The Three Kings of Europe
As the month of March approaches, so does the most crucial time of year for football fans worldwide. The three European international club competitions - the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Europa Conference League - are each in the play-off stage, with clubs from all over the continent vying for their competition's respective trophy. Each competition begins with well over 100 clubs participating and ends with 1 taking the crown. Here are the outlooks for each competition and the teams to watch as they advance to their respective finals.
First off, let's address the Champions League - the league with the most coveted trophy in club football. It's the most competitive competition in the world, with the best European clubs vying for the European Cup. Real Madrid has won the competition a record 14 times, and are currently on the road to their 15th. The round of 16 has already commenced, with the second legs set to take place across the next two weeks. The biggest matchup of these eight, which also happens to be a rematch of last year's final, is Liverpool vs. Real Madrid. In the first leg, Liverpool took an early 2-0 lead, only to go on to concede 5 unanswered goals. The second leg will take place at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, and Real are easily the favorites to advance. Other notable clubs at this stage are Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Napoli. The latter is the one to pay attention to - the Italian side is currently on top of their respective domestic league (Serie A) and won the first leg of their matchup against Eintracht Frankfurt, 2-0. With rising stars like Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Piotr Zieliński, this team is a goal-scoring machine backed up by incredible defense - they have not conceded a goal across all competitions since January 29. Napoli is a dark horse to make it all the way to Istanbul, but Real Madrid are likely the favorites to win the crown, with the chance to become the first club to win consecutive trophies since they won three straight from 2016 to 2018. The second legs will take place on March 7, 8, 14, and 15, and the final will take place at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on June 10.
One tier below the Champions League is the Europa League. It's nowhere near as competitive as the previous league, but it still has the same intensity and drama. Last year's competition ended with German club Eintracht Frankfurt winning the trophy after penalties against Scottish club Rangers in one of the most heated finals to date. Its format is, however, a bit different from that of the Champions League. Instead of the top two teams from each group advancing to the round of 16, the first-place club advances automatically while the second place club advances to the knockout phase, playing against a Champions League team that finished third in their group. This year's phase was probably the most entertaining the competition has seen, with Barcelona vs. Manchester United taking the spotlight. The second leg in Manchester showed fans worldwide why European football is the best in the world, with the Red Devils coming back from 1-0 down to advance to the next round. Another notable matchup was Bayer Leverkusen vs. Monaco, which ended in Bayer advancing after penalties, occurring after a long match that went to extra time. The round of 16 has some more interesting matchups, featuring clubs like Arsenal, Sevilla, Juventus, and Roma, as well as Union Berlin and Union Saint-Gilloise, both of whom made their first ever appearance in the Europa League group stage. With Manchester United's recent form in the Premier League, as well as in the Europa League, they could very well be the favorites to win the UEFA Cup. Marcus Rashford has transformed himself into a goal-scoring phenomenon, and with their outstanding defense and midfield, they are going to be hard to beat. The first legs are set to take place on March 9, and the second legs on March 16. The final will take place at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary on May 31.
The third European competition, and also the most recently founded, is the Europa Conference League. The league just had its inaugural season last year, with Italian side Roma coming out on top in the final over Dutch club Feyenoord. The inaugural competition was filled with excitement, with storylines like small Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt making it to the quarterfinals, or Dimitri Payet's world-class volley goal from outside the box for Marseille against PAOK. This year's competition has given the same fervor, with many clubs making their first ever appearance in an international competition. The format is the same as the Europa League, with first-place finishing clubs advancing to the round of 16, and second-place clubs advancing to the knockout phase against a Europa League club who finished third in their group. The knockout phase saw all but one matchup end with a one-goal difference in the aggregate score. The biggest teams to watch in the round of 16 are West Ham United, Fiorentina, and Villarreal. West Ham and Villarreal finished first in their groups and are very strong candidates to win the competition, while Fiorentina advanced after finishing second in their group and cruising past the knockout phase. In the end, it's between West Ham and Villarreal to win the Conference League trophy. The Hammers, while in the midst of a very disappointing Premier League campaign, have the talents of players like Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice, while the Yellow Submarine advanced all the way to the Champions League semifinals last year. The round of 16 matches are set to take place on March 7, 9, 15, and 16, with the final at the Fortuna Arena in Prague on June 7.
After the three finals have taken place and the three kings of Europe have been crowned, there is another matchup to occur, the UEFA Super Cup. The cup takes place in August of every year and is a matchup between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League. If this matchup were to occur, I believe it'd take place between Real Madrid and Manchester United, which would be a match for the ages. As football fans across the world await these matchups, they also await the beginnings of the next great storyline in European football.