Former Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is full of praise for the new league phase format in the Champions League and expects the big guns like Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid to have learnt from last year’s debut edition.
The three clubs as well Manchester City were among those who failed to qualify directly for the round of 16 and had to go through a play-off round, something they would have preferred to avoid.
The new campaign starts this week, with Bayern opening on Wednesday against Club World Cup winners Chelsea.
Each of the 36 clubs has eight matches, with the top eight qualifying directly while the teams placed ninth to 24th go into the play-offs.
More excitement
Rummenigge told dpa that he prefers the new format over the previous one with four-team groups where teams were often qualified with two games to spare.
“I’m ticking as a football fan here. The mere fact that four top teams – Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain – had to go into the play-offs in the first edition proved to me how much more exciting this system is,” he said.
Lessons learnt
“And the big teams have understood that they have to go full throttle from the start to get into the top eight – because that’s what everyone wants.
“A year ago, a lot of things were still new, so some of the top clubs took a more relaxed approach to one or two games. I expect there to be a significant learning effect now.”
Rummenigge believes that the preliminary round is now “much more emotional” for the fans: “They are constantly checking their mobile phones: Where is Bayern? Where is Real? UEFA has pulled off a real coup with this.”
PSG almost even missed the play-offs, qualifying only on the final matchday before embarking on their run to the title. Bayern came 12th, missing direct qualification by one point.
Kane eyes top eight finish
Bayern striker Harry Kane named it “extremely important” to avoid the play-offs because can “change the season.” He recalled Bayern’s play-off against Celtic which added to the workload and led to some injuries.
Kane said teams would probably have to win six of the eight matches to reach the top eight, or five plus a few draws. Last season 16 points were needed for the top eight.
Bayern remain contenders
Bayern last won the elite event in 2020 but Rummenigge said he for once disagreed with ex-president Uli Hoeness who said recently he no longer sees Bayern as a top contender but rather as an outsider like small-town Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.
“We are never outsiders! Maybe we are not always the top favourite, but that is not bad,” Rummenigge said.
“If you look at the two quarter-final matches against Inter Milan last season, we simply weren’t playing at our best. Nevertheless, we could have made it to the semi-finals against Barcelona – and possibly even to the final, like Inter.”
Respect but also confidence
Rummenigge said that Bayern must approach the Champions League with “a certain amount of respect.
“You can’t be arrogant, otherwise you’ll quickly get a slap in the face. If we go into the competition focused and with the necessary humility, we can go very far,” he said.
Bayern have started the Bundesliga with three victories and Rummenigge that they can also deliver in their European opener.
“We can show right away that we are capable of beating the club world champions. That’s nice,” Rummenigge said.