2024/25 European Preview: European football is back after a busy summer of sport

euronews (in English)

The European football season will be the busiest ever, and it's shaping up to be a spectacular domestic campaign.

Transcript

00:00The start of the 2024-25 European football season is almost upon us,

00:05and it's shaping up to be another spectacular campaign.

00:09There's a few new faces along with some familiar ones.

00:12So what stories are making the headlines so far?

00:15Let's take a deep dive into the season ahead.

00:21Hello and welcome to Football Now.

00:24On this week's episode we're taking a look at what we have to look forward to

00:28once the European football season gets underway.

00:32It's not been away for long, but we've certainly missed it.

00:35There are some great stories to sink our teeth into as the leagues begin to kick off.

00:41Let's take a look at what's in store.

00:43Starting with Kylian Mbappe, who returned to the pitch as a Real Madrid player

00:47after what was the biggest transfer of the summer.

00:50His dream move to Real Madrid finally materialised

00:53after years of being linked with Los Blancos.

00:56He's a mighty addition to what is already a very strong squad.

00:59Carlo Ancelotti will have plenty of attacking talent to choose from this season,

01:03and he could have trouble keeping all of his players happy.

01:06How could we see Madrid line up tactically

01:08as they look to defend their European and domestic crowns?

01:12I actually believe that Ancelotti could play him as a centre-forward,

01:17but not like a classical centre-forward,

01:19like almost imitating what Karim Benzema did in the 2021-22 season.

01:24This false nine that comes to midfield to receive the ball, to launch the wings,

01:29he could replace Benítez, he could replace Rodrigo,

01:33he actually can play all around the pitch.

01:35And to have those three players who can play at every position in attack,

01:40that is something that adds dynamism,

01:43that opens spaces for players like Bellingham arriving, or for Valverde even.

01:48So it opens this huge box of resources that Ancelotti has now at his disposal.

01:54Over to Germany, and after being dominant in the Bundesliga for so many years,

01:59Bayern Munich have a huge task ahead in wrestling back the title from Bayer Leverkusen.

02:05Xabi Alonso's team were quite literally invincible last season,

02:08and they'll be keen to keep hold of their crown.

02:11Bayern, meanwhile, are looking for a little bit of stability,

02:15and they're hoping that their new coach Vincent Kompany can deliver them just that.

02:19It was an appointment, though, that raised a few eyebrows

02:22after Kompany's Burnley team were relegated from the Premier League last season.

02:27So can he be the man to bring success back to Bayern?

02:31I think for many Bayern fans, being manager of Bayern Munich

02:35is the second best job in Germany after chancellor.

02:37It's just seen as the best thing in the world, and anyone would be lucky to do it.

02:42And in many ways it is.

02:44But of course, in the last five or six years or so,

02:46they've gone through managers very fast.

02:48I think it's an interesting appointment.

02:50I think his style of play suits the club.

02:52And I think for him, obviously, this goes without saying,

02:55but it's easier to work with a squad of Bayern Munich's quality

02:59in a league like the Bundesliga, where every game is Bayern's game to lose,

03:03than to play with a Burnley that's been promoted

03:06against these huge sides in the Premier League.

03:08So we'll see.

03:09But honestly, if he doesn't win the Bundesliga title, he's gone.

03:12That's always the bare minimum that you have to do as a Bayern manager.

03:17Time to take a look at one of the continent's most exciting small teams now.

03:22Como 1907 earned promotion to Serie A back in May,

03:26for the first time since they went bankrupt in 2016.

03:30Coached by former Spain international Cesc Fabregas,

03:33the side from Lombardy have signed several famous faces

03:37and could be in Italy's top flight to stay.

03:40If you look at the signings they've made this summer,

03:43Audero, Varane, Pepe Reina, Andrea Bellotti,

03:47these are experienced players.

03:49If you look at the names that they've brought in

03:51and the names that already were there,

03:52I do kind of expect them to not be in a relegation scrap.

03:55I have no doubts whatsoever that life living around Como

03:59will be absolutely wonderful for them and their families.

04:01You know, they're essentially living in some sort of a paradise.

04:04But it's the football that has to work

04:06and they have to be able to express that on the pitch.

04:08We've heard about the current headlines then,

04:11but that's not all.

04:12Keep an eye on these stories as they unfold throughout the season.

04:16Managerial change has been one of the main themes of the summer.

04:19A crop of Italy's top clubs,

04:21including Milan, Juventus, Napoli and Fiorentina,

04:25all have new men in the dugouts.

04:27In England, Manchester City are aiming

04:28for a fifth consecutive Premier League crown,

04:31but their concern will be around the future

04:33of their manager Pep Guardiola.

04:35The Spaniard is entering the final year

04:37of his contract at the Etihad.

04:39If it is to be his final season,

04:41Guardiola will surely go out to win another Champions League trophy.

04:45And Europe's elite club competition has been reformatted,

04:48ditching its familiar group stage

04:51for a new 36-team league table system for the first phase.

04:55Each team will be guaranteed two more games than before

04:58and UEFA say the new format will encourage

05:00more competitive games throughout the competition.

05:03It's quite interesting the way they've done that

05:05because it feels like what they've looked at

05:06is what's gone wrong with the Champions League over the past decade.

05:09A, the group stages are generally boring,

05:11and B, there's too many dead rubbers,

05:13so you get to kind of the fifth or sixth day

05:15of the normal group stage and the games don't mean anything.

05:17So they've basically sidestepped those problems

05:20by getting rid of the group stage altogether

05:22with this huge system.

05:23Next season, rather than Liverpool or Real Madrid

05:26being drawn into a separate group

05:28because they're separated by their seeding,

05:29they could feasibly play each other in a group stage,

05:32or an opening stage.

05:33For all we say now, it's only when it's actually put in place

05:36and actually applied that you see how it works in reality

05:40and how fans respond to it, how clubs respond to it.

05:43You're all caught up with some of the biggest stories

05:46in European football ahead of the new campaign.

05:49Let us know what else you think could unfold this season

05:52using the hashtag footballnow202425.

05:56That's all we've got time for from our studio here in Doha.

06:00We'll see you next time.

06:01Bye for now.

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