A Champions League of Equals?
Manchester United v Celtic Result Reveals Gulf In Quality
Oct 28, 2008
There are a number of reasons why Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League for the third time last May, but surely financial muscle is the main reason. Ironically the Roman Abramovich funded Chelsea XI were the vanquished party in that Moscow success for the Red Devils; however Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday 21st October provided the setting to remind football fans across Britain, indeed the world, that the gulf between rich and poor in football circles is becoming even more pronounced as time passes. But why?
Television Revenue
Shunsuke Nakamura's stunning free kick in November 2006 rocked Manchester United, it was a victory for the SPL David over the premiership Goliath. Scottish football was justifiably proud of Celtic's achievement in defeating Manchester United. Two years on, the vast difference in revenue accrued from domestic and UEFA competition television rights has enabled the likes of the Manchester reds to go wildly beyond the Glaswegian hoops and other teams from smaller leagues.
While Manchester United were splashing out £30 Million to acquire Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur in the Summer transfer window, Celtic paid a fraction of this fee to United's city rivals for the acquisition of Giorgios Samaras. This episode illustrated the difference between cash-rich and cash-poor clubs, which has been embellished by the amount that clubs in the English Premiership and Spanish La Liga receive from television companies such as Sky.
Weekly Opposition
Whilst Celtic play four crucial Old Firm derby games each season, the English Premier League remains one of the strongest leagues in World Soccer. It is undeniably on a par with Serie A, the Bundesliga and La Liga, and money attracts the world's greatest superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres. This ultimately enhances the standard of the entire league, with even so-called lesser teams such as newly-promoted Hull City signing the Brazilian superstar Geovanni.
The Scottish Premier League doesn't have the same pedigree of player at present, and without the finances to sustain superstar wages, and this looks to be a longer-term reality due to the 'credit crunch' which is affecting football as well as the rest of society. Rumour has it that even the Chelsea striker Robinho is not immune from the 'Credit Crunch' , as weekend reports in the print media suggest that during a recent shopping trip he applied for a store card in a well-known designer clothes house to obtain 50% discount on his purchases!
Hope for Smaller Clubs?
Celtic are undoubtedly a very large fish in a small pond (the SPL) but the Champions League is a bridge too far in the current climate of football. The UEFA Cup will offer the Glaswegian side the opportunity to rebuild their reputation which has been enhanced by Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan. Celtic's plight so far this season has been replicated across the board in the Champions League thus far, with teams of a similar nature such as Porto and PSV Eindhoven struggling to make an impact. Until the gap between rich and poor shortens this will remain the case.
