What changes will bring the new Euroleague format?
What changes will bring the new Euroleague format?
The transition from 16 to 18 teams in the new Euroleague season will be a tough one. There will be 4 more games in a schedule already full which will affect the teams in many ways:
- there will be 2 more away games/team which will contribute more to the fatigue of the players
- having 4 more games/season will grow the possibility to have more injuries
- the domestic league will be even more affected than last seasons because the squads involved in the Euroleague won’t have enough time to rest and prepare properly the games
In an article published a couple of months ago, I analyzed how Gran Canaria it was affected by the Euroleague schedule and the long travels. They had any chance to win games because they spent more time in airports and buses than training inside the arena.
The expansion of the Euroleague by including more teams it will definitely ruin the quality of European leagues in the years to come because the clubs involved in the continental competition will have to sacrifice more and more games in their domestic league. You cannot be strong every game with such an infernal schedule, the players are human beings, not superheroes from cartoons. They will need rest, recovery after every game, a day off per week etc. But with this tough schedule, I think the most favored team will be Olympiacos Piraeus which will be in Greece 2nd league this year. There they will have a quiet season, playing just for the Euroleague games and maybe sending the youngsters to smash the opponents in the local encounters.
When the Euroleague will expand more in the future will be almost impossible to put together the 2 schedules: the continental one with the domestic league one. It will arrive at the moment when the teams will have to leave their internal championship in order to stay in the Euroleague or to choose other European competition which allows them a human schedule.
Gratian Cormos
What changes will bring the new Euroleague format?
