The European Club (La Coupe des Champions Europeens) has represented the holy grail of European club football since its creation in 1956. It has developed rapidly since its rebranding as the UEFA Champions League in 1992, and it is now acknowledged as the world's premier football competition, as well as its most lucrative. But what does it really stand for today?
Join Andy Brassell as he spends the 2003/4 season travelling all over Europe to get to the heart of the Champions League, tracking the progress of the clubs who boss the competition, those who aspire to join the elite, and the clubs that the Champions Cup chewed up and spat out. Discover the Champions League that isn't just about the Beckhams, Zidanes, and the Maldinis. Meet the Croatian reserve striker who puts four past the Spanish champions of 2000, the former Motherwell midfielder who became the first Brit to win the Champions League, and the goalkeeper rejected by Liverpool who helped make the Spanish provincial underdogs into Champions Cup achievers. Discover the greatest Champions Cup song of all time (and no, it's not the one they play before the matches). And snigger along with the grinning superstar Ronaldo too, as he tortures a goalkeeper to the brink of insanity in his own inimitable way.
Sweat through a balmy August night in manic Marseille, shiver while Lokomotiv brave the Moscow winter to put Russia back on the map, marvel at the magic of Real Madrid's galacticos, and salute 'special' Jose Mourinho leading FC Porto to glorious triumph in May, as players, fans and pundits say what the competition means to them, their teams, their cities and their countries. This is, quite simply, the closest you will getto being a part of the most exciting high stakes poker game on earth.
You may visit Andy's website at: www.allornothingbook.com