The much-criticised Europa League competition has been given a vote of support by top European club managers, UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh said yesterday.
With calls for the second-tier tournament to be drastically altered or even scrapped, Europe’s governing body put the matter before a meeting of some 20 top-level coaches.
“The general consensus was the Champions League is fantastic and is top level football even though there are some small adjustments that could be made,” the former Scotland manager said.
“The Europa League was worthwhile, had a place, and as everybody said, is improving,” he added.
Roxburgh’s support for the Europa League received backing from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger who said that the competition was improving year by year although more time was needed to make it better.
“When you saw the level of Atletico Madrid in the Super Cup, you see that the Europa League is developing the level very well,” he added, referring to the Spanish side’s 4-1 win, as Europa League champions, over Champions League winners Chelsea.
Speaking last week, UEFA president Michel Platini ruled out any major changes in the format for the Europa League which has gone through several facelifts since its days as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and then the UEFA Cup.
Spanish and Portuguese clubs have dominated the competition over the last decade with seven wins out of 10 – five of them going to Spain.
Meanwhile, Wenger told reporters that according to him the World Cup is a “less spectacular” competition than the European Championships.
Speaking after the UEFA-organised “think tank” of top coaches to consider a series of questions concerning the future of European football, Wenger came out in favour of the Euro.
“Let’s say the World Cup is sometimes less spectacular,” Wenger said.
He highlighted the differences in the two competitions when he added: “You can explain that by two reasons: opposition of styles makes sometimes the games less interesting.
“The differences of levels in the World Cup is bigger than in the European Championship. And I believe as well the mental pressure on the teams is even higher in the World Cup. The teams played more not to lose than to win.”