We watched the announcement of the match between Real Sociedad and Inter Milan. The charming Reale Arena was vibrating, packed with people like never before. La Real returned to the Champions League after ten years, and the pride of San Sebastián exuded the fervor of its men; Thousands of albiazula flags were flying. The setting was beautiful: color, tidiness, perfect grass of dazzling green, all within charming order and neatness. What a picture…! And the teams still haven’t come out. Then followed a match that ended in a 1-1 draw, but the show was already guaranteed by the staging. The Champions League requires grooming.

Until the ’60s, in the organizational scheme of English clubs, the president was the first; else, general manager, in charge of recruiting players and managing the first team; and third, groundsman, that is, the person in charge of the playground. Such was the importance given to the condition of the grass, not only for the game, but also for the visual effect on the fans. In South America, we’re just figuring it out. Our cancheros are still at the bottom of the rankings.

The Copa Libertadores has improved significantly. There is a clear intention to prioritize the tournaments in South America, but it is still difficult for us to take care of the details, the cleanliness and the beauty of the spectacle outside the ball, which is the easiest, because it does not require a budget.

The Champions League is back, the most attractive club tournament in the world, which, as always, dragged us in front of the television. The first term of the group stage was played. The match that stands out, because of the star names, was Bayern Munich hosting Manchester United. Sixteen finals between them. Two heavyweights. And they obeyed. Bayern won 4 to 3 with a score that was too deceptive. It was at least 7 or 8 to 3. It’s strange that the Germans are so wasteful. Despite what 4-3 says, the level of both was very uneven. Even though it’s only the first game, Bayern once again leads as the favorite for the title, while United got off that pedestal.

Bayern has thoroughly renovated its team. 15 members left, and five arrived, but they strengthened their forces. Among the others, Pavardo, Lucas Hernández, Mané, goalkeeper Sommer, João Cancelo, Daley Blind, Sabitzer are no longer there. Harry Kane, Raphael Guerreiro and the very good South Korean defender Kim Min-Jae arrived, for whom Napoli was paid 50 million euros. Bayern have no doubts: they have had an outstanding ‘9’, Lewandowski, for years; He went and replaced him with Mané; It didn’t work out and he played it safe, with the best: Harry Kane. He paid a hundred million, but Harry is worth every penny. And with that, Kimmich and Goretzka remained, Sané, Gnabry and Coman remained, the phenomenal Alphonso Davies and the great hope of German football: Jamal Musiala, who brought the 2022-2023 Bundesliga title with a genius play in the 89th minute of the game. The last game.

Ever so prudent and successful in the market, we saw a very German Bayern, a mixture of reliability, strength and seriousness in their game. Manchester United, celebrating ten years without their worthy Alex Ferguson, have been in turmoil and failure for just as long. Again, he spent 200 million euros to put together a team without guarantees, full of mediocrity that is not for that jersey. The differences in the game were enormous: an aggressive, determined, intense, unbalanced Munich team; suspicious, weak Manchesterian, leaking from various sides. Erik ten Hag put out several fires on arrival, improving the team and qualifying for the Champions League after a disastrous season with Gunnar Solskjær and Ralf Rangnick at the helm. But he has now been in office for 17 months and since the start of this new course the Red Devils have four defeats in six appearances. What is called a terrible beginning. He has already assembled this team and the game is what he wants. You can’t blame anyone. 2023-2024 is just starting and it is already clear that he is not here to fight.

The first term was so emphasized by the results and performances that we can now talk about the candidates. Who can be the champion…? The first is Guardiola’s Manchester City. For three years now, he has been more of a seller than a buyer, because that is the philosophy of City Group: to sell. First, they became big by buying; Now they’ve flipped the equation. Gundogan and Mahrez, two stalwarts, have left, but Guardiola never relaxes and optimizes what he has to do: they have collected six wins in six outings. They beat Crvena zvezda in Belgrade 3-1 thanks to the outstanding duo of Julián Álvarez, who is getting more and more advanced every day: he fights, plays, scores and assists. And align with Haaland, they are wanted and found. He comes from three and City is again a competitor for everyone. Of course, because of the game that Pep suggests. I can no longer give it the label of being a “team of millions and stars”. There are at least a dozen clubs that have spent more.

FC Barcelona defeated lowly Antwerp of Belgium 5-0; However, beyond the rivals and its myriad economic problems, Barça once again promises great football, the kind that made it universal, with Xavi at the helm, Guardiola’s disciple in terms of his taste for possession and attacking play. The Catalan club has assembled a great team and is very likely to win it all. Any team in the world that has Frenkie De Jong, Pedri, Gavi, Gundogan in the midfield, and Raphinh, Yamal, Lewandowski and João Félix in the forward line is a favorite for everyone.

Real Madrid beat Real Madrid: 1:0, in the 94th minute and a rebound. For Unión Berlin, which made its debut in this competition. But the gods are still attuned to that shirt, they wear it. Because of this and because of his history, he enters the circle of candidates. Although he is not a goalscorer, Jude Bellingham has scored six goals in five games and his price (132 million euros) is starting to look like a pittance.

Then there is Arsenal, who beat the Dutch PSV Eindhoven 4-0. The London team is getting stronger every day and is not afraid of anything; He sees every match as a big picture. They have a large and quality group of players, eager for glory. Be careful with them… We’ve added Paris Saint-Germain as they rebuild their terrible roster from last year with exciting names in attack: Kolo Muani, Gonçalo Ramos and Marco Asensio, who add to Mbappé giving them significant power. The Parisian entity spent 395 million on purchases. He also strengthened the defense with Skriniar and Lucas Hernández. And he signed a bold coach like Luis Enrique. They started well: they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in a minefield, also made up of Newcastle and Milan.

Finally, we see good possibilities for Inter, last edition’s finalists, who, thanks to their brilliant sporting director Beppe Marotta, continue to strengthen an already excellent squad, with Lautaro Martínez, goalscorer, captain and absolute star. Inter shouldn’t have any problems getting through to the round. And rounds. And finally, we leave another one that works well at the entrance and exit: Napoli, the brand new Italian champion and the sensation of the previous Champions League. Maradona’s club won 2-1 against Sporting Braga. He retained Nigerian Osimhen and Georgian Kvaratskhelia, which guarantees him respectable firepower. They are our eight contenders for the title, in that order.

The Champions League is back, the show is back. (OR)