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The European Cup or The Champions League? Go on you "*****" tell me!
The answer is the European Cup, because the competition has been superseded by the Champions League.
I would say it depends on who you are. The European Cup was easier to win if you were a smaller club but the Champions League is easier if you are a big club. The Champions League is designed to give bigger clubs a second chance and take the gamble out of the two leg knock out format. Once the two legged knockout format is underway the cream has risen to the top and the smaller clubs have been eliminated.
The last eight of this season's Champions League is Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. That is seriously TOUGH. However, if you could only have one club from each country like in the old days, the last eight would be (roughly): Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, Galatasaray, Olympiacos, AC Milan and Zenit St Petersburg.
It doesn't take a genius to work it out. The only thing that is harder about the European Cup is actually qualifying for it, but once you're in it, the quality and competitiveness of the Champions League is infinitely higher.
The last eight of this season's Champions League is Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. That is seriously TOUGH. However, if you could only have one club from each country like in the old days, the last eight would be (roughly): Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, Galatasaray, Olympiacos, AC Milan and Zenit St Petersburg.
It doesn't take a genius to work it out. The only thing that is harder about the European Cup is actually qualifying for it, but once you're in it, the quality and competitiveness of the Champions League is infinitely higher.
Let's say you're a club from Holland, or a similarly respectable but second tier football nation, and your aim is to win the Champions League. You currently have to finish ahead of Man United, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan from England, Spain, Germany and Italy. Not to mention the likes of PSG (and next season Monaco). In the European Cup, the only sides from that lot who would have qualified would have been Man United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Juventus, and you'd only have to deal with them on a knockout basis (easier for them to be beaten).
Now, you are guaranteed at least one top team in your group, and of the four knockout rounds you will get at least three high-quality opponents. Quite simply, you're playing more matches against better opponents. The likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund (none of which are domestic champions) are effectively replacing the champions of Romania, Belgium, Sweden and all manner of irrelevant and uncompetitive nations around Europe. It's nothing like the EPL v Championship, comparing the Champions League to the European Cup is more like comparing the EPL to the FA Cup.
Also, your suggestion that there are three or four teams who will "always win" the Champions League is blown out of the water somewhat by the fact eight different clubs have won it in the last ten years.