- 11 months ago
As the Champions League returns, PapaPincus is in the FourFourTwo studio to break down just why football's greatest competition is better than ever. From the new format, to the title favourites and some big names to look out for - the top table of European football promises to serve up something spectacular.
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00:00The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League campaign is shaping up to be the greatest we've ever seen.
00:07Papa Pinkus here with 442. Let's talk about it.
00:12The UEFA Champions League has long stood as the pinnacle of club football.
00:18From Real Madrid's dynasties to Liverpool's Istanbul miracle, Barcelona's tiki-taka dominance,
00:23the competition has quite simply never lacked drama.
00:27But as the 2025-26 campaign kicks off, there's a strong case to be made that this season might be the most exciting addition yet.
00:36At the heart of this belief is the evolution of the tournament's format.
00:39UEFA's shift from the familiar eight-group model to a 30-16 Swiss-style league phase has reshaped the rhythm and scaled the competition.
00:48This year will be only the second season under the new rules, but already the sense of unpredictability,
00:53depth and drama is unlike anything the Champions League has offered before.
00:57When UEFA announced changes to the Champions League, many fans, including myself, pundits, players, managers, were sceptical.
01:05But the early returns last season suggest this structure is a net positive for the competition.
01:11Here's why every match matters more.
01:14In the old format, barring the rare upsets, United in 2012, Chelsea in 2013, for example,
01:21Superclubs used to coast through their groups, playing their B team in the last two to three games.
01:27The stadiums were empty.
01:28They were basically dead rubbers.
01:31Now, with a bigger table and a tougher, more intense qualification path to the last 16,
01:36there's little to no room for complacency.
01:39Even finishing ninth instead of eighth means a team has to navigate a two-legged playoff to survive.
01:44That marginal difference could shape a club's season, and I love it.
01:49Look at last season.
01:50PSG were three points off crashing out the competition.
01:53They went on to win the whole thing.
01:55The margins are so tight.
01:58Big clubs play big clubs, guaranteed.
02:01I think one of the biggest frustrations of the old group stage model
02:04was how often Europe's superclubs were kept apart until the spring.
02:08For the majority of autumn, we would watch heavyweights breeze past the smaller clubs.
02:14We had to wait months for the blockbuster showdowns.
02:17But game week one, look, we've got Bayern versus Chelsea, Liverpool versus Atletico,
02:22Newcastle versus Barca, City versus Napoli, Juve versus Dortmund.
02:25It's going off from the get-go.
02:28We've got some debutants this year, ladies and gents.
02:31Bodo Glimt have arrived.
02:33You know Bodo Glimt, the Norwegian team that have ruined all of your hackers in the last few years.
02:38But not long ago, they were a small-town club battling to survive.
02:43Now, against all odds, they've climbed to Europe's biggest stage.
02:47They've stunned giants in the past, beating Mourinho's Roma 6-1,
02:52knocking out Angers Celtic from the Conference League 5-1 on aggregate.
02:56Tottenham, City, Juve, Gala.
02:59Keep an eye out when you play these lot.
03:01They are fearless and they know no boundaries.
03:05Kairat Almaty, the first Kazakh club to reach this stage, knocking Celtic out in doing so.
03:11I don't know if you guys saw their players' reaction to finding out that they've been playing at the Emirates.
03:15In case you haven't, roll the clip.
03:17Beautiful scenes.
03:28That is truly what it's all about.
03:30Good luck to them.
03:31Another debutant that adds a bit of geographical flavour into the mix is Paphos.
03:36Imagine.
03:37Paphos away.
03:38Away days in Paphos.
03:40They're not a joke, by the way.
03:41They beat Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kiev and Red Star Belgrade to get here.
03:46Familiar face in the back line as well.
03:48David Luiz just signed for them.
03:50Random, but I like it a lot.
03:52For the neutrals, these names inject unpredictability.
03:55Every season needs its Cinderella run and the format gives these lot a proper opportunity to make a mark.
04:02Of course, the Champions League remains defined by its giants.
04:06Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, now Paris Saint-Germain.
04:11And this season is no different in that sense.
04:14Each convinced that Budapest in May could and should be their crowning moment.
04:19Madrid, as ever, stand at the centre of the conversation.
04:23With Vinny Jr. and Mbappe arguably in their prime.
04:26Jude Bellingham already, the talisman.
04:28They look as dangerous as ever.
04:30And after last year's whitewash exit to Arsenal, Xabi Alonso is without question seeking a delayed remontada.
04:37Ready to extend a legacy that already feels untouchable.
04:41Liverpool, they probably feel they should be the favourites.
04:44Look at the team they've built, for God's sake.
04:46Salah, Isak, Iketike, Van Dijk, Wurz and the rest under the bright lights on a Champions League night.
04:53How unbelievable does that sound?
04:55Would it be a disappointment if they didn't go on to win it?
04:58PSG, written off time and time again, mocked for failing when it mattered, but the narrative has shifted.
05:04They finally did it last year, lifting the big ears at last.
05:09Now the question whether they can defend it, whether the new look, French core PSG, could go back to back.
05:15Again, they probably fancied themselves as favourites.
05:18Barcelona. Last season ended in heartbreak.
05:21Milan, under the lights at the San Siro, a semi-final for the ages.
05:26And Barcelona, they fell short when it mattered most.
05:29For a club so desperate to prove it belongs back among the European elite, that night broke them.
05:35You could see it in the players' faces, in the silence of the travelling fans.
05:39But Barcelona being Barcelona, they don't vanish quietly.
