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.

Forgotten Teams: Leeds United, 2000-2001

With all the usual talk about "Arsenes and Fergies Kids", everyone seems to have forgot possibly the best young side assembled in recent memory. This Leeds United side was a team which burnt very brightly but not for very long, after it was discovered that the clubs finances were built on foundations of sand but we won't go into that and just enjoy the football for what it was.

Subs: Robinson, Woodgate, Radebe, Kelly, Wilcox, McPhail, Bakke, Huckerby, Bridges

In the league Leeds finished 4th just outside the Champions League places which was below the clubs expectations. Where they really excelled in this season was in the Europe's elite competition. They qualified for the tournament under the stewardship of Irishman David O'Leary by finishing 3rd in the 1999-2000 season ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool, and slightly behind Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.

In the Champions League they were pitted in a group containing Barcelona, AC Milan and Besiktas. No-one expected them to qualify from this "group of death".  They kicked off the campaign with a away tie against Barcelona and as expected they were soundly beaten 4-0. It looked like Leeds were at the beginning of a miserable and short time in the tournament.

Things get heated during the heavy defeat against Spanish giants Barcelona

Leeds needed to bounce back after the defeat to Barcelona and they did it in the best possible way by beating AC Milan at Elland Road, with Lee Boywer scoring the winner in the dying minutes. They went on from this confidence boosting win to hammer Turkish side Besiktas 6-0 in a memorable night at Elland Road. Leeds had now truly began their European adventure. Following this they drew 0-0 away at Besiktas, 1-1 with Barcelona at home and finally a very good 1-1 draw at the San Siro with Milan.

Memorable image of Dominic Matteo heading Leeds into the lead against Milan (Source www.mightyleeds.co.uk)

The draw in Milan was enough to help them finish 2nd behind Milan and ahead of 3rd place Barcelona. This was after a disappointing opening game an excellent result...

Source: Wikipedia

These were the days when the Champions League had two group stages and Leeds passed through the first stage...

Again they started with a defeat to a Spanish club this time it was reigning champions Real Madrid who were 2-0 victors at Elland Road with a certain Raul getting on the scoresheet. As in their previous group they responded to a convincing defeat with a brilliant win, this time it was 1-0 away at Italian giants Lazio. They then went to register two victories over Belgian Champions Anderlecht who had defeated Manchester United in the earlier round and topped their group. 

They went on to finish second it their group after another defeat to Madrid at the Bernabeu and a exciting 3-3 draw with Lazio at home.

Source: Wikipedia

Leeds surprised everyone by reaching the knock out stages of the Champions in there first attempt. The first team they played? You guessed it, it was a Spanish side and this time it was Deportivo La Coruna. Leeds pulled one out of the bag this time at Elland Road by battering the Spaniards 3-0, with left back Ian Harte opening the scoring with a trademark free kick, Alan Smith and Rio Ferdinand followed by getting on the scoresheet, they had one foot in the semi final...

The second leg in Spain wasn't as simple and Leeds were defeated 2-0 with goals from Djalmina and Diego Tristan making the difference. Ultimately Leeds went through to the Semi-Finals.

Rio Ferdinand and Olivier Dacourt celebrate going through to the semi finals of the Champions League

In the the semi-final Leeds continued their one team war against La Liga by facing Valencia. This Valencia side at the time was recognised as one of the top sides in Europe. This showed at they held Leeds 0-0 at Elland Road and them followed this up with a convincing 3-0 victory over the Yorkshire side. This was the end of the road for young Leeds. They got further in Europe than all the other English sides at their first attempt in the Champions League.

In the following years due to financial problems this side was dismantled and Leeds spent the following years languishing in the lower tiers of English football. I'll leave you with a video remembering the good times...

Mourinho Invents A New Level Of Pragmatic Football?

Jose Mourinho courting controversy... Yes not a very original overview to this story, it could be a description of half a million events at Porto, Chelsea, Inter or Madrid. But this time time its a darker tale, not one of negative football or jibes towards opponents but one of cheating the system.

Would Mourinho be devious enough to order his own players to get themselves sent off? Well, he is a manager known for his pragmatic approach to football. He is so pragmatic he will  want his team to kill all the entertainment off in a game to ensure his side are victorious (please try find highlights of Barcelona V Inter at the Nou Camp... I can assure you, you won't be able to.) Why not ask his players to get sent off to ensure they are free of the threat of suspension in the latter stages of Europe's premier club competition?

