The Champions League Was Not Just a Rebrand

GROUP STAGE 1992 football poster with trophy silhouette, broadcast cameras, stadium and glowing fixture cards

The common line is that the European Cup became the Champions League because football needed a shinier name. The anthem arrived, the branding tightened, the television package looked expensive, and the old knockout romance put on a suit. But the name is the least interesting part. The real change was structural: European football learned that … Read more