The Champions League hasn’t always been the closed circuit it is today. Barcelona and Real Madrid have shared the last four title between themselves, with Bayern Munich making up the third prong of a trio that has come to dominate the top level of the European game. There was once a time, though, when the party could be crashed.
Look at Porto’s Champions League triumph of 2004, with Jose Mourinho’s side upsetting the odds to finish atop the continental pile. The following year saw Rafa Benitez lead Liverpool to glory in the competition, producing arguably the greatest Champions League final of all time in the process.
As great as their achievements were, these were not great teams. Liverpool didn’t even finish in the Premier League’s top four the season they won the Champions League. Porto boasted a number of exceptional players, including Deco and Ricardo Carvalho, but their triumph was widely credited as the work of Mourinho, the manager who would define an era of management.
With the two clubs meeting in the last 16 of the Champions League this week, there is an opportunity for reflection. Liverpool and Porto are both former European champions, yet there is a gulf between where they stand now and the top of the continental game. They have been left behind.
Of course, Liverpool operate at a higher level than Porto. The Reds possess a squad that should see them reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, at least. But looking at the bigger picture, both clubs find themselves in a similar situation, bashing their heads against a glass ceiling which has been constructed to protect the elite in the time since their respective glories of 2004 and 2005.
Financially, Liverpool and Porto find the odds stacked against them if they are to ever scale these heights again. They failed to use their Champions League wins of 2004 and 2005 as a platform to build on. What legacy do Liverpool have to show for Istanbul? Porto have continued to exploit the South American market to raise themselves in Europe, but now that 2004 is a distant memory, what have the Portuguese outfit got to show for it?
European football is a very different place now, with the elite protected like never before. UEFA continues to pander to the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid out of fear that they could, through the ECA, one day break away and form their own competition. Liverpool and Porto, and their historic triumphs, stand as examples of the way it used to be. Their meeting this week will underline that transformation.
