Vive la difference!

Do you remember the days when the Champions League used to feature the champions of Europe and no one else? If it seems a long time ago, that's because it is.

Before UEFA got the money-spinning bug in 1992 when it opened up the old European Cup to all and sundry, the competition was truly the domain of champions. The winners of the European leagues would be drawn out of a tatty top hat and forced to meet in two-legged knock-out ties all over the continent which would ultimately end in a single, final game. There were no qualifying rounds – because winning your league was qualification enough, there were no group stages, and while there was plenty of prestige, there was little glitz and glamour.

To be honest, it was a bit dull.

The slowly turning wheel of soccer destiny often brings certain clubs to the fore in their domestic leagues and keeps them at the top for periods known as 'halcyon days.' In the old days, a club which had the measure of its domestic opponents could win a decade of championship titles without worrying too much about getting unseated by their nearest rival. Before soccer became drowned in cash, opposing teams would have to wait until the best team in the league lost their players through age before they could take their turn at the top. This meant the European Cup almost always featured the same teams – for what seemed like centuries.

A combination of prestige and unpredictability

The Champions League was brought in to do away with all that. Giving qualification places to any team which could limp their way to fourth made it possible – in theory at least – for all manner of ambitious clubs to become European Champions. In return for this new exciting paradigm, the top teams were given even more money – which, until this season, meant that the Champions League just became a flashier version of the competition it had been brought in to replace.

Thankfully, the 2009/10 Champions League campaign has begun to restore faith in the original concept of a competition which was designed to find and honor the best team in Europe. Instead of being an extension of the English Premiership, as the latter stages have appeared to be over the last five years, the Champions League semi-finals this season feature a struggle for dominance between clubs from four different countries, playing four very different styles of soccer. This season has been the first really successful example of combining the prestige of the past format with the unpredictability of the present.

Some may argue that this unpredictability is tempered slightly, due to Barcelona's continued involvement. The reigning European champions, who are attempting to become the first team to retain the trophy since AC Milan in 1990, are hardly strangers to the business end of the competition as befits a team which, if not the best, is arguably the most attractive to watch in Europe at the moment.

Artistic Barca undone by pragmatic Inter

However, for all their attacking flair, their destructive passing and the irrepressible genius of Leo Messi, Barcelona trail Inter Milan 3-1 in their semi-final. After majestically blowing Arsenal away in the quarter-finals with an offensive display which was breath-taking even by their standards, Barca was not expected to lose so heavily to Jose Mourinho's Milanese pragmatists. If Barcelona could dismantle the most creative team in England, they could surely play their way through one of the most obstinate.

Inter Milan have been accused of playing a type of anti-football under Mourinho which, considering the tradition of catenaccio in Italian soccer, is quite an insult. It's true that Inter's Portuguese coach values victory over style but it is also true that Mourinho has a talent for working out how to beat teams.

Against Barcelona this week, Inter Milan were supremely organized – as one would expect from an Italian side – but even after going a goal behind, Inter continued to smother Barca, negate Messi's threat and hit three valuable goals once the Catalans had been frustrated out of their rhythm.

One has to wonder how Bayern Munich or Olympique Lyon will fare against either team in the final.

Muscular Germans hold advantage over patient French

Bayern have grown into the Champions League as the competition has progressed and have developed a winning strategy that teams considered more adept to Europe have struggled to deal with. Louis van Gaal has Bayern playing in a very robust style where combative midfield players like Mark von Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger draw opponents into battle, leaving the wings free for Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery to exploit. This powerful approach has snuffed out more creative threats and has exposed defensive frailties to Bayern's advantage.

Lyon have finally made it to the semis in Europe after three previous quarter-final appearances, perversely at the same time that their era of dominance in the French league has come to an end. Under Claude Puel, Lyon have become an effective counter-attacking team in Europe, as the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bordeaux can attest to. Lyon's competent defence, backed by the outstanding Hugo Lloris in goal, have negated flair teams, leaving the front line of Lisandro Lopez, Miralem Pjanic and Cesar Delgado free to hit teams on the break.

With Barcelona's artistry, Inter Milan's pressure game, Bayern's muscularity and Lyon's patience, this year's Champions League is exactly what it should be: a clash of differing styles, diverse tactics and pan-European attitudes. Whoever wins the title this year will be able to say that they beat the best in Europe – and not just a bunch of teams from their own league.

Author: Nick Amies

Editor: Susan Houlton