MUMBAI: The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid – all Spanish teams – may be dominating the UEFA Champions League in the last 3-4 years, but former Liverpool stalwart Luis Garcia says that there’s nothing wrong with what other leagues are doing, and «teams from a certain country dominate for an era».
Garcia, who was part of the Liverpool playing XI which staged a dramatic comeback to win the 2005 Champions League (CL) final against AC Milan, was in the city for the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken.
«Spanish football has been dominating CL football for the past 3-4 years. Maybe next year, if you see the potential of the Premier League, they might dominate the Champions League. I think there will be moments and years. I don’t think there needs to be any change in any league around the world. They are different leagues and the Champions League is a different competition. That’s why we (Liverpool) were playing so well in the Champions League but couldn’t do so well in the Premier League. Premier League was so difficult,» he said in an interaction with TOI.
The midfielder, who captained the Atletico de Kolkata team that went on to win the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), said that while everyone remembers how Liverpool won that final, for him the semifinal clash against Chelsea was more memorable, perhaps because he scored the lone goal of the tie.
«The final was great but the special moment for me was the semifinal because the opponent was Chelsea and more so because people doubted if we could make it to the final because we hadn’t done it for 20 years I think. So it was a special moment for the club and the players and obviously for me because I scored,» he said.
While Garcia is quite enjoying his role after retiring from football, being an ambassador for UEFA, Liverpool and Barcelona, the Spaniard said he doesn’t rule out playing for an ISL team in the near future.
«I came out of retirement once to play in the ISL, so you never know. I quite enjoyed my time playing in the inaugural edition, so I don’t mind playing again,» he said.