Please give me your opinions on what's more important to your club (in your opinion). For example, what is more important to Barca (as a club and as fans) - winning the Spanish Primera or the ECL???

In my opinion, the domestic league should come first with European cups as an added bonus.

However, there are exceptions... teams from the smaller countries should try to put an emphasis on making it as far as they can in European competitions. This is not only important in building their reputation as a 'big-time soccer country (or club)' but also to make money $$$, bring in new fans, and make some more money on players they sell to bigger clubs. It all comes down to money - teams from the poorer countries should and must focus on doing well in Europe - otherwise, they will continue in an endless circle.

Other cases where I see European competitions coming first are in teams that 'think' they have no chance of winning their league so they focus all their attention on Europe. Take Arsenal for example... why would they give up on their season so early? The season wasn't even at the 60% mark when Arsene Wenger declared it over... Arsenal is a world-class team and who knows? had Man Utd gotten in a slump (God forbid) and Leeds had started to trail off, Arsenal might've made a run for it... now they are in fifth place and would not qualify for the Champion's League if the season ended right now.

Another example is Man United... having been such a great team during the 90's and failing to win in Europe had become frustrating for everyone associated with United... last year, obviously the EPL and the FA cup was very important but I honestly believe the most important thing was the ECL. On one hand, I agree with this because the ECL is such a prestigious competition (although this new format sucks a$$ - too many teams that aren't even Champions are somehow in the Champion's League!?!?)... anyways, the ECL was so important to United becuase without it, the feeling was that Man Utd was simply a great team, and not a world-class team. Which they are, and I think all of the realistic and intelligent soccer fans would agree.

To conclude, I think the European Cups have to be shortened down somehow. This is especially true when it comes to the Champion's League. Why in the world are there teams that finished third in their respective league in the Champion's League? It's totally contradictory... if they want to create a Super Euro League, they should just go and do it, this new format is ridiculous (but very entertaining) how many games does a team have to play to get into the Finals?

So, hopefully, some of you will write back with some of your thoughts... do you think the domestic league should be emphasized or European competitions? And what about the ECL - is it too long?
And, please, some people post your comments because I would hate to think I wrote all of that and no one would reply!
Thanks!

I agree that the Champions League should be cut down to only the CHAMPIONS of each country - and I think it should be how it used to be - with two legged knock-out stages like the UEFA Cup is now - that's a much more difficult challenge for all teams involved - because with the group format you can have teams that lose, but still manage to scrape up a few points and finish second in their groups and move on to the next round.
Unfortunately, its all about money now, so who wants to see a Man U vs Barcelona first or second round match-up when u can see Man U beat poor old Bordeaux or the struggling Fiorentina....
With regards to the main topic - I agree - the domestic league should be the number one priority.

If you cut it down to only champions you will only have 5 or 6 class sides in the competition and about 28 mediocre sides and a lot of boring matches like, lets see AIK Solna vs Tirol Innsbruck, do you really want that?!

Also if I said it once I said it 100 times, for all intents and purposes this is the Super League and has been for past 2 years. So they kept the name Champions league, so what, the team that wins it is still considered the best team in Europe? Did it diminish the competition that Man U got in as a second place team? only in minds of resentful Arsenal fans I think.

Also in my opinion many coaches talk a lot of bs about how they didn't really care if they got knocked out of UEFA just to cover their butts when they lose. If everyone thought UEFA was so useless why do they enter teams in the INtertoto cup, or in the UEFA, cup no one is twisting their arms. Also two years ago AC Milan and Borussia D. were petitioning UEFA to give them a spot in UEFA cup even though neither placed high enough in table to qualify, and now when you put on the news all the coaches are saying "we will be doing all to get position high enough to qualify for Europe", does that sound like these teams don't care about playing in the UEFA cup?

[This message has been edited by PolishPower (edited 03-17-2000).]

Oh, actually, I was thinking about how Fiorentina could still make the quarters even though they're really poor this season.

As for 6 good and 24 mediocre teams, yes, that's a good point - especially today when the teams from the major nations have the most money and can buy the best players, but don't forget how Rosenborg beat AC Milan at the San Siro, and everyone seems to ignore Turkish teams, and we shouldn't forget teams from Croatia and Yugoslavia either - I don't think it would be that bad.

You're spot on with it being a European Super League.

Well ... I think that the ECL and the regional leagues are equally important. If you manage to do well in your league, the reward is a berth in the Champions League the following year. You have to do good in the league AND the Champions League, in order to qualify the next year. (if you dont win the Cup) But just like Becks and Neutral said, too many small teams focus on the Champions League for money, instead of their regional laegue, which put them in the Champions League in the first place. A good example is Chelsea, doing great in the Champions League, but out of it in the Premier League. Last year, Real Madrid was awful in the Primera, but when they were eliminated from the ECL, they flew up to finish second. What is the point of doing well in the ECL, if you are nowhere in it the next year. That is why ManU's treble was so monumental, they conquered three of the four cups they were involved in, and if not for thier loss in the Worthington Cup quarters, they might have had a quadruple.

any more opinions?

In Relation to the original topic, I think it depends mainly on the size of the club and upon their chances to really win either competition. Empires a la Manchester United or Barcelona have got a pretty good chance of actually taking the ECC (or at least reach a far stage), so it seems reasonable that they would put most of their effort in there. Smaller (and less famous) teams usually concentrate more in their league, because for them, that's where the real possibility for big bucks are.

Hapoel Haifa started this season with sensationally kicking Besiktas out of the ECC, then defeating Belgium's Club Brugge in the UEFA cup (Valenica beat them in ECC's next step.). They were to later on beat Ajax in Amsterdam, but that would not help them to stay in the cup.
Now, in their domestic league, they've learned that that was a mistake: They're waddling in mid-table now, while last year they took the champoinship by a margin of over 20 points. Manchester and co. can maybe deal with both competitions, but most teams can't.