>Real Madrid needing to win it again to reclaim their Honour and make history >PSG destroying everyone in their path >Chelsea and Manchester United back into the mix, with both clubs led by Conte and Mou >Manchester City undergoing a Renaissance under Guardiola >a refreshed and upgraded Barcelona with a motivated Messi >Bayern regaining faith under Heynckes >Tottenham shocking everyone with their domination of Madrid
Admit it, this has been the most interesting Champions League season in a long while and we aren't even in the knockout stages yet
Zachary Scott
>united back into the mix Hahahahhahahahaha
Lucas Collins
>forgetting punished Liverpool, a team deprived of titles and a defence
Charles Bailey
them too and Juventus probably wants redemption as well
Cooper Miller
>Admit it
go back to facebook football memes.
Camden Butler
>Halal and Honour in the very same sentence
Jeremiah Davis
kek
John Hughes
>EPLel teams >CL contenders pick 1
Jace Hall
they have the potential desu especially when its Mou and Guardiola managing them
Elijah Baker
You forgot something OP
Jackson Allen
group stage is always boring af cause theres too many shitters
Samuel Collins
>poop will fail to defend properly >mouyes will fail to score a necessary goal this is how they will be kicked out of CL this season
William Morgan
They are living in the past. They don't care about titles.
Henry Davis
i know but come on, at least give them a chance to prove us wrong
Xavier Long
>Beşiktaş being this season's dark horse
Nicholas Campbell
Why do JFs fawn over the CL so much?
Jacob Barnes
UCL season 2016/17, compared with season 2017/18 looks like UEL.
Daniel Gomez
>I would rather have my team win eplel than cl
Ian Parker
Yes, it has been the most interesting. The English teams are 'back' and a lot of the dominant teams from the last few years have been faltering. Barcelona look pretty shit on paper but have been doing well and PSG look good but still have to prove they can do it against a big team in the knock-out stages.
Jaxson Anderson
Why do Brits pretend to not care about it, fox and grapes?
Lincoln Lopez
>Chelsea and Manchester United back into the mix, with both clubs led by Conte and Mou They're working together?
Benjamin Thompson
Let's be real, only the usual 3 plus PSG and maaaybe City have a chance
Jacob Lopez
well, duh
Christian Jenkins
>PSG knocks out Barcelona early >City annihilates Bayern Munich or Real Madrid
wishful thinking?
Asher Ward
>Flip OP >Manchester United back into the mix
Cooper Baker
fpbp
Dylan Cooper
d-don't bully me
David Lopez
Final will be PSG vs. City. Cap this.
Carter Davis
>thinking yesterday's result matters
Jackson Perez
In the end it will be some meme underachiever like AS Roma or Liverpool
Easton Long
>10 goal thriller I don't mind
James Cooper
It looks promising but in the end it will be Real/Bayern/PSG/??? in the semifinals.
Michael Lopez
It's been the shitest.
And the season starts with the playoffs, that's when things get real, the group stage is for the showbusiness.
Bentley Thompson
Because this was the attitude, for a generation. From the mid 70s to the early 80s, English teams dominated the CL. Then English teams got banned until 1991, so naturally the attitude was that we would still be winning it if an old Belgian wall had resisted a scouser assault. So that's ~15 years of thinking "were the best, who cares about anyone else".
The early 90s also coincides with the end of the cold war, and the independence of almost 20 new countries in Europe. So now English teams can play again, and they're going to some place that used to be Russia that no one has ever heard of, and people didn't take it seriously. Due to the massive reformatting of European borders, there was also a reformatting and rebranding of the CL; it's now the "Champions League" instead of the European cup, stars were added everywhere, some gaudy opera song accompanied matches, the inclusion of a group stage to handle all the new national champions, etc.. It was a time when the history was severed, and the new way always lacks the lustre of tradition. It also coincides with Manchester United's total dominance of English football. So while Man Utd probably had their sights set on the CL, most teams, and most supporters had their eyes set on Man Utd. The mid-90s for a non-Man Utd fan was just "Man Utd went to some country to play some kind of mid-season friendly, and we hope they lose".
