Champions League Starts: Traditional Clubs in the Crucibleโ – September 16, 2025
Table of Contents
By alex-carter, Worldโ Today News
Rummenigge Sees “Clear Improvement” in Champions League Format
Former Bayern Munich chairmanโ Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has lauded the new โleague format ofโฃ theโข Champions league, describing it as a “clear improvement” over the previous group stage system. He anticipates that the second iterationโ of the reformed preliminary round will see Europe’s top teams adoptingโ a more focused and aggressive approach.
Rummenigge highlighted the shortcomings of โขthe oldโฃ format, stating, “In the old groupโ phase, everything was frequently enough decidedโค after the fourth matchday. Bayern Munich was regularly through and there where one orโค two meaningless games.” this observation, shared with the German Press Agency, โunderscores the desire for a more consistently engaging competition.
A More competitive Landscape
The inaugural season โคof the new format, which saw Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain among the teams battling for playoffโข positions, provided compellingโข evidence of the system’s enhanced excitement. “The factโ that four top โขteams were in the playoffs at the premiere – Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris โคSaint-Germain – for meโฃ was โproof of how much more exciting โthis systemโข is,” Rummenigge argued.
He emphasized โขthe shift in mindset among the major clubs: “And the big ones understood that โthey have โto goโข full throttle right from the start to โคget in the top eight – because everyone wants that.” FC Bayern, as an example, finished โtwelfth and missed direct qualification โfor the โround of 16 inโ the 2024/25 season.
Learningโฃ Effect and Heightened Fan Engagement
Rummenigge believes that clubs initially approached the โnew format โฃwith a degree of caution. “A year ago aโ lot was still โnew, there areโค some top clubs that โtackled one or the other game a little more loosely. I now expect a clear learning effect,” he stated. This suggests a โคmore intense and strategic approach โคfrom โขteams in subsequent seasons.
Theโฃ new format has alsoโ demonstrably increased fan engagement.โฃ Rummenigge โnoted the heightened emotional investment: โ”For the fans,theโ preliminary roundโฃ is now ‘much more emotional’. You are constantly โฃlooking atโ the cell phone: Where is Bavaria? Where is Real?” Heโฃ concluded by praising UEFA, stating, “The UEFA has succeeded in doing a real coup.”