This isn't a new idea. Now ex-Premier League referee Steve Bennet has said publicly that players have approached him and asked to be booked... And all this so they could have Christmas off. Even David Beckham at that time England's golden boy admitted getting himself booked deliberately. He said after a booking in a Euro 2006 Qualifier against Wales, "I could feel the injury. So I fouled Thatcher. It was deliberate. I knew straight away I had broken my ribs. I have done it before. I knew I will be out for a few weeks, so I thought: 'Let's get the yellow card out of the way'." Everyone seems to have forgotten that classic...

Anyway everyone's making a big "hoohaa" about this, Uefa are demanding meetings about meetings. There will be an investigation, into all the hear say, but who can prove Real are guilty apart from their own players? No-one. Will there be a punishment against Europe's top manager and most successful club based on no solid proof? I dont think so...

Not A Bad Round For English Clubs... Champions League+Highlights

Well, well, Spurs have put in the performance of the round against Inter at White Hart Lane. Beating Rafa Benitez's side 3-1 with Gareth Bale putting in a man of the match performance, I'm sure Douglas Maicon is glad they won't play again in the near future. With Spurs winning 1-0 at half time after Rafael Van Der Vaarts cool finish the game was still in the balance, but an explosive second half perfomance from winger Bale who chipped in with two assists left Inter reeling.

In the other game in the group Dutch side FC Twente put in a shock performance to overturn German side Werder Bremen 2-0. But the talk of this group is a very impressive result from Tottenham, who look set to qualify from their group.
 

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Tottenham	4	2	0	0	7	2	4	7
2	Inter	4	2	0	0	8	3	3	7
3	Twente	4	0	2	0	3	3	-1	5
4	Bremen	4	0	1	1	2	4	-6	2

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Inter Milan  (highlights)

Van Der Vaart 1            Eto'o 1

Crouch 1

Pavlyuchenko 1

Manchester United put in a professional performance against Turkish side with Darren Fletcherbreaking the deadlock before half time. In the second half surprise signing Bebe and Frenchman Gabrielle Obertan both scoring to kill the game off. No surprises in this group United looking like they've already qualified and Valencia not too far behind them
.

P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Man Utd 4 1 1 0 1 0 5 10 2 Valencia 4 1 0 1 3 1 6 7 3 Rangers 4 1 1 0 2 1 -2 5 4 Bursaspor 4 0 0 2 0 7 -9 0

Bursaspor 0- 3 Manchester United (highlights)
                        Fletcher 1    
                        Obertan 1

                        Bebe 1


Chelsea who I feel are the best equipped of the English sides to win the tournament, smashed Russian side Spartak Moscow with Nicolas Anelka looking particularly deadly and the talismanic Didier Drogba returning from suspension. Games at Stamford Bridge are looking like mere formalities these days and this one was no different when Anelka opened the scoring with a classy finish from the a tight angle. Two goals from defender Branislav Ivanovic and a penalty from Drogba finished off last seasons Russian Premier League second placed side.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	4	2	0	0	6	1	10	12
2	Spartak Moscow	4	1	0	1	3	2	-1	6
3	Marseille	4	1	0	1	1	1	5	6
4	MSK Zilina	4	0	0	2	1	11	-14	0

Chelsea 4 - 1 Spartak Moscow (highlights)
Anelka 1        Bazenhov 1
Drogba 1
Ivanovic 2

Finally the only English defeat of the night, Arsenal lost away to Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk. Theo Walcott put the Gunners ahead after a wonderful pass from Jack Wilshere put him through on goal with only the Keeper to beat. But and own goal from Craig Eastmond and and well timed finish from Arsenal old boy Eduardo meant Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season in Europe. Still favourites to go through but this performance was a stark reminder of the threat the teams in their group pose.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	4	2	0	0	11	1	11	9
2	Shakhtar Donetsk	4	2	0	0	3	1	1	9
3	Braga	4	1	0	1	2	3	-6	6
4	Partizan Belgrade	4	0	0	2	1	4	-6	0

Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 1 Arsenal (highlights)
Eastmond (OG)            Walcott (1)
Eduardo (1)

Well overall a relatively good week for English sides with 3 our of four notching up wins. All still look like they will go through. I feel this weeks player of the week from the sides has been Gareth Bale (i would also have a look at Benfica left back Coentrao who put in a spectacular performance against Lyon), I wrote an earlier article on him concluding he has more to do to prove his class at the highest level and he looks like he may be on his way to doing that. Team of the week has to be Tottenham after defeating the current champions Inter I feel they may be starting to find their feet in Europe's premier club competition.
 

Why Real Madrid Will Be European Champions This Season...

