UEFA has 55 member national associations. Some of them are not sovereign nations, such as Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands, while sovereign states such as Monaco and Vatican City are not represented. Some, such as Kazakhstan, are not geographically identified as components of Europe. For some people, it’s like Australia participating in Eurovision. . .
Imagine if all 50 U. S. states, as well as territories like Guam and Puerto Rico, had their own governing bodies deciding how their multi-tiered soccer leagues operate. That’s European football.
So how are leagues structured?
With the exception of the small Alpine country of Liechtenstein, all UEFA members run their own national championship system. This is called a “pyramid,” with a first national department at the top. Underneath, as the pyramid expands, is where things unfold. Differ. Depending on the length of the population and the number of clubs, the departments will remain national or eventually split to become regional. This creates the shape of the pyramid in a diagram.
Focusing on the first tier, the most common format is where each team plays the other two days, once at home and once away, from autumn to spring. Others, in colder climates, can be played in a single calendar year or gain advantages from a long winter vacation to gambling in icy conditions. In any case, it’s 3 problems to win, one to draw, and the team with the most problems after all the games is the champion.
When it comes to groups tied on points, leagues set criteria to determine who is at the top. The first of these is the one with the highest goal difference (goals scored minus goals conceded) during the season, followed by goals scored, etc. . Some leagues, however, use head-to-head head-to-head head-to-head history between rival groups as the first criterion after points, adding goals, before proceeding with other statistics covering the entire season. We know that they go all the way. the team with the fewest yellow cards. If necessary, the groups can also be separated by another single match, a coin toss, or a draw.
What can be thought of as the “regular season” in the United States is simply “the season” in Europe’s top leagues. For them, any reference to the “play-offs” is usually akin to promotion and relegation (more on this later). ).
In the Bundesliga, 18 teams each play a total of 34 matches (two against each team, one home and one away) in a random order explained through the match schedule. The English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1 (the other leagues of Europe’s “big five”) are made up of 20 groups, covering a total of 38 rounds.
However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Scotland, for example, has 3 games in their “regular season”. Since the Scottish Premiership is made up of only 12 teams, the first 22 rounds see them play the same old two-legged match against others. They then face others for a third time, at home or away, depending on the draw.
After all 33 matches have been played, the league is divided into two halves of six groups. Each club will play five more matches against the other groups on their side. The team that finishes with the most problems returns to the champion, but the groups cannot leave their place in the table. This may lead to a scenario where seventh place may have more problems than sixth at the end of 38 games.
What to watch: Promotions, relegations in 2016/17
Things are even more complex in Belgium. After 30 rounds of matches in the 16-team league, the six most sensible advance to the championship play-offs. Their normal problems of the season are cut in half when they start a new mini-league, bookmaker. and away, against each other, for the champion and for European qualification.
The seventh- to twelfth-place groups participate in the European play-offs, with the winner facing the fourth-placed team in the championship play-offs to advance to the continental competition. The bottom four are in the relegation play-offs. The bottom two go down, and the third then plays the playoff against the winner of the second division promotion play-off.
The thing is, the league can do things the way it sees fit.
What is promotion and descent?
However, the difference between American football and Major League Soccer is the promotion and relegation system.
In Europe, groups move between the grades of the pyramid at the end of each season. This means that a set number of clubs at the back of a department (in the lowest league) will fall into the back league. The teams that finish in the most sensible of all the leagues (the first position) will move on to the next level.
It’s not surprising, however, that things aren’t so undeniable and rarely uniform across leagues and countries. For example, the Bundesliga has two automatic promotion and relegation places. The two most sensible groups at the end of the Bundesliga 2 crusade update, the last two from the Bundesliga.
There is still one position that is not automatic. Since 2008, the third-placed team in the Bundesliga has faced the third-placed team in Bundesliga 2 in a two-legged play-off. The winner played in the Bundesliga the following year. A similar practice is used in France’s Ligue 1: the third team from behind will face the winner of a play-off series between the third to fifth groups of Ligue 2.
In the rest of Europe’s “big five”, another method is used. In the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, the bottom three groups are automatically relegated, but in the lower league there are only two automatic promotion places: Championship, Second Division and Serie B respectively.
In England, the third team in the Second Division Championship plays the sixth while the fourth plays the fifth at home and away from the semi-finals, before a single final at Wembley against the third-promoted team. In Spain, the semi-finals and final consist of two legs.
In Italy, groups 3 to 8 of Serie B participate in the play-offs. The 5 plays the 8 and the 6 hosts the 7 in a round. The winners then face a home-and-away clash with third or fourth place, and the winners of those semi-finals play out a home-and-away final.
Similar patterns can be discovered across the continent, with the play-offs considered the highlights of the end of the season before the summer break.
Are the cups connected to the leagues?
While the MLS Cup is what decides the league champion at the end of the regular season and playoffs, the European Cup competitions have nothing to do with the domestic leagues.
A league’s participation limit in a cup is at what level certain teams participate in the draw or who they can play against.
National cups are basically organized through the national association, which nowadays tends not to run the major national leagues. In Germany, for example, the DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) controls the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, while the DFB (Deutsche Fußball Liga) controls the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Fußball-Bund (German Football Association) organises the third national department and cup: the DFB Cup (DFB-Pokal). Below the third level, regional federations organize leagues under the auspices of the DFB.
The national cup enjoys great prestige for the groups and has been around longer than the league system. Cups are normally knockout tournaments that are played for one or two matches and culminate in a final at the end of the season. Winners are also rewarded with a European qualification if they haven’t already secured it through their league position (more on this later).
