Looks like the Golden Goal rule will be replaced by a "silver" one for next month's UEFA Cup and Champion's League final. The sudden-death golden goal rule was introduced as a way to overcome an unnecesssarily taxing full half-an-hour of extra-time to decide a winner. The first team to score a goal (golden goal) during extra-time is considered the winner. Since it was introduced, two European Championship finals have been decided through golden goals. It proved to be a dramatic and exciting way for a winner to emerge in a cup final.

There have been complaints however, that the golden goal rule promotes an over-cautious style of play during extra-time as teams were afraid to concede a goal. And the sudden dramatic winner could prove to be too emotional for fans, resulting in unexpected security problems. The silver goal rule seeks a compromise between the old format and the sudden-death system by having teams which drawn at full time to play a full 15 minutes of extra-time. The leading team after 15 minutes will be considered the winner. If the situation is still drawn after the extra quarter of an hour, another 15 minutes is added to determine the winner. If teams are still deadlocked after that, the trusty penalty kicks routine will kick in.

With the silver goal rule, teams still have a chance to make a comback within the first 15 minutes of extra-time even when they are a goal down. The losing team will fight their utmost to find an equalizer and extend the match another 15 minutes. There will be no less excitement. Heroes and villains can still be made within that short span of extra time.

The sure way of deciding a winner in the event of a tie, is still the best-of-five followed by sudden-death penalty kicks. However many feel it is like a lottery draw. Perhaps FIFA or UEFA can introduce different variations of the penalty kick: such as a two-vs-two shootout or other setups where the goalkeeper/defender and striker have a fairer chance of using their skills to determine the winner.