This coming Saturday, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will face off in Lisbon for the right to lift the trophy above on the right, the Champions League. It is the the greatest honor in all of club football, recognition that your team is Europe's best and in the same vein, is the best team in the world. However, this comes into conflict with the message sent by the World Cup, that its winner is the greatest team in the world. In fact, it is now a reasonable debate as to whether the Champions League has eclipsed the World Cup in terms of significance. The answer to this question is not entirely clear, while the Champions League is certainly a large achievement, does it really carry the same or greater weight than the World Cup? Let's take it to some analysis:
1.) Champions League has a better pool of teams and players
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| The World Cup is missing one of the world's best attacking pairs |
The truth about a national team is that each side is limited in terms of the players that they can field. For example, a team like Sweden can't just go out and buy a new left back to shore up a weakness. For the most part, national teams are stuck with the players they have and there isn't much they can do about it. The quality of teams in the Champions League is certainly higher as there are several players who aren't making appearances at this World Cup, more teams means that more players can get in, especially ones who come from sides like Wales, Armenia, Sweden, or Austria. This year's World Cup will be missing the likes of Gareth Bale, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Alaba, Aaron Ramsey, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Like the World Cup, the Champions League does have its pecking order of teams, however, the gap between the best team and the worst team is not nearly as large as it is between say Spain and Iran. So yes, the Champions League has a stronger talent pool.
2.) More attacking football
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| UCL play is more free flowing than international play |
The problem that comes with single-elimination games after the group stage is that it forces teams to play defensively. The World Cup is a different stage altogether because of this, both teams are afraid of making the first mistake. This doesn't mean that some teams won't attack, teams like Germany will obviously come out on the front foot in most games. However, the fear of pressing too high up the pitch is present for every team. The Champions League features two-legs fixtures after the group stages up until the final which puts more of an emphasis on attacking first making for more entertaining games. Of course, this doesn't mean that some teams won't play defensively (ahem, Chelsea) but attacking football is more of the trend in UCL play.
3.) However, what the World Cup misses in quality it makes up for with passion
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| World Cup is an entirely different animal |
So yes, perhaps the quality of football is better in club play, however, it misses the key ingredient of passion that makes world football so wonderful. It is easy to get behind a club team, you pick them based on players or maybe you're just a front runner. Perhaps you just like their uniforms or think Cristiano Ronaldo is really hot. National teams are different, you can't just switch allegiances on a whim. Being American I'm not unused to feeling a little insecure about the US's position in world football, doesn't mean I'm not going to cheer for them with everything I have. You may be a Real Madrid fan, a Bayern Munich fan, a Liverpool fan, a Benfica fan, but you're also Spanish, British, German, or Belgian. Club allegiances may change but national pride never dies. The World Cup brings countries together, solves feuds, and has each nation's fans cheering as loud as they can in the stands. You can see it in the players as well, it is an honor to represent your country and to win the World Cup for your country. In that sense it is on a different level than the Champions League. Many players have passion for their clubs but it will always be eclipsed by the passion they feel for their country.
4.) The world's game, not just Europe
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| The World Cup turns even the US into a soccer nation |
The Champions League has the world's best players and the best teams, this is true. However, it is not the world spectacle that the World Cup is. The World Cup final still attracts more viewers worldwide than the UCL. The World Cup is more likely to attract the casual football fan than the UCL because once again it is about national pride rather than club pride. Even a country like the US in which football plays second fiddle to the NFL and the other major sports, the US is able to get behind its national team. For a few weeks in the summer, the whole world is football crazed.
5.) So which is actually the bigger trophy to win?
The Champions League trophy is probably the bigger accomplishment nowadays. A higher level of competition and a longer road to the cup make the UCL a tougher competition all around. However, the World Cup will always mean more to the players and the fans. Score the winning goal in a World Cup final and you'll be a national hero like Andres Iniesta. It is not a stretch to think that the World Cup is a bigger dream for fans and players alike. It only comes around every 4 years, that span of time makes the trophy that much more elusive. The Champions League is there every year, the list of great players who never won a World Cup is likely longer than those who didn't win the UCL. It is that elusiveness that will forever make the World Cup the preeminent trophy to win.
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