FC Bayern, Juve and Co .: In Europe there is monoculture – sport

It could all be worse, a look at Vanuatu shows. There, in the middle of the Pacific, the Tafea Football Club won the national league 15 times in a row from 1994 to 2009 – and is therefore considered a world record series champion. Unofficially, of course, because the data situation is difficult to check and because the Vanuatic football is a bit complicated. For example, there are two first leagues, one for the main island and one for the rest of the archipelago. Tafea always won the main island league. But Uefa also leads the club as a record holder, the association wrote on its website, when the Lincoln Red Imps on Gibraltar failed in 2016 to defend their 15th national title and thus to the world record.

But Juventus is not that far from these numbers anymore, the counter is at nine Italian championships in a row, continuation not excluded. Monoculture in Europe’s leagues is increasingly becoming a system problem. Turin always wins in Italy, FC Bayern always wins in Germany, Paris always wins in France, Barcelona and Real Madrid always win in Spain. Only in England does an unleashed football capitalism and occasionally a sensational championship from Leicester City provide some variety.

The problem is currently being debated in the Bundesliga, and there are suggestions for solutions, for example from Uli Hoeneß (“The others just have to make more efforts”) or from Düsseldorf’s President Thomas Röttgermann, who suggests that each club should receive the same amount of TV money should. You might think that the latter idea is radical and could solve the problem – but it is worth taking a look at the details. Of the Kicker just released the new distribution of television funds for the coming season. Accordingly, the Bavarians get ten million euros more than Eintracht Frankfurt (70 to 60 million) in national marketing.

All the series champions benefit from the money from the Champions League

Is this ten million euro gap responsible for the league’s inequality? Of course not, the famous scissors between Bavaria and Frankfurt diverge because of the international marketing and especially because of the Champions League. There FC Bayern already receives 15 million euros as a starting bonus, for each group stage win there are 2.7 million on top. Should the team defend the 3-0 victory against Chelsea in the first leg, there will be another ten million for the quarter-finals. And then there was still no talk about the giant chunk (30 percent of the money) that Uefa hides behind the phrase “performance-related coefficient ranking” – which basically means: if you were good in the past, you can get more now.

Incidentally, this ranking is based on ten years, which is why Barcelona, ​​Real, Paris, Turin or Bavaria would have to play three to four lousy Champions League rounds so that substantial things break away. It’s hard to imagine. Given this deliberate preference for the big ones, the national TV money can of course be distributed more in solidarity, it would certainly be desirable. But it probably wouldn’t have a huge effect.

One can only hope that every series comes to a conclusion. Like Vanuatu, where Amicale FC ended Tafea’s reign in 2010.