Yes I know its a bit early to hand out the trophies this season but I couldn't help myself. This season the Real Madrid hierarchy have done what most successful football clubs do... hire a top manager and let him to the job. In the past Madrid have been accused of hiring "yes men" people who are so pleased to be there they wouldn't dare speak out against the people who've put them there (please see Roy Hodgson at Liverpool). For references please see Carlos Queiroz, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro and Juande Ramos.

Mourinho is nothing like the jellyfish mentioned above, a perfect example of this is when he stormed out of a press conference. When the press questioned his decision to drop Pedro Leon from his Champions League squad he explained "Pedro Leon isn't Maradona, he isn't Zidane or Di Stefano, he was just playing for Getafe last season" before storming out and refusing to answer any further questions. This is a man who isn't someone the board can control.

Sergio Ramos can also play at right back and Fernando Gago and Lassana Diarra are also options in the holding midfield position. With Kaka and Benzema waiting in the wings there is also adequate cover in the attacking positions. But most importantly with Raul Albiol and Ezequiel Garay on the bench there isn't a shortage of defensive cover.

With the new manager came new signings Ricardo Carvalho, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil. The first two I feel gave Madrid a backbone and some steel, too many times in Europe they were caught against less talented but more organized rivals last year it was against Lyon and the year before Liverpool. The solid and sometimes cynical Carvalho forms a tidy partnership with the more technically gift and attacking Pepe and the industrious Khedira is the perfect fold for classy deep lying play-maker Xabi Alonso. Ozil on the other hand is a selfless creator to replace the inconsistent and injury-prone Kaka, to support Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain.

So far this season after a slow start they are looking impressive in the league and in Europe. They have scored 18 goals in four games including a comfortable 2-0 win against AC Milan and a 6-1 win against Deportivo La Coruna. Mourinho I feel is starting to get the best from Ronaldo who is definitely key to any success they may have so far this season he has scored 10 goals and provided 4 assists in only 8 games this season. That is an amazing return rate even for Ronaldo and even if your compare it to Leo Messi who's scored 5 and provided 1 in six games.

Real Madrid are no longer a collection of Galacticos but a well organised side which is very efficient in defence as well as attack which is the reason I think that Real Madrid C.F will be European Champions in May.

My Ballon D'or Winner - Wesley Sneijder

Lionel Messi? Christiano Ronaldo? Wayne Rooney? Kaka? All top quality players and even better shirt sellers. But who's going to win this years prestigious Ballon Do'r? Well the latter two wont because they haven't been nominated  for the award and the former two? Well they're probably the favorites to win it. My opinion? I think it should belong to Wesley Benjamin Sneijder.

From his days at Ajax up until now at Inter he has always been recognized as an exceptionally talented playmaker. Put aside his spat with international team mate Robin Van Persie he has always been an excellent team player. But he until last season hadn't displayed his talent on the big stage.

Last season Jose Mourinho's Inter signed Sneijder as a last minute deal for which now looks like a bargain of 8 million pounds. His first major game was against rivals AC Milan in which he helped take them apart in a 4-0 demolition. This was definitely a sign of things to come...

In short Sneijder played 18 games in the World Cup and Champions League combined, the two toughest tournaments in the world, I'm sure you'll agree. Sneijder got to the final of one and won the other, scoring an amazing 8 goals from midfield and providing 7 assists.

Sneijder also won Serie A, playing 24 games scoring 4 and providing 6 assists and the Coppa Italia playing 4 games and scoring 1 goal.

In view of these facts it is clear Sneijder played a major part in helping his club win every competition they took part in and helped his country get to the final of the World Cup. And before you question the World Cup ending, neither Van Basten or Cryuff, both undoubtedly in the top 10 list of any pundits greatest players to kick a ball, could help Holland win international footballs premier trophy.

Any doubts?

Champions League halfway point of the group stages

So here we are at the halfway point of the the sometimes controversial and irritating group stage of the Champions League. I can see where the critics are coming from the stage is drawn in way which favors the big boys, I personally think its quite interesting seeing teams who in the old fashioned knock out cups would've got knocked out early play a few times.

Uefa Champions League : Group A Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Inter Milan	3	2	1	0	10	5	5	7
2	Tottenham	3	1	1	1	9	7	2	4
3	FC Twente	3	0	2	1	4	7	-3	2
4	Werder Bremen	3	0	2	1	3	7	-4	2

Group A not looking too bad for spurs, although in the game against Inter they were outclassed they still have been gathering points against the weaker teams. I think Spurs and Inter should go through in the order they sit in now. Interesting fact of this group is the Werder Bremen's Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic has played for two of the other teams in this group in Serie A for Inter and in the Dutch First Division for Twente. Who knows maybe North London is his next port of call?

