DaPrince84
27 Jan 2009, 03:03 PM
While there is a bunch of money to be made in this competition, and the chance for the very best to compete, it also means the elite clubs are the primary beneficiaries. When looking at the 25 wealthiest clubs in the world for 2007, eight of the 11 clubs have played in Champions League Final, and seven of the Champions League winners have come out of this group. In fact, during the Champions League era, only Marseille (1993 winners), Borussia Dortmund (1996), Ajax (1995 winners and 1996 finalist), and Porto and Monaco (2004 winners and finalist respectively) have won or competed in the final of the Champions League while not being in the list of the top 10 wealthiest clubs list. No club has taken as big of a hit as Ajax.
The 1994/1995 club is regarded as one of the best teams ever. Superstar players like Kanu, Edgar Davids, Marc Overmars, Clarence Seedorf, all setting up goals for Patrick Kluivert to finish (my favorite striker of that era), Edwin Van de Sar stopping them at goalkeeper. They actually swept their league and the Champions League that season, and beat a great AC Milan side to win the European Cup. The same squad stayed together and came back the next season, only to lose in the finals to Juventus. And maybe that loss symbolized the Champions League era of soccer. Seedorf went to Real Madrid and eventually won the Champions League three more times with Madrid and Milan. Kluivert and Davids left to join AC Milan, Van de Sar was sold to Juventus, and Overmars eventually to Arsenal. Ajax, one of Europe’s most successful and important teams, has never reached those heights again. Whenever a young player has shown any quality; they have followed the path of the past greats and gone to one of Europe’s bigger and wealthier clubs. Ajax, as well as the other clubs already mentioned, has been relegated to second-class citizens on Europe’s biggest stage.
thoughts on this?
The 1994/1995 club is regarded as one of the best teams ever. Superstar players like Kanu, Edgar Davids, Marc Overmars, Clarence Seedorf, all setting up goals for Patrick Kluivert to finish (my favorite striker of that era), Edwin Van de Sar stopping them at goalkeeper. They actually swept their league and the Champions League that season, and beat a great AC Milan side to win the European Cup. The same squad stayed together and came back the next season, only to lose in the finals to Juventus. And maybe that loss symbolized the Champions League era of soccer. Seedorf went to Real Madrid and eventually won the Champions League three more times with Madrid and Milan. Kluivert and Davids left to join AC Milan, Van de Sar was sold to Juventus, and Overmars eventually to Arsenal. Ajax, one of Europe’s most successful and important teams, has never reached those heights again. Whenever a young player has shown any quality; they have followed the path of the past greats and gone to one of Europe’s bigger and wealthier clubs. Ajax, as well as the other clubs already mentioned, has been relegated to second-class citizens on Europe’s biggest stage.
thoughts on this?