A lot of managers around Europe, especially those at big clubs in big leagues, might not like Michel Platini. After all, he’s making it harder for teams in such divisions to qualify for the Champions League. Then there are his ideas on quotas.

But let’s give some credit to the diminutive, always chirpy Frenchman. By giving lesser lights direct acceptance into the world’s top club competition and not forcing others to face heavyweights in qualifying, it’s made for some eye-popping results.

Take F.C. Zurich, for instance. The Swiss minnows downed Latvia’s FK Ventspils in the final round of qualifying after knocking off Slovenia’s Maribor in the third qualifying round. Zurich’s emotional win over traditional powerhouse A.C. Milan at the San Siro a few weeks ago was one of the biggest upsets the Champions League has ever seen. At least Zurich can fantasize a little.

“Milan was an achievement, and we cannot do that every time,” Zurich manager Bernard Challandes said. “We know that a victory could be a big step towards third place, which means an unthinkable dream is now a dream.”

Cyprus’s Apoel Nicosia dispatched FC Copenhagen in the final round of qualifying and hasn’t been outclassed by any means, deserving, but not getting, a point against Chelsea in the previous round. Hungary’s Debrecen, which beat Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia to reach the group stage, didn’t get embarrassed by Liverpool (the Reds were embarrassed by Lyon on Tuesday) and took part in arguably the most entertaining game of the Champions League season so far, gamely falling 4-3 to Fiorentina in front of a packed house at home.

It’s refreshing to see these new faces, rather than the likes of Panathinaikos, Rangers, and Besiktas, for instance, who never do anything anyways.

Russian champions Rubin Kazan didn’t have to qualify, but they’re still a small club lacking the history of fellow Russian sides Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg. So, how nice was it to see Rubin pull a Zurich and oust defending champions Barcelona at the Nou Camp? The coach praying on the sidelines had to be one of the images of the year.

“Now we can expect a huge welcome home, not just Rubin fans but from all Russia because this was a historic win,” forward Alejandro Dominguez said.

Similarly, Romania’s Unirea Urziceni – Urziceni has a population of about 20,000 people – walloped Rangers 4-1 at Ibrox.

The next step is for the smaller teams to reach the knockout stage. We could get one into the round of 16, and here’s hoping.