Is it better to play at home or away an elimination round?

Last update 19 November, 2013 por Julio Muñoz

Traditionally been considered to play a round tie at home is an advantage. Being able to choose a number to your audience seems an extra for the team that has such a factor and even the UEFA Champions League decides to reward the group winners in the knockout stages with the return at home. Sin embargo, Does that factor is so beneficial, da igual, or even, it is better to play the first leg at home and be able to finish against?

It is not easy to have objective criteria and much less forceful. What it does is clear is that playing the second leg at home is not as beneficial as you may think. Already once said Jose Mourinho and probably right: un 0-0 at home I voucher to go to any field. And so it can be.

Play at home leg of the tie gives you a number of advantages: if you have extra time 30 extra minutes where your goal is worth more than the local assembly. The home team pressure is lower than that of playing at home and especially, if large and is bound to win. Además, in meetings they are usually round score fewer goals and there is more speculation, which favors short results, as both contenders know that is a return to dispute.

Just look at the last knockout highest level decided in Champions or repescas to see you play the first leg at home is not so bad. In this play-offs 2013 Access to World, None of the four teams that played the first leg at home and lost all of them, except Iceland, are clear favorites to advance to the finals to be played in summer. In the previous play-off 2009, two of the four European teams that played in the first leg at home were classified.

A champion, por ejemplo, from quarterfinal, last season only two rounds left side that played the first leg home, four who beat who did it first at home. And if we look at the history of the competition, we see have been many examples where the winner turned out to be the team that played at home first.

Así pues, Should UEFA to award the second leg at home to teams that are first in the group stage? Quizás, no, maybe I should allow them to choose what they wanted. Possibly, It would be the fairest solution.