Uefa Champions League : Group B Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Lyon	3	3	0	0	6	1	5	9
2	Schalke 04	3	2	0	1	5	2	3	6
3	Benfica	3	1	0	2	2	4	-2	3
4	Hapoel Tel-Aviv	3	0	0	3	2	8	-6	0

Lyon are looking very good in Group B. I expected better from Benfica one of the more attacking teams in the tournament, but Schalke and Lyon looking favorites to go through although I wouldn't rule out Benfica with an attack made up of Pablo Aimar, Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo they're always a threat. Hapoel Tel-Aviv definitely the worst side in the tournament this year Israel football is starting to become Europe's whipping boy.

Uefa Champions League : Group C Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Man Utd	3	2	1	0	2	0	2	7
2	Rangers	3	1	2	0	2	1	1	5
3	Valencia	3	1	1	1	5	2	3	4
4	Bursaspor	3	0	0	3	0	6	-6	0

Well Manchester United are practically through but its looking interesting in the fight for second place between Rangers and Valencia. I think if Rangers finished their chances against Valencia at Ibrox they would've been favorites. But at the moment I think Valencia will do it by beating Rangers at the Mestalla.

Uefa Champions League : Group D Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Barcelona	3	2	1	0	8	2	6	7
2	FC Copenhagen	3	2	0	1	3	2	1	6
3	Rubin Kazan	3	0	2	1	1	2	-1	2
4	Panathinaikos	3	0	1	2	1	7	-6	1

Barcelona the former champions given an easier group this year than last year look like they will qualify. Rubin Kazan are a team that interest me they met Barcelona on three occasions and haven't lost once, but still haven't been through to the knock out stages. I'm hoping they make it through this year but I think Copenhagen's good start will be hard to overturn. Panathinaikos have been very disappointing considering the amount of money in Greek football I would expect them and rivals Olympiakos to fare better in Europe.

Uefa Champions League : Group E Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Bayern Munich	3	3	0	0	7	3	4	9
2	Basle	3	1	0	2	5	5	0	3
3	CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca	3	1	0	2	5	6	-1	3
4	Roma	3	1	0	2	3	6	-3	3

This looks like last years Bayern have already gone through bar a collapse of epic proportions. The other three are looking unpredictable, on paper you would think that Roma should qualify but looking at Roma's history in Europe I wouldn't put your house on it. I think Cluj might do it after their fighting performance again Bayern.

Uefa Champions League : Group F Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Chelsea	3	3	0	0	8	1	7	9
2	Spartak Moscow	3	2	0	1	4	2	2	6
3	Marseille	3	1	0	2	1	3	-2	3
4	MSK Zilina	3	0	0	3	1	8	-7	0

Chelsea are looking formidable at the moment winning all three of their games without even breaking a sweat. Spartak and Marseille aren't the best sides in the competition but I wouldn't class them in any way an easy task. I was hoping Zilina would do better after knocking our Sparta Prague and Celtic in the qualifiers. I'm hoping Spartak go through, I think Russian football has had a raw deal due to the different calenders their domestic league and the rest of Europe follow and it would be nice to see them do well.

Uefa Champions League : Group G Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Real Madrid	3	3	0	0	5	0	5	9
2	AC Milan	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
3	Ajax	3	1	1	1	3	4	-1	4
4	Auxerre	3	0	0	3	1	5	-4	0

Well this group to me looked the most interesting just because of names involved. Real Madrid, AC Milan and Ajax, three of Europe's historical heavyweights. Ajax aren't in that league anymore but haven't disgraced themselves at all and are still in with a good shot of qualifying to the knock-outs. Mourinho's Madrid I think are looking like they will win the competition. His teams always have the habit of peaking at the right time whilst Milan are looking like they're on their way to joining Ajax in the history books.

Uefa Champions League : Group H Table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Arsenal	3	3	0	0	14	2	12	9
2	Shakhtar Donetsk	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6
3	Braga	3	1	0	2	2	9	-7	3
4	Partizan Belgrade	3	0	0	3	1	6	-5	0

Our final group look like they've got an east v west battle going on. Arsenal should qualify after scoring 12 goals in 3 games that a ridiculous 4 per game. Shakhtar are looking like they'll go through but I would rule out Braga who knocked out Seville in the qualifying stages, they really do have a penchant for the spectacular, I'd call them a Youtube team, take a look at the goal against Celtic.