Challenges Ahead for Spain’s Champions League Aspirations

omidbasir- Repeating last season’s success in the Champions League will not be an easy task for Spain. This season, five Spanish teams qualified for the tournament, thanks to a remarkable performance by their clubs in Europe last year. The nation is striving to ensure that the fifth-placed team in LaLiga can compete in this prestigious continental competition, but the road ahead is challenging.

Recent victories by Real Madrid and Celta de Vigo, along with Atlético Madrid’s draw in Bruges, suggest that three representatives from LaLiga will advance to the next round. They will join Barcelona, Betis, and Rayo Vallecano in the Round of 16, hoping to continue their journeys and contribute valuable points to Spain’s UEFA coefficient.

However, Spain faces stiff competition from England, which has nearly secured the fifth spot, and Germany, which shows no signs of weakening. Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, and Stuttgart all secured wins in the first leg of their respective playoffs, positioning themselves favorably for advancement. They will soon join Bayern Munich, Freiburg, and Mainz in the knockout phase.

Portugal currently occupies third place but could potentially lose Benfica if Real Madrid confirms their first-leg advantage at Da Luz. Meanwhile, Italy finds itself lagging behind the LaLiga teams after a disappointing week. A significant issue for Spain is that the points earned by its six active teams are distributed among eight clubs, while Germany and Italy distribute theirs among seven, and Portugal among five.

The seasonal coefficient for a national federation is calculated by summing the points earned by all its clubs in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Conference League throughout the season, and then dividing the total by the number of clubs from that federation that participated in these UEFA competitions. Points are awarded as follows:

Clubs reaching the quarter-finals, semi-finals, or final receive an additional 1.5 points for each round in the UEFA Champions League, 1 point for each round in the UEFA Europa League, and 0.5 points for each round in the UEFA Conference League. These additional points are also included in the calculation of the federation’s coefficient.