Let’s go back a few years to 2009. Manchester United had just won their third consecutive premier league title ending Chelsea’s dominance in England. Even though Wolfsburg beat Bayern to the Bundesliga title, Bayern were still growing strong with the likes of Ribery and Klose. They had also signed Dutch winger Arjen Robben from Madrid in the summer. On the European stage, Barcelona were dazzling fans and opposition alike with their slick football. Even with Ronaldinho no longer in the team, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Eto’o formed a devastatingly attacking line up, overcoming Man Utd 2-0 in the Champions League final in Rome. Despite all this it is now safe to say that things have changed around Europe.
Flashback is over. Let’s fast forward 3 years to 2012. I’ll keep the most astonishing and incredible event for the last and fittingly so. For now let’s take a look back at last year’s Bundesliga. It’s not Bayern Munich who won the league, but Dortmund. It’s their second consecutive league title. They have shown unparalleled consistency in the league, which is far from matched in Europe. Consisting of talented players such as Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, they cruised to the league title with little irritation from the rest of the pack. Star midfielder Kagawa lit up the league but has been signed by Manchester United for the upcoming season. Finishing 8 points above second placed Bayern, Dortmund have once again cemented their reputation as German giants. In the German cup final against Bayern, they made a huge statement by mauling Bayern 5-2 just before Bayern’s champion’s league final game. One thing to note is that Dortmund had an inconsistent start to the season with Bayern holding on to top spot. At the midway point Bayern slipped up probably due to their European commitments. Dortmund seized the opportunity and clinched top spot and stayed at the summit till the end. They had a miserable European campaign finishing last in their group after Arsenal, Marseille and Olympiakos.
Arsenal finished 3rd and have managed to keep their place in Europe. Tottenham finished but 4th but they won’t be playing in the champion’s league. More details on that later. Manchester United had a very close run in with City at the end taking the title defense to the very last minute of the last matchday. Having done their job at Sunderland, Utd hoped for City to drop points against QPR at the Eastlands. Shockingly QPR were leading 2-1 with 5 min remaining. Man City was throwing the kitchen sink at them but to no avail. Eventually they got a goal back through the substitute Dzeko and astonishingly grabbed the latest and the most dramatic of winners through Aguero after some neat interchanges with Yaya Toure. Utd were stunned and City clinched their first EPL title.
City, truly have a championship winning side now. Solid defence, versatile midfield and numerous attacking options provide them with optimism and great expectations. I can’t help but point out the strikers, Tevez, Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli, one from each major league of Europe. In Vincent Kompany they have a determined and committed captain who leads the defence alongside Lescott. Joe Hart is comparable to any world class keeper like Casillas, Neuer or Cech. Their midfield contains creative players like Silva and Nasri, as well as De Jong, Toure and Barry who marshal the defense. However it is essential to get the team selection correct by Roberto Mancini.
At the bottom of the league, Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves were sent down to the 1st division. Bolton had a chance to survive but Queens Park Rangers got the better of them. Aston Villa had a slight scare and ended up just two points above the relegation zone. It was a disappointing season for them as they managed only16th spot. Van Persie of Arsenal took the PFA best player award as well as the golden boot award for the league. Almost single handedly he took Arsenal to 3rd spot but rumors are afloat that he wishes to leave the club after hearing their policies for the future. However, Arsenal have signed German international Lukas Podolski. Di Matteo has stayed on as Chelsea manager for another year atleast. Chelsea have also signed young, promising talents such as Marin, Hazard, de Bruyne and Piazon. Utd have captured Kagawa as stated earlier. Spurs are chasing Ajax defender Vertonghen. City have yet to splash into the market but it’s probably a matter of time.
Finally we get to the most exciting competition of them all, the champion’s league. Let’s just start off with the winners, runners up and knockout fixtures. Leverkusen faced giants Barca after finishing 2nd in their group after Chelsea. Barca took them apart easily. Zenit St. Petersburg faced Benfica in the round of 16 but lost out. Arsenal faced Milan in the knockout round. After a 4-0 demolition by Milan at the San Siro, Arsenal provided a small scare in the return leg as they won 3-0 but it was not enough. Bayern defeated Basel, Madrid beat CSKA and Marseille shockingly beat Inter. Chelsea and Napoli played out the best tie of the round. Having lost 3-1 to Napoli in the first leg, Chelsea stormed back to win 4-1 after extra time in the second leg at the Bridge.
Barcelona then faced Milan in the semis and after yet another controversial tie, they managed to reach the