Just 24 days after Barcelona lifted the trophy in Berlin, the Champions League starts up again on Tuesday. But Barça, Bayern, Chelsea, Juventus and the other teams that may contend for next year’s final will not be on the field for a while yet.
This week’s action will feature eight teams from tiny countries that are quite unlikely to hang around the competition for very long.
The Lincoln Red Imps would seem to be an imposing contender, having won an astonishing 13 consecutive titles in their home country. Unfortunately that country is Gibraltar, UEFA’s newest and lowest-ranked member.