In the 50s and 60s, top managers and clubs in England were dead-set on winning the European Cup. Maybe a coincidence, but England's only national trophy comes during this period of humbleness, and viewing Europe as the ultimate goal to conquer. Then came a period of dominance, and English chauvinism and complacency came, from 1976-~1991. Then the new Champions League gets off to a slow start regarding interest. man Utd goes away, and who cares. We just want to kill Man Utd. Winning a trophy in Europe against Dynamo Zyblyscech won't change the fact that Man Utd are champions.
Nicholas Gonzalez
I want to say it was 1999 until people finally gave a shit about the Champions League, but I don't think so. I think it was when Liverpool won in 2005 that people began caring. But it was still seen as not as important as the Premier League, because Liverpool were heralded as the best team in Europe (but not the best team in England). In the next four years, English teams lost in the final of the CL. This is the point when each major team got humbled; Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd, and Chelsea. Then came a period (now) when English teams were just bad in the CL. That's when people woke up to the fact that maybe (just maybe) the Premier League isn't the best after all.
There's also the cultural disconnect British people feel towards everyone else. It's the island mentality. There's a very famous headline from a newspaper (I think in the 1930s), it reads: "FOG IN CHANNEL - CONTINENT CUT OFF". The implication is that mainland Europe needs Britain, not the other way around. I wish I could go into it more, but there are whole books that detail this attitude, but I think even they won't be able to properly explain it.
tl;dr: British people really didn't give a shit about the CL, and this is still common.
Daniel Powell
>Real Madrid average >Atletico Madrid shit >Barcelona completely dependent on Messi to do anything No wonder you think it's shit.
Angel Sanders
>Winning a trophy in Europe against Dynamo Zyblyscech
Except that Eastern European clubs were far more competitive in the pre-CL era and Man Utd and by extensión every english club was absolute and obsolete laughing stock by the time the CL and Ac.Milan, Ajax, OM, and so on came around. Even fucking Red Star Belgrade was miles ahead of them in football terms.
Robert Walker
>tl;dr: British people really didn't give a shit about the CL, and this is still common.
Nope Was a nice essay you wrote though
Luis James
Besiktas-City final desu
Noah Rodriguez
Caring most about the CL to caring the least raking
Liverpool > Man United = Chelsea > City > Tottenham > Arsenal
Gabriel Sanchez
100% going to draw either Bayern or Real Also do you know why no away fans are allowed into the stadium against Leipzig?
Kevin Davis
There's no way that liverpool care more about the CL than United. City also have something to prove this year with the billion dollars spent since pep came on board. Arsenal cares immensely but are a meme now. I'm not convinced that chelsea give a shit at all.
United>City>Liverpool>Arsenal>Tottenham>Chelsea
Joseph Adams
I wonder if there was a reason for this. Oh wait, UEFA banned English teams for winning it every year
Samuel Davis
>Manchester United back into the mix
Stopped reading here. They are literally Arsenal tier.
Nolan Carter
It does look interesting, I'll admit. I feel like Real and Barca could get knocked out early on this year
Brody Davis
If PSG don't win then they completely failed.
After so much money on Neymar and Mbappe anything but a win would be a complete failure.
Jason Hill
dumb frogposter
Noah Bennett
Same could be said about City.
Owen Gomez
Lets rank the CL teams in the knock out stage (based on performance to date):
PSG City Barca Chelsea Tottenham Real Madrid Bayern United Roma Athletico Juve Napoli Liverpool Basel Besiktas RB Leipzig
Ethan Lee
City didn't spend more than a quarter of a billion on a singe player.
Mason Green
Is this your list? Cuz it's shit
Nathaniel Morgan
Madrid/barca/psg/bayern wins lol
Blake Green
It's not completely fair to say that about a cup competition, anything can happen and you don't really get a chance to redeem yourself like in a league. We could be sitting in a world where Chelsea have two Champions League titles if John Terry didn't miss his penalty in Moscow for example.
