The return of the Champions League presents a clear dichotomy for Liverpool, on the one hand there is the strained relationship with UEFA from the events in Paris and on the other hand the hopes that the competition could ignite the Reds’ season. .
The Reds return to European action this week, having gone all the way once again last time out.
It was another impressive run that included more big nights at Anfield, but it ultimately ended bitterly on a multitude of levels and marred what would otherwise be the most spectacular season I have ever seen.
Where does that leave us at this time?
Napoli awaits on Wednesday night. A team and a stadium we know very well, having made back-to-back trips in 2018 and 2019.
Broken trust in Paris
The chance to hear the famous anthem again and test ourselves against some of Europe’s best should fill us with joy and anticipation, but there will certainly be mixed emotions heading into the 2022/23 competition.
It remains the biggest competition in club football, a trophy synonymous with Liverpool’s history, but an already fractious relationship between fans and UEFA was magnified by the chaotic handling of the final in Paris just over three months ago.
There will be many of those who made the journey who still bear emotional scars. Feelings of numbness and despondency will replace the usual butterflies of a European night at Anfield.
Some have not set foot in a stadium since then.
The biggest game in sport is supposed to be an inspiration to millions. Instead, it was the source of great anguish for those treated like animals for having the audacity to like a particular football team.
There was no meaningful apology, there has yet to be any accountability, and instead the line that UEFA and the Stade de France chose to follow was that the fans were to blame.
A tense relationship with UEFA
The organization of the 2022 Champions League final was the latest example of a series of incompetence by the governing body of European football.
The self-serving institution charged with running football on this continent has proven on numerous occasions that it is not fit for purpose and has, at times, felt like an ongoing battle rather than a working relationship.
Supporters have been an afterthought for a long time.
Before a ball was kicked, there were frustrations with the way tickets were allocated, with supporters of each team allocating 19,618 seats for a stadium with a capacity greater than 80,000.
It’s an ongoing theme that shows no signs of ending, and it seems that UEFA is insisting on turning the showpiece into the Superbowl.
Does the latest flop take some of the shine off the competition itself?
Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a league title ended in a Covid-affected environment that felt underwhelming under the circumstances, and left us feeling cheated after such a vacuum.
The sixth European Cup was won under the exact circumstances that you would like. That mission is complete as far as this era is concerned.
What has followed has been systematic UEFA shortcomings that have dismantled any trust that could be placed in the corporation.
As a result of all this, and an ongoing chase for 20 Man United titles, there is a greater desire felt at the club to see No. 20 lifted before No. 7.
It makes the slow start to the season even harder to digest.
Right now, it’s hard to see a possible return to Ataturk through the same lens as before Paris. That is the unfortunate reality.
UEFA has done little to repair the damage and restore confidence afterwards, instead managing to shoot itself in the foot in other areas.
The group stage draw was held less than two weeks before the scheduled start of the competition and gave traveling fans an extremely narrow window to plan ahead.
The road to Istanbul starts here
That’s enough of doom and gloom.
The return of European football, of course, presents a great opportunity for the Reds to take us on another exciting journey across the continent and take on the elite.
Liverpool have reached three of the previous five European Cup finals in a remarkable run that only Bob Paisley’s side of the late 1970s and early 1980s can match.
The group itself has a bit of everything. Napoli will provide a Test double title, Ajax will bring the glamor and Rangers will add some welcome hostility to the mix.
Jurgen Klopp’s unprecedented record in two-legged ties means that we, as fans, can start dreaming right from the start. It’s part of the beauty of following this club in this competition.
If Liverpool advance from Group A, fans will be able to chart their way to the final knowing that there is currently no other team on the planet with more knowledge of this format.
In this regard, it will be the penultimate Champions League campaign under this structure before the ‘Swiss model’ comes into force for the 2024/25 season.
It’s a tricky start, not helped by Liverpool’s ongoing injury problems, but they will be looking to get lucky for the third time after suffering two defeats on their previous visits to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Domestically, the season hasn’t opened up the way any of us would have imagined, but this is a team and a club with a huge affiliation to the competition, and there’s every chance this could be the start of something new. .
