"UEFA never had any intention of creating a balance or a rival event to the Super League," Rummenigge explains, via @iMiaSanMia. "When I was still on the Executive Committee, we often discussed how we could make the group stage more interesting. A chess pro from Dortmund presented this format to me in Lisbon - and I thought: That could work, that could make things more exciting. The group stage was predictable. Just like the old small FIFA Club World Cup. You knew that the Champions League winner would win. And the worst thing in football is boredom."
The change is certainly rooted in greed and the desire to earn more money, that much is undeniable. But perhaps a genuine desire to see a more interesting group stage format also played a role. Who knows?
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