Created in 1956, the European Cup was not interrupted by the World Wars that stopped the Olympic Games or the World Cup. It was a tournament of the new order, of the Cold War, designed by a UEFA that did not escape the tensions of the time, subsequent territorial conflicts, such as the Balkan war, and even the outbreaks of violence that caused the suspension of English clubs. Never, however, did she interrupt the operation of her franchise tournament due to a global threat. The Covid-19 was the first, but the body adapted to design its own wartime Champions, with another format and its protagonists stuck in a bunker. Everyone except the spectators.

Lisbon was the place chosen due to the least impact of the pandemic in Portugal, although a month ago there were confinements of neighborhoods in the Portuguese capital due to outbreaks. No one is safe, but football, which is also an industry, not so the fans, continues, even despite positive results in several teams, the last two in one of the contenders, Atlético de Madrid. The final to eight, a single game from the quarters and without an audience, opens the range of possibilities, because the circumstances weigh as much as the state of form. As in the domestic leagues, it may not be the best who wins, but the best suited.

Talking about favorites is therefore more difficult than ever. Among the eight teams, only two champions of the tournament (Bayern and Barcelona), without the winner of the last edition (Liverpool), nor the record club of the Champions (Real Madrid). Bayern arrives with its heraldry and stamp, but, despite its European tradition and having the best gunner of the tournament, Lewandowski , the references obtained in the Bundesliga must be taken with measure. Barça is Messi , which is not small, but it is not what it was before.

PSG adds unknowns to unknowns, given their prolonged inactivity after the French league was suspended in the midst of a pandemic, so Manchester City and Atlético are the most reliable of the applicants, the ones who most respond to what they are. They have also eliminated the last two champions (Liverpool and Real Madrid). The variable of contagions that altered the trip of the rojiblanca expedition should not be a problem for Simeone's mentalization work . You can even convert it to increase compression, the Thermopylae myth that works so well for you: against everything and everyone. Atlético is more Athletic in adverse circumstances.

Game by game makes more sense than ever in Lisbon, since this is like a World Cup, you directly fight the KO. If the illustrious ones look at each other a lot, they will be wrong, because an interesting wind blows in the Lisbon bunker, that of offensive teams like Atalanta or Leipzig, dangerous if they enter their game in waves. The Italians open the tournament today, against PSG.

Other enemies of football

UEFA had never had to make such a drastic decision as to suspend a tournament, in this case the European Championship , postponed to 2021. With good judgment, the organization assumed this sacrifice to give space to the leagues and the Champions League, key to the support of the clubs, which live off their television rights. The final, scheduled in Istanbul , was also moved to next year's edition, and a place was sought to encapsulate an express Champions. Creating a bubble is the safest system, as the ACB or the NBA itself has shown, contrary to what happened in the leagues, with isolated positives.

The clubs and the organization lose money, by reducing the rights due to the reduction of matches and not having the income from the box office, in addition to the losses in 'merchandising'. Not playing, however, would have bankrupted several teams and led to a sponsorship withdrawal for the future. It was important to save this Champions League and it is even more important to guarantee the next one, with a roadmap scheduled to start in mid-October, if the coronavirus does not prevent it.

This invisible enemy may not be the worst football has faced in its history, but it is the most complex, in the same way that the economy, prey to the crisis and the volatility of the markets, or politics, made a circus. UEFA has known others, from boycotts such as that of the Franco regime to the tie that Spain had to play in Soviet territory, in the first European Championship (1960), to the violence of the hooligans that led to the suspension of English clubs after Heysel (1985 ), or that of the former Yugoslavia for the 1992 Eurocup and the Serbian clubs, for the Balkan war, a year after the Red Star of Belgrade won the last European Cup (1991). Thirty years later, with another name and another dimension, the Champions League is the hope of football and Lisbon its depository, its fortress city in times of war.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

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