and writer Alan Watts. And though he may not have had the new Champions League table in mind when he wrote them, they are entirely pertinent when it comes to getting our heads round this generational change. The new format was initially tricky to understand, but it soon became clear that this would actually be rather fun. We’ve joined the dance.
Who would have expected Brest, Monaco and Sporting to be jostling for top position at the mid-point of the league phase? Or Dinamo Zagreb to make the equivalent of the El Cap ascent in Yosemite with their climb from rock bottom after a record-breaking opening day defeat against Bayern München, to the respectability of mid-table by the half-way stage? Bayern put a record nine goals past them on the first evening, but fast forward to matchday four and the Croatian side, on seven points, were in 16th place, ahead of their German nemesis with six. That’s certainly a dynamic shift of fortunes.
Dare we say that the new format even brings a sense of freedom to how teams approach games, untethered by the tight confines of the old group stage? This is a whole new ball game. There is even a sense of mystery as to how much can be read into the standings, as at first glance you don’t know who has played their most difficult games, and who has them still to come.
Add to that some pretty big matches right from the start. When Liverpool set foot on the San Siro turf against AC Milan, there were thirteen European Cup triumphs on display. In Manchester we savoured a tense repeat of the 2023 final between Pep Guardiola’s City and Inter Milan. Every round features at least one heavyweight duel or replay of a final; take Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Bayern on day two, a delightful rerun of the 1982 decider (not so pleasant if you hail from Bavaria). And of course AC Milan’s impressive win at champions Real Madrid. There has been individual brilliance blended with nostalgia too. Kenan Yıldız, wearing the Juventus No10 shirt, scored an Alessandro Del Piero-esque goal against PSV on opening night.
The end of each round cues the scramble to look at the freshly-updated, massive table. That did take a few milli-seconds to get used to, but now it’s second nature. CBS regale us with Table Time at the final whistle every evening, when Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards discuss climbers and tumblers. Liverpool have been a fixture in the top spot, but no one expected Brest to be just behind. What a way for the French side to enter Europe’s elite. The standings are mercurial, every shot can change the situation instantly, a third or fourth goal in a victory can have a big impact. The bizarre penalty conceded by Aston Villa in Bruges sent them tumbling five places. Ouch. This is football’s equivalent of snakes and ladders.
Maybe newspaper editors will say the 36-team division is a bit unwieldy; maybe realists will remind us that there is no point in looking at the rankings until after five matches, or that some teams are early high-flyers because they haven’t faced many pot 1 teams; but who wants to be a realist? Let’s enjoy what the new Champions League format is bringing to the table.
“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, join the dance.” Those are the prescient words of the philosopher and writer Alan Watts. And though he may not have had the new Champions League table in mind when he wrote them, they are entirely pertinent when it comes to getting our heads round this generational change. The new format was initially tricky to understand, but it soon became clear that this would actually be rather fun. We’ve joined the dance.
Who would have expected Brest, Monaco and Sporting to be jostling for top position at the mid-point of the league phase? Or Dinamo Zagreb to make the equivalent of the El Cap ascent in Yosemite with their climb from rock bottom after a record-breaking opening day defeat against Bayern München, to the respectability of mid-table by the half-way stage? Bayern put a record nine goals past them on the first evening, but fast forward to matchday four and the Croatian side, on seven points, were in 16th place, ahead of their German nemesis with six. That’s certainly a dynamic shift of fortunes.
Dare we say that the new format even brings a sense of freedom to how teams approach games, untethered by the tight confines of the old group stage? This is a whole new ball game. There is even a sense of mystery as to how much can be read into the standings, as at first glance you don’t know who has played their most difficult games, and who has them still to come.
“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, join the dance.” Those are the prescient words of the philosopher and writer Alan Watts. And though he may not have had the new Champions League table in mind when he wrote them, they are entirely pertinent when it comes to getting our heads round this generational change. The new format was initially tricky to understand, but it soon became clear that this would actually be rather fun. We’ve joined the dance.
Who would have expected Brest, Monaco and Sporting to be jostling for top position at the mid-point of the league phase? Or Dinamo Zagreb to make the equivalent of the El Cap ascent in Yosemite with their climb from rock bottom after a record-breaking opening day defeat against Bayern München, to the respectability of mid-table by the half-way stage? Bayern put a record nine goals past them on the first evening, but fast forward to matchday four and the Croatian side, on seven points, were in 16th place, ahead of their German nemesis with six. That’s certainly a dynamic shift of fortunes.