05:43The squad is brimming with brilliance.
05:46Jamal, Pedri, Rafinha, Koubasi.
05:49Mixed with veterans that have seen it all, really.
05:52That heartbreak in Milan could just as easily serve as the catalyst.
05:56Every great Barcelona side has had its trial by fire.
06:00And maybe last year was exactly that.
06:02And then there's Arsenal.
06:04For all their progress under Mikel Arteta, for all the beautiful football and domestic strides,
06:10there's still that one shadow that follows them since the club was founded.
06:15And that is Europe.
06:16The Champions League, even the Europa League, has never been really kind to Arsenal.
06:20For years, they were the nearly men of the continental football.
06:24The team that collapsed when it mattered most.
06:27Copenhagen 2000, Paris 2006, Paris 2025.
06:31But now, they've got a chance to do what PSG did.
06:35Change the narrative in one season.
06:37They've got the team to do it.
06:39And they've got no excuses.
06:41Bayern Munich.
06:42What makes Bayern dangerous isn't just their talent.
06:44It's the fact that you know what you're getting.
06:47City, PSG, even Madrid can implode in a knockout tie.
06:50Bayern almost never do.
06:53They'll qualify from the league face.
06:55They'll be in the mix when the draw gets serious.
06:57And more often than not, they'll be one of the last names standing.
07:00A disappointing exit to Inter last season.
07:03But the future is now.
07:05Kane leading the line.
07:06Diaz and Alise on the flanks.
07:08Goretzka and Kimmich, the anchors.
07:10They averaged 2.5 goals a game in the Champions League last season.
07:14The firepower is there.
07:16And company who fancies chances.
07:18Then you've got Man City, Atletico, Inter, Napoli, Juve.
07:22The competition is stacked.
07:24One of the joys of every Champions League season is seeing who seizes the spotlight.
07:28The competition has a way of turning prospects into global superstars quite literally overnight.
07:35Mbappe at the Etihad.
07:36Haaland at Anfield.
07:37This season, there are a few names I'm buzzing about.
07:41Max Dalman.
07:42Yes, you all know his age.
07:43He's 15, blah, blah, blah.
07:45Astonishingly, he's been included in Arsenal's Champions League squad ahead of Gabriel Jesus.
07:50Which was a bit of a controversial decision on Mikel Arteta's part.
07:53But it just goes to show the belief that he's got in this wonder kid himself.
07:57Max Dalman is not normal.
08:00He's got that ultra-rare gene that players like Jamal, Palmer, Dean Housen have.
08:05Where pressure just isn't a thing to him.
08:08His brain isn't able to process nerves.
08:11And because of that, he's able to step onto the pitch against players twice his age.
08:16And take the absolute mickey out of them.
08:18Former Dortmund striker Yusufa Makuko is the all-time youngest appearance maker in this competition.
08:24At 16 years, 18 days old.
08:26But not for long.
08:27Dalman is coming for that record.
08:29And on top of that, I think he can make a real impact in those league phase games.
08:34Particularly against the smaller sides like Kairat, Club Brugge, Slavia Prague.
08:38No disrespect to them.
08:39And it allows Saka and even Madiweke to have a little rest.
08:43As we await the brilliance of this absolute freak.
08:46Lamine Jamal.
08:48It might be cliche, but how can you not be excited to watch this kid?
08:52I mean, week in, week out.
08:54He's tearing teams a new one.
08:57In my personal opinion, he's the best footballer on planet Earth.
09:01This season, though, the stage is set.
09:03Tactically, he's no longer the surprise weapon.
09:06He's the focal point.
09:07Defenders will double up on him.
09:09Entire game plans will be built around trying to stop this kid.
09:13And yet the expectation is that he'll still rise above.
09:17That level of pressure would break most players his age.
09:20But Jamal isn't most players.
09:22And as mentioned before, he has that rare calm.
09:25The kind you only see in the very best.
09:28Where the bigger the occasion, the more it feels like he belongs.
09:32I'm calling it early this year.
09:34Barcelona win the Champions League.
09:37And Lamine Jamal inserts his name as one of the GOATs.
09:40Wild card alert, Bruno Gimarias.
09:43Look, now that Isak's gone, Bruno is without question every Geordie's favourite player.
09:49And he's the man, the myth, the heartbeat of Newcastle United.
09:53And if Newcastle are to make waves in the Champions League,
09:56it will be Bruno who drags them there.
09:58You can already picture it.
09:59Under the floodlights of St. James' Park,
10:0250,000 Geordies going absolutely mental.
10:05And Bruno in the middle of all of it.
10:07Chest out, leading the side like a warrior.
10:10Think Gerrard at Anfield, Totti at Roma, Raquel May at Villarreal.
10:14Players who aren't just superstars, but symbols.
10:18Inseparable from the identity of their clubs.
10:20And Bruno has that same aura for Newcastle.
10:23Without Isak's goals to bow them out,
10:25Newcastle will lean even more to his ability to control the game from midfield.
10:31He'll be the one orchestrating, the one dragging them up the pitch.
10:34If he can deliver that consistency in Europe,
10:36if he can keep Newcastle punching above their weight,
10:39then we're talking about a player carving out a legacy far beyond Tyneside.
10:44What a campaign it's shaping up to be.
10:46Let us know in the comments below which player you're most excited to watch in this competition.
10:51I just can't wait to see Imel tear it up week in, week out.
10:54He really is an absolute joy.
10:56Thank you all for watching.
10:58Till next time.
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