Ok, it was a just a joke. The Super League won’t happen, at least for now. In what was a lively Tuesday night, the project for a closed-access European competition collapsed as participating members started to step down, crushed by a crossfire of criticism that gave the initiators no quarter since the very moment of the breakaway announcement.
The project was halted, though Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli was quick to call out that, despite the failed coup d’etat, the process of reshaping the current format of European football must go on and the schismatic clubs will be open to accept new proposals from UEFA.
Manchester City were the first to withdraw on Tuesday night, opening a crack in the front and initiating a predictable domino effect. Chelsea were literally prevented by their protesting fans to access Stamford Bridge and play Brighton in the Premier League. They demanded that the club quit the project and it took a while before “mediator” Peter Cech managed to convince them to let the Chelsea bus pass.
Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who was heavily involved in the creation of the supersized new tournament, resigned from his position.
Rumors about the possible withdrawal of Barcelona, of Atletico, of all the six English clubs rebounded all over the Internet. Even the fake news of Andrea Agnelli reportedly resigning from Juventus circulated at some point, only to be quickly dismissed.
An emergency meeting among all the 12 breakaway club representatives was called at 11.30 PM CET on Tuesday. It ended with a meek statement highlighting that the founding members agree to re-organize and “reshape the project.” The battle is over. It is time to rebuild.
So what made the breakaway clubs change their mind?
It was not, we believe, UEFA’s vain threats that sparked the secessionists’ sudden U-turn. The reaction of the European football governing body was fierce and surely timely. It included putting forth the possibility of banning the breakaway clubs and their players from all UEFA competitions, including the current Champions League and the upcoming Euro 2021.
But, overall, their reaction appeared frantic and uncontrolled – something you wouldn’t expect from a governing body. UEFA frankly seemed on the verge of losing it as they urged the schismatics to repent and step back, or rather fear their anger and wrath like some angry Greek god.
Yet, if UEFA should have talked with their heads, and did not, people could talk with their gut feelings – and they did. It was the uncontrollable mainstream public’s reaction that made the rebel clubs stop and realize that maybe, this time, they had pooped out of the pot – to use a very common Italian locution.
As soon as the 12 breakaways sneakily released a press communication announcing the birth of the Super League on Monday early morning, they were overwhelmed by a roaring uprising of indignation they had not taken into account.
The dissidents totally miscalculated this aspect. They were surely expecting to face the fury of the peones, those poor clubs who would have no way to access the new Inner Circle. But they were at least counting on their core fans to rejoice at the prospect of a closed system of star-studded games.
Conversely, they saw their supporters fiercely raise in defense of football as they are used to know it: An open-access game, with all its flaws and dark sides, but still based on the romantic concept that any team can potentially live a glory day and have the chance to go for it.
The Dirty Dozen – as they were “amiably” dubbed – were hit by a massive wave of criticism from not only the most obvious detractors like UEFA and FIFA, but also by players, commentators, mainstream public, and even government representatives. There was not a single voice raising in favor of the new format.
For two days, media outlets across the globe were flooded with a barrage of negative reactions, blasting the Super League concept and its promoters, which overshadowed even more pressing and important matters – a confirmation that, like it or not, football has a massively relevant place in people’s agenda.
In an age where everything is carefully planned and surely the Super League project didn’t just come out of the blue, it is befuddling to note how the secessionists must have overlooked or simply underestimated how those who ultimately fuel the whole football system – the fans – would react to the unilateral schism.
In retrospect, one can only think of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez matter-of-factingly explaining to the Spanish TV on Monday night that the Super League project was aimed at capturing those young fans aged 16-24 who find football as it is today boring. Like to say, we did our research to back up this. Oh, sure you did.
Now, as two very bizarre days come to an end and the dust clears, where do we go from here?
If the danger of an elitist Super League was averted, the aftermath of the War of the Two Days is not necessarily going to be an easy time to navigate through. The battle has left some scars, especially on the 12 breakaway clubs. But also on the football institutions, who may have won this round but surely took quite a scare.
UEFA will need to take into account the 12 clubs’ disappointment with the current governance and won’t be able to recompose the fracture with their bizarre new Champions League format – a gargantuan, 36-team tournament which is, in our opinion, only a tiny bit less hideous than the Super League itself.
Because if the rebels front managed to put at the same table such opposing poles as Real Madrid and Barcelona, the two Manchester powerhouses, Inter and Juventus, it means that there is something terribly wrong also on the UEFA side.
They won this battle, but to avoid losing the war they must ensure they bring the breakaway clubs to the negotiations table and keep the dialogue open. Because people did not like what they saw over the past two days. And they made theirs voice heard to remind all the contenders that, at the end of the day, football is their game – not UEFA’s, and not the Dirty Dozen’s.