EXPLAINED: UEFA champions league underway in europe
While most Americans are worried about the upcoming NBA playoffs or the NFL scouting combine, most of the world is focused on soccer. The UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League competitions are underway.
To most Americans, UEFA is just a funny sounding word. It actually is the acronym for the Union of European Football Associations. UEFA is the organization that regulates and oversees the Europe-wide soccer competitions held each year – the biggest of these being the Champions League and the Cup.
The UEFA Champions League pits 32 of Europe’s best club soccer teams against each other to determine the best club soccer team in Europe. The Champions League trophy is one of the most prestigious trophies in club soccer.
Sixteen teams qualify directly for the Champions League, while others teams battle it out in three qualifying rounds to get the other 16 teams. Then the teams are put into eight groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group move on to the next round, and the team that finishes third is put into the UEFA Cup.
The sixteen teams that are left play a home and an away match, and the team with the most goals scored in the games moves on to the next round.
Eventually, the field is narrowed down to two teams, who compete in the biggest match in European club soccer – the Champions League finals. This match is held in mid-May at a stadium chosen two years in advance.
Last year, F.C. Barcelona from Spain won the final. Another Spanish team, Real Madrid has won the most Champions League finals with nine.
The UEFA Cup is less important than the Champions League but is still a very important part of club soccer in Europe.
Eighty teams start out in the first qualifying round of the Cup. After the first round, that number is cut in half, leaving 40 teams. Like in the Champions League, these 40 survivors are put into eight groups of five teams.
The group stage is different from the Champions League, though. Each team plays two home and two away games in a round-robin format. The top three teams in each group advance, where they get put with the eight third-place teams from the Champions League.
These 32 teams then play in the knockout stage, which mimics the Champions League format where the teams play a home and away game.
This year, the UEFA Cup final will be played on May 16 in Glasgow, Scotland. Last year, Spain’s Sevilla F.C. won the Cup for the first time in its history.
The winners of the UEFA Champions League and Cup then square off in one match called the European Super Cup. Last year, Sevilla F.C. beat F.C. Barcelona.