European Football: Iberian Dominance Looms?

This weeks European results have shown a dominance of sides from the Iberian Peninsula. In the 8 matches in the Europa League and the Champions League there were 6 teams involved from Spain and Portugal. In comparison there is only one Italian side left and two English sides.

The results of the matches were also ominous for the rest of Europe. The Champions League results were Real Madrid hammering Spurs 4-0 and Barcelona disposing of Ukrainian champions Shaktar Donestk in a 5-1 demolition.





In the Europa League is where the less heralded but equally one sided dominance of the sides from the Iberian Peninsula can be seen. FC Porto, Benfica and Braga represent Portugal in the last eight with Villarreal being the sole Spanish outfit remaining in the tournament.

Porto smashed a much fancied Spartak Moscow side 5-1 with star striker and former Liverpool target Radamel Falcao getting an impressive hatrick. Rumours are that Inter Milan are looking for a replacement for current manager Leonardo with Porto manager Andre Villas-Boas on the top of their wanted list.  



Porto's rivals Benfica also registered an impressive 4-1 win over Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. This is impressive considering key players such as Ramires, David Luiz and Angel Di Maria have all left the club this season.



The third and final Portuguese side left in the tournament are a less illustrious yet equally dangerous Braga side. They are responsible for Liverpool's exit from the Europa league, ending the Champions League hopes of Sevilla and Celtic before being knocked out at the group stages despite beating Arsenal 2-0. They were up against Manchester City's conquerors Dynamo Kiev and grabbed a credible 1-1 draw in the Ukraine, giving them a good foundation to go through to the last four.



Villarreal are possibly the favourites for the trophy following their impressive defeats of Italian side Napoli and Germans Bayer Leverkusen they defeated FC Twente of Holland 5-1, virtually guaranteeing their place in the semi-finals.



Looking at these results, I wouldn't bet against two Spanish sides making the final four in the Champions League and an all Iberian quartet in the semi-finals of the Europa League. These results clearly show that both trophies are likely to end up in Southern Europe, I'm not sure whether it will last but it's good to see sides playing more expressive and creative football succeeding on Europe's biggest stages.

My Favorite Teams This Season: FC Porto

This Porto side has arguably been the most explosive side in Europe bar Barcelona as usual. What I feel makes this side tick is their amazingly young manager Andres Villas Boas, he has galvanised the Portuguese side after their relatively poor showing last season when they finished third behind Benfica and Sporting De Braga.

He sold two stalwarts of the old regime Bruno Alves and Raul Meireles for a combined amount of over £30million and built the side around the axis of Argentine Belluschi and former Sporting Lisbon star Joao Moutinho.

Villas Boas at 33 is the youngest manager in the Portuguese top flight and learned his trade under one Jose Mourinho who had him as part of his backroom staff at Porto, Chelsea and Inter. Just like his mentor he is an excellent man manager as well as a tactician.

When asked about some of the fringe players he responded "Every player in the squad is an important player. They all have a place," he said . "I have praised both Andre Castro and Ukra (Andre Monteiro) publicly and privately. I don't want to lose them. James has incredible potential and I intend to make him realise it. He will have opportunities (in the Portuguese Cup and Europa League) against Juventude Evora and Sofia, which will be good opportunities for him and they won't be his last, that's for sure." Following these comments youngster James Rodriguez went on to put in two excellent performances helping Porto beat Sofia and Juventude de Evora in the Portuguese Cup.This is just one example of how Villas Boas gets the best out of even his players.

In his side Moutinho acts as the "Xavi", he keeps the game ticking and opens up space for his team mates with his accurate passing. He also brings ball winning industry to the midfield which he needs to have being in a midfield with one holding player. One well known football site when looking at him form this season has said "Given his performances this season, it seems inconceivable that he was not selected for the World Cup this summer, but it is true."

The full backs for Porto are the Romanian Sapanaru and Portugal man Pereira who both like to get forward but are nothing special. What its spectacular about this team are the front five, the midfielders I mentioned earlier and the trio of Hulk, Varela and Falcao.

Hulk (left) and Falcao (right) celebrate another goal

The thing with the attacking trio which is most notable is the fluidity of their play with especially Varela and Hulk switching positions. Varela is a left winger and has been described by IMScouting as a " fast player, with great overall technique and excellent dribbling skills." He is the only natural winger out of the trio but still manages to get on the scoresheet, this season he's played 16 games scoring goals and providing 1 for his teammates.

This side plays in a 4-3-3 formation which has been compared to the system Jose Mourinho played in his early seasons at Chelsea. Hulk is considered their best player and plays in the inside right position where is explosive shot and powerful runs can cause some serious damage. When describing him a Portuguese commentator said "With all due respect to the other professional footballers playing in Portugal, Hulk does not belong in our championship. He's too good." His statistics this season are amazing in 15 appearances he has scored 16 goals and provided 8 for his teammates, he is a one man defence wrecking machine.

His link up play with Belluschi has been key this season and was the main talking point in their 5-0 victory against rivals Benfica, in which all the goals came for the Porto right side both players occupy.



To top of this trident is Colombian hitman Radamel Falcao. He is what Arsene Wenger would call a "fox in the box" if there is a chance more than likely he'll be at the end of it. He's scored 8 goals in 14 games and can be seen scoring from a brilliant back heel in the clip above.

I have chosen this side more for their attacking flair than its defensive attributes which I haven't spoken about  for good reason. But people in England say that Arsenal are a good team to watch, I think Porto are far more aesthetically pleasing due to the intensity, pace and power at which they attack.