THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
SPORTS
3B
COMMENTARY
League pits prime soccer clubs against each other
UEFA Champions League features top-notch competition
BY ANDREW WIEBE
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
AWIEBE@KANSAN.COM
For red-blooded Americans, September means the beginning of football's regular season and MLB playoff fever. While most Americans are distracted by the drama and tradition of the fall classic and NFL divisional rivalries, soccer fans across the globe are getting their first taste of what may be
the world's most celebrated professional championship. The competition's name alone conjures images of tradition and exclusiveness, the UEFA Champions League.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, those tuned into football of the international variety found ways to evade work or school obligations to take in the opening group of group play. It was the beginning of a tournament that features competition among 76 of Europe's most successful clubs in nearly every country on the continent. The tournament, which features a preliminary knockout stage, a group stage and finally a 16-team elimination stage, will
ASOCIATED PRES Spanish club Barcelona and one of its stars, Ronaldinho, center, take on the French club Lyon during the first game of the UEFA Champions League, the main event in European soccer. Many of soccer's top-tier clubs face off in the league.
results
UEFA Champions League
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GROUP MATCH
Tuesday Sept. 18
RESULT
A Besiktas (Turkey) at Marselle (France)
A Liverpool (England) at Porto (Portugal)
B Rosenborg (Norway) at Chelsea (England)
B Valencia (Spain) at Schalke (Germany)
C Bremen (Germany) at Real Madrid (Spain)
C Lazio (Italy) at Olympiacos (Greece)
D Benfica (Portugal) at Milan (Italy)
D Celtic (Scotland) at Shakhtar (Ukraine)
Marseille, 2-0
1-1
1-1
Valencia, 1-0
Real Madrid, 2-1
1-1
Milan, 2-1
Shakhtar, 2-0
Wednesday Sept. 19
E Stuttgart (Germany) at Rangers (Scotland)
E Barcelona (Spain) at Lyon (France)
E Dynamo Kiví (Ukraine) at Roma (Italy)
F Manchester United (England) at Sporting (Portugal)
G CSKA Moskva (Russia) at PSV (Holland)
G Internazionale (Italy) at Fenerbahce (Turkey)
Rangers, 2-1
BARCELONA, 3-0
Roma, 2-4
Manchester
United, 1-0
PSV, 2-1
Internazionale,
1-0
H Sevilla (Spain) at Arsenal (England) Arsenal, 3-0
H Steaua (Romania) at Slavia (Czech Republic) Slavia, 2-1
culminate in a spectacular final in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on May 21.
My love affair with soccer was re-ignited during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but it wasn't until I found the Champions League that obsession began to take hold. Imagine a tournament that supplies dream match-ups on a yearly basis. Think March Madness over the course of nine months, only played on the sport's most hallowed grounds and with an international flavor.
Pomp and ceremony coupled with an eerie anthem played before and after each match gives the impression of witnessing a religious ceremony, and in a way, it is. Soccer is called "the world game" because it's the most beloved and followed game in the world. Last May's final between Liverpool and AC Milan in Istanbul was broadcast to 1.2 billion people around the world. That's one-fifth of Earth's total population who watched a soccer match. To put that in perspective, 93.2 million people watched last February's Super Bowl between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears. Let that sink in.
Tuesday and Wednesday's group
beautiful game. Some will find their initial prejudice justified, but those with open minds will discover a sporting event that rivals any in the world. Be certain it is not Major League Soccer. Give the Champions League a chance, and you may find your impressions of soccer misplaced.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Presented by:
Major Andrew Harvey
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
7:30 PM, Simons Media Room
ROBERT J. DOLE
INSTITUTE OF POLITICS
The University of Kansas
www.doleinstitute.org
Can't bring yourself to broaden your sporting horizons? Odds are you've been listening to far too much Jim Rome.
But by no means is the Champions League, or soccer in general, for everyone. Many are content limiting themselves to NFL action on Sundays, college football on Saturdays and Major League Baseball smattered in between. I'm not asking anyone to abandon those time-honored fixtures of American life. I haven't. Supplement them with the competition that has no American contemporary.
impossible match-ups make it a soccer fan's ultimate fantasy.
Europe is the centerpiece of professional soccer, and the Champions League is the crown jewel of its competitions. The most skilled players in the world — the likes of Kaka, Steven Gerrard, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo — compete on a stage that rivals the World Cup for international coverage and interest. Picture the Yankees and Red Sox facing off in every game for nine months straight. The level of play, quality of participants and normally
So when next Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon rolls around, consider spending an hour or two familiarizing yourself with the
stage included soccer royalty such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Lyon, Celtic, Liverpool and AC Milan. That's enough to make any soccer fan's mouth water.
Edited by Luke Morris