It is said that a team that wins the first division and the cup of its country has achieved the national double. In Germany this has happened 17 times, with Bayern Munich achieving a league and cup double on thirteen occasions. Three trophies correspond to a triple, 4 to a quadruple and so on.
There are also secondary cups. A league cup, organized through the league association, was once common, but it’s starting to go out of style. From 2020/21, England will be the only country in the top five to still hold a league cup.
There are also cups reserved for teams outside the upper divisions, or regional cups, intended for non-professional clubs. Eligibility for these competitions is as closely related as leagues are to top cups.
And a special mention once back in Liechtenstein. Although its groups participate in the Swiss league system, it has its own national cup, allowing clubs from one of the world’s two landlocked countries to participate in the Europa League under their national flag. .
Monaco is an independent country but, due to its size, it does not have a domestic league or a professional cup. This means that the club evolves within the French formula and represents France in Europe.
How does the European qualification work?
“Europe Qualifier” may appear when you’re already playing in Europe. It’s about being able to participate in one of the continental club competitions organised through UEFA. This does not come with the European Championship, known as Euro, which is reserved for national teams.
Lately there are 3 European competitions: the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League.
This deserves not to be with a national pyramid structure. There is no promotion or relegation between those leagues. The participation is based on the team’s functionality last season.
Qualification for these competitions is basically decided through the positions in the national leagues, the domestic cups also regularly offer a direction to Europe. However, this all depends on a country’s UEFA coefficient.
This is a ranking based on the clubs’ performance in the league in European competitions over a given period of time. The higher a league is ranked, the more positions it has for the European rankings.
Some of these tests give organizations the right to participate directly in the festival, starting in the organization phase. Others still have to go through a qualifying phase, comprising up to five rounds, to get through this phase. Thus, to qualify for Europe means to qualify for the possibility of qualifying for Europe.
The Champions League regulations will be replaced in 2024 with the arrival of a new format and the expansion of the competition.
The general rule is that defending champions and former Europa League winners are joined by the champions of the top 10 ranked countries, the six finalists of the top six and the third-placed teams of the top five. as well as the groups ranked fourth. groups among the four most sensible. Two additional places will also be awarded to associations with last season’s coefficients, meaning the Bundesliga could have only five groups in the Champions League if its clubs had smart effects last year.
If the champions of the two European competitions already qualify thanks to their position in the league, this opens up the possibility of another club in the league getting automatic entry.
The rest of the equivalent places are made up of groups that have passed the qualification process.
In the first round, the 30 champions of the associations ranked 25-55 (with the exception of Liechtenstein, without a championship) play. The 15 winners are joined by the nine champions of matches 15-24 (currently Russia through suspension) in the “champions’ path”, and then the six finalists of the 10-15 matches of the “league path”.
The twelve winners of the Champions Path advance to the third round, while the 3 winners of the league path are joined by the 3 runners-up from Conferences 7 to 9, the third team from Conference 6, and the fourth-placed team from Conference 5.
The six winners of the Champions Path will play in the play-offs, in addition to the 4 champions of Associations 11 to 14, and the winners will advance to the organization phase. Just like the 4 winners of the league course.
What is the impact of the European rating in Germany?
Since the Bundesliga is currently among the top four European leagues, German clubs that finish in the top four can overcome an arduous qualification process by advancing directly to the organizational stage.
Winning a domestic cup doesn’t give you a position in the Champions League, but it’s a way to succeed in the Europa League, formerly known as the UEFA Cup.
An equally lengthy qualification process is also required, consisting of a combination of cup winners from lower-ranked countries, who finish between second and sixth in their domestic league (according to the association’s ranking) and are eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers.
In the Bundesliga, however, fifth place will go through to the organisational standings along with the DFB Cup winners, while sixth place will progress to Conference League qualifying. This means that the Bundesliga does not get its fifth place in the Champions League.
If the winner of the DFB Cup finishes fifth or better in the Bundesliga, the sixth team will qualify for the Europa League and the seventh team will qualify for the Conference League.
This is a confusing procedure for teams playing in lower leagues, but simple for those in the Bundesliga due to the league’s top position on the continent.
What is a cup?
So there are leagues, cups, Champions Leagues, Europa Leagues, Conference Leagues. . . but what about a super cup, also spelled as “Supercopa”?
There are national and continental cups.
For the latter, it was an exclusive duel on impartial ground between the previous Champions League and Europa League champions, played at the start of the following season. It should be noted that the winner of the Champions League represents Europe at the FIFA Club. World Cup regardless of the outcome of the UEFA Super Cup.
At the national level, not all countries host some form of super cup, but it is played between the winners of the league and the cup. In Germany, DFB Cup winners historically host the Bundesliga champions in the Super Cup the week before the competition. Start of the big season. In case a team wins both, the Bundesliga finalists are the next to compete.
Watch: Highlights from Dortmund’s opening match of the 2019 season: Dortmund-Bayern
The same happens in England, with the Community Shield played at Wembley between the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners in August.
In Italy, the Italian Super Cup is now held regularly and features the cup runner-up on the occasion of a domestic double. It is played the week before the new season or in December/January, depending on your location.
Spain in the past celebrated their Super Cup in two matches. After a year of single-match matches on neutral grounds, they brought in a new format with four teams playing one-way semi-finals and a final featuring the Copa del Rey finalists and the next two highest-ranked teams in the league.
In general, as in Europe, things differ from country to country. The principle remains the same, with national titles and European qualification at stake. However, knowing how groups do in an express country requires a bit of research. .
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