Brayden Gray
neither did PSG...LOL neymar paid his own release clause. PSG just accepted his services and pay his wages.
Evan Ward
It is unironically the correct order
Ryder Bell
We already did history winning 2 consecutive CLs.
Samuel Evans
a threepeat is more memorable
Evan Jackson
>portugal talks about raking >suddenly a leaf appears hmm
Tyler Cooper
PSG, City, Barca and Real are the only teams that can win the CL this season. The rest are not good enough or don't have the experience.
Liam Evans
>thinking any of your results matter Mickey mouse group with Basel, benficucks and cska lmao
Gabriel Murphy
holy shit this makes tones of sense nice post
Matthew Clark
>leaf oppinions Porto is ahead of east germany sports drink fc in the group and will play the already eliminated team at home also the rest of your list is shit
Ryder Murphy
bump
Gabriel Morales
Except winning tournaments, of any kind, is a lot easier than winning a league. Wigan won the FA Cup in 2013. Does that make them the best side in England during 2012-2013? Potentially, but unlikely considering they were relegated. Chelsea won the CL in 2012. Did that mean they were the best side in Europe during 2011-2012? Potentially, but they also finished 6th in the league, so Chelsea were the best side in Europe except for the other 5 teams above them. Portugal won the last Euros, now count how many matches they won in normal time. It carries on like that because they're both completely different formats. If PSG spend more than City, while playing in a literal Sunday League team, then don't be surprised when they're players look fully fit for their CL match 4 days later. It's possible to do that if your league has no competition and your club routinely spends hundreds of millions. Do you think it's just pure coincidence that the only teams who are put forward as favourites to win the CL from the continent are the same ones who are almost guaranteed to win their domestic league even though they aren't the only teams from their domestic league taking part? Look, I've read the IQ charts, there's literally no way such a fucking brainlet is Hong Kongnese.
Robert Bailey
Final 8: Barça, Real, City, Utd, Chelsea, PSG, Porto, Bayern Final 4: PSG, Porto, Real, City Winner: Porto
Screencap this. My uncle is a shaman with medium powers.
Colton Adams
Monaco haven't lost away this CL season tbhonest
Sebastian Clark
>upgraded Barcelona
replacing Neymar with Deulofailu Suarez is DONE Iniesta is 40
Alexander Hill
Neither did Besiktas
James Morris
SHUT UP OKAY
Jacob Jones
>why do fans care about a tournament that pits the best teams in Europe (the world, really) against each other
Leo Cruz
kek
Grayson Ward
only medium?
Michael Richardson
Don't you joke with those things, Fucile
DON'T YOU SAY THOSE THINGS UNLESS THEY ARE TRUE
Andrew Butler
are you the only porto fan in sp
Levi Price
naw I'm the only Canadian one though ;_;
Carson Turner
is canada really full of flips and pakis
Aaron James
Because Lyon fans chimped out last season but somehow we were the ones to blame
Samuel Reed
Aw. Also every single passport is controlled at entry so the stadium stays fully roach-free.
Wyatt Scott
fpbp
Adam Hill
1. Man City 34pts 2. Man Utd 26 pts 3. Some whatever shitter
The """""""""high competitivity""""""""" of the English Premier Lel.
For comparison;
1. El Farsa 34 (ref awarded) pts 2. Valencia 30pts
1. PSG 35pts 2. Monaco 29pts
1. Napoli 35pts 2. Inter 33pts
1. Bayern Munich 29pts 2. Schalke 23pts
Eli Price
This
They've got a few results but their performances have been very underwhelming
John Nelson
JF?
Evan Thomas
>qualification and group stages designed to prevent most major upset >moneyteams steamrolling cannon fodder for 70% of the matches >knockout stage is fully governed by refball
kids these days are so impressionable, they eat up whatever shit is served and cheer for it