Should the Champions League bring back the 2nd Group Stage?

The last time the 2nd Group Stage was played was in the 2002/03 season. I remember it being pretty cool as there were always 4, top quality groups.

In my opinion it would be a lot more entertaining than the Round of 16 is.

An example of how good the groups were, this is the 4 groups from 2002/03:


Barcelona
Inter
Newcastle
Leverkusen

Valencia
Ajax
Arsenal
Roma

Milan
Real Madrid
Dortmund
Lokomotiv Moscow

Man Utd
Juventus
Basel
Deportivo

Nope, four extra games are not needed.

The winner would have over 50 games if you exclude further success in other cup competitions, no way.

Yeah, would make it much more exciting compared to the shitty last 16 ties.

For the sake of entertainment, absolutely.

Yes, if the top clubs don't like the extra games they can withdraw from the Capital One Cup.

Would UEFA get more money this way or the round of 16 way ?

SuperManUtd wrote:Would UEFA get more money this way or the round of 16 way ?

This way.

Everyone would benefit more this way seeing as there will be 4 more games.

FUCK THAT.

Theo Filippo wrote:Everyone would benefit more this way seeing as there will be 4 more games.

I believe it was G14 that pressured UEFA into getting rid of it.

Entertainment wise, yes. But it would just mean more games to play, which I don't think the clubs would want. Maybe if the local leagues can be cut down to 15/16 teams, then okay. Basically, this would be the first step towards a European Super League.

Thinking about it, this could actually be quite a good idea. It brings more excitement than the last 16 and there's more money to come from it as well. Just depends whether the teams are willing to go through those extra games though. Chances are, they aren't.