Dare we say that the new format even brings a sense of freedom to how teams approach games, untethered by the tight confines of the old group stage? This is a whole new ball game. There is even a sense of mystery as to how much can be read into the standings, as at first glance you don’t know who has played their most difficult games, and who has them still to come.
“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, join the dance.” Those are the prescient words of the philosopher and writer Alan Watts. And though he may not have had the new Champions League table in mind when he wrote them, they are entirely pertinent when it comes to getting our heads round this generational change. The new format was initially tricky to understand, but it soon became clear that this would actually be rather fun. We’ve joined the dance.
Who would have expected Brest, Monaco and Sporting to be jostling for top position at the mid-point of the league phase? Or Dinamo Zagreb to make the equivalent of the El Cap ascent in Yosemite with their climb from rock bottom after a record-breaking opening day defeat against Bayern München, to the respectability of mid-table by the half-way stage? Bayern put a record nine goals past them on the first evening, but fast forward to matchday four and the Croatian side, on seven points, were in 16th place, ahead of their German nemesis with six. That’s certainly a dynamic shift of fortunes.
Dare we say that the new format even brings a sense of freedom to how teams approach games, untethered by the tight confines of the old group stage? This is a whole new ball game. There is even a sense of mystery as to how much can be read into the standings, as at first glance you don’t know who has played their most difficult games, and who has them still to come.
Add to that some pretty big matches right from the start. When Liverpool set foot on the San Siro turf against AC Milan, there were thirteen European Cup triumphs on display. In Manchester we savoured a tense repeat of the 2023 final between Pep Guardiola’s City and Inter Milan. Every round features at least one heavyweight duel or replay of a final; take Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Bayern on day two, a delightful rerun of the 1982 decider (not so pleasant if you hail from Bavaria). And of course AC Milan’s impressive win at champions Real Madrid. There has been individual brilliance blended with nostalgia too. Kenan Yıldız, wearing the Juventus No10 shirt, scored an Alessandro Del Piero-esque goal against PSV on opening night.
The end of each round cues the scramble to look at the freshly-updated, massive table. That did take a few milli-seconds to get used to, but now it’s second nature. CBS regale us with Table Time at the final whistle every evening, when Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards discuss climbers and tumblers. Liverpool have been a fixture in the top spot, but no one expected Brest to be just behind. What a way for the French side to enter Europe’s elite. The standings are mercurial, every shot can change the situation instantly, a third or fourth goal in a victory can have a big impact. The bizarre penalty conceded by Aston Villa in Bruges sent them tumbling five places. Ouch. This is football’s equivalent of snakes and ladders.
Maybe newspaper editors will say the 36-team division is a bit unwieldy; maybe realists will remind us that there is no point in looking at the rankings until after five matches, or that some teams are early high-flyers because they haven’t faced many pot 1 teams; but who wants to be a realist? Let’s enjoy what the new Champions League format is bringing to the table.
“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, join the dance.” Those are the prescient words of the philosopher and writer Alan Watts. And though he may not have had the new Champions League table in mind when he wrote them, they are entirely pertinent when it comes to getting our heads round this generational change. The new format was initially tricky to understand, but it soon became clear that this would actually be rather fun. We’ve joined the dance.
Who would have expected Brest, Monaco and Sporting to be jostling for top position at the mid-point of the league phase? Or Dinamo Zagreb to make the equivalent of the El Cap ascent in Yosemite with their climb from rock bottom after a record-breaking opening day defeat against Bayern München, to the respectability of mid-table by the half-way stage? Bayern put a record nine goals past them on the first evening, but fast forward to matchday four and the Croatian side, on seven points, were in 16th place, ahead of their German nemesis with six. That’s certainly a dynamic shift of fortunes.
Dare we say that the new format even brings a sense of freedom to how teams approach games, untethered by the tight confines of the old group stage? This is a whole new ball game. There is even a sense of mystery as to how much can be read into the standings, as at first glance you don’t know who has played their most difficult games, and who has them still to come.
