Der Ball Bleibt Rund

It took a while to get here, but we knocked out yet another Champions League final today. The game itself, between Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich, wasn't exactly a classic, but the tournament's format felt remarkably zippy, though it should be noted I didn't watch any matches until the final, because most of it was on CBS All Access (dammit!).

In fact, I quite liked how the last-eight matches took the shape of an American-style post-season, and I feel like UEFA could do worse than using the format again. The main thing I appreciate is how the regular seasons for the leagues had ended before the Champions League games started up again - in future it would be nice for the Champions League to start in the summer after the leagues end, with the league winners going into the knockout round, rather than the European tournaments taking place in parallel with the season and stretching teams that are participating in both.

Obviously UEFA won't go for that part, as the clubs themselves will also hate the idea. Currently fully half of the teams who qualify for the main tournament come from the top four countries, with another few countries sending multiple clubs to Europe as well. The richest clubs are already restive enough, threatening to pull out of their leagues entirely and just play one another - stopping them from spending their summers on promotional tours of the Far East and other markets probably wouldn't fly. But it'd be a fun idea.

Though it's worth noting how this was the first time in 16 years that a team from outside the top four countries made it to the final. Even more impressively, a full two teams from outside the top four (in this case France) made it to the semi-finals, which is uncommon enough. Though of course Bayern won, so the long winning streak of the top four continues unabated.

As far as the game itself, as I say, it was hardly a classic on the pitch. There were some good chances on goal, which both teams created, and I think it's fair to say that if Neymar and Kylian Mbappe didn't have excellent games, they also didn't embarrass themselves. I mean, I only saw one bit where Neymar rolled around as if he'd been poleaxed, so he's clearly feeling the gravity of the situation.

Also notable was the presence of two German coaches on the touchline. It's hard to draw a line from Ralf Rangnick to Hansi Flick (I tried) but while PSG's Thomas Tuchel is a Rangnick acolyte, Flick has played his own part in the reinvigoration of German football by having been Joachim Löw's assistant at the national team. If you count the last two finals, German tactics have been represented at the highest levels of European football for a while.

I've mispredicted this stuff before, but it's clear that the non-Rangnick coaches are in a bit of disarray at the moment, and it'll be interesting to see how they come back next season. But until then, football remains a game where 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and then the Germans win at the end.