Soccer Portal

European football. For club sides from Spain and England to Liechtenstein and Andorra, there is no greater reward for domestic success than to compete against the very best that UEFA has to offer on a grand stage.

The opportunity to create a legacy for yourself and your side is unmatched, from the old Inter-City Fairs Cup, to the European Cup, the Intertoto Cup(yes, honestly), the Champions League and most recently, the Europa League.

Who will ever forget the Lisbon Lions of Celtic? Nottingham Forest's incredible ascent to glory in the mid-80's? Manchester United's last gasp heroics against Bayern Munich in 1999? Liverpool's comeback of all comebacks against AC Milan?

All of these moments and many, many more will always be fondly recollected by fans of a plethora of clubs throughout Europe. But more recently, the reputation of one competition in particular has come into question, namely, the aforementioned Europa League. Is glory in the format formerly known as the UEFA Cup really all it's cracked up to be? Or is this one continental brass ring that isn't worth grabbing?

Baby brother

There's always been a certain stigma attached to the Europa League, something it doesn't seem to be able to shake, and that's the fact that the competition is basically the 'baby brother' of the more glamorous Champions League. Sky Sports roll out their best line-up of pundits for their coverage - Channel 5 will give you Stan Collymore.

And who qualifies for the Europa League? Not the absolute best teams in Europe, but those, for example in England, who finish 5th and 6th in the Premier League, or who win the F.A Cup by beating a team who have already qualified for the Champions League, or who finish top of the Fair Play League, or who - you get the idea.

The point is, there isn't the prestige associated with competing in the Europa League as there is in plying your European footballing trade on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Add into the mix the relatively recently introduced stipulation whereby the eight teams that finish 3rd in their respective Champions League groups fall into the Europa League - essentially becoming 'lucky losers'.

Watered down

So as a team you could shed blood, sweat and tears to reach the knock-out phase of the Europa League, only to be matched up against a team who weren't good enough for the Champions League but who, in a lot of cases, will probably knock you off your Thursday night perch without a second glance.

It doesn't seem particularly fair, not that those teams who fall through the Champions League trapdoor will complain, but that's how these European competitions work. Big European teams need to maintain that semblance of television and attendance revenue, even if means the powers that be extending their European adventures in a way that doesn't reflect too well on the spirit of Champions League competition.

When you're out, you're out, right? Obviously not. This year, the Europa League could well get a kick up its' rear end, however, with the addition of Manchester City and Manchester United after they failed to qualify for the knock-out phases of the Champions League. The key point for the competition though, is how seriously messrs Mancini and Ferguson take the supposedly second-rate European title fight.

There was enough laughter directed towards Manchester when it emerged that Channel 5 would be their new European home. If both teams rest players and decide to focus on the Premier League, those sniggers and guffaws might well be directed towards the Europa League. It cannot afford to fall in the priorities of such world-renowned names as City as United - the damage to its' reputation could grow even more.

Rotate ain't great

But rotating the starting XI is something that Sir Alex Ferguson in particular might do, looking at the Red Devils current injury list. And it's something that has begun to happen in recent years as the stakes rise ever higher on the domestic front for most teams.

Look at Tottenham Hotspur this season. Failing to qualify for the Champions League, manager Harry Redknapp all but said that he would make no excuses with his team selection as he strived to ensure Spurs made the best possible start to battling for Champions League qualification for next season. That showed as the North London outfit fell at the Europa League group stage hurdle, fielding starting line-ups that were virtually unrecognisable at times.

The likes of Thomas Carroll, Harry Kane, Ryan Fredericks and Iago Falque aren't household names at the moment, and they may turn out to be in a few years, but they were blooded by Redknapp to ensure the likes of Luka Modric, Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor were in the best possible shape for the Premier League. Did their fans care? A definite split in opinion. But if Spurs make the top 4, there may not be too many complaints from the White Hart Lane faithful.

Stoke, Fulham and Newcastle are examples of three other sides who have rotated their squads in the UEFA Cup/Europa League in recent years. Birmingham City have done it out of necessity this season, but still flounder in the Championship. Now they're eliminated, we may see a resurgence in the form of the Blues. If that's the case, the theory that the Europa League is merely a hindrance could well be true.

Star turn

But wait. There are actually some teams that take the Europa League seriously, believe it or not. Anyone who caught a glimpse of last year's competition will have seen the domination that Portugal's club sides brought to the proverbial table. Three of the four semi-finalists came from the country, and FC Porto went on to win the tournament, beating Braga in the Final.

Porto were a breath of fresh of air to Thursday nights, sweeping aside all comers with an exciting brand of attacking football. Hulk was the man most were watching up front as the Liga Sagres champions eventually went toe to toe with Barcelona in the UEFA Super Cup, a game that was an entertaining curtain raiser to this season's European adventures. However, his strike partner Radamel Falcao ended up weighing in with 17 goals in the competition, effectively buying himself a move to Atletico Madrid in the summer.

Don't think that just because the Europa League isn't up there with the Champions League in turns of prestige, there isn't any entertainment either. In last year's quarter finals, 35 goals were scored in the eight games played, an average of over four a tie. Value for money? Definitely. Porto themselves contributed to 10 of those goals against Spartak Moscow. This year so far, the Europa League is averaging close to three goals a game, so for those looking for action, Thursday nights should be your point of call.

On the box

And for many British football fans, that's exactly where they head. Last year's competition, according to an independent media agency's analysis, averaged 1.4million viewers per game, and the year before that, the Final in which Fulham were defeated by Atletico Madrid helped Channel 5 achieve their best viewing figures in seven years, with an average of 4.715million viewers throughout the game.

This year, the channel could bank up to £13million with the addition of Manchester City and Manchester United into the Europa League knock-out phase, and a final between the two could, according to the Radio Times, send viewing figures through the 6million mark.

That's good news for Channel 5, who get first pick of games in the competition including exclusive UK rights to the Final. However, ESPN and ITV4 also pick up games on Thursday nights, also scoring large viewing figures in the process. ITV4 have been especially generous to British viewers, often scheduling double bills of Europa League games during the group stages. The channel will have exclusivity rights to the competition from 2013.

Doom and gloom?

So it's probably best not to write up your obituaries for the competition formerly known as the UEFA Cup. Yes, some sides may not take it seriously because they have loftier domestic aims, and it might not possess the spine-tingling pre-match theme of the Champions League, but it's still brilliant entertainment.

The Europa League remains an incredible opportunity for teams who might not have the megabucks of the likes of Manchester City or Real Madrid to make a name for themselves in European football, something that will continue to create memories for football fans across the globe for years to come.

Sir Alex Ferguson may not agree, but when the taunts of 'Thursday nights, Channel 5' ring out across the country, the next thing you should be doing is searching for your remote, settling into the armchair and subsequently tucking into a football feast. Really, deep down - there's nothing wrong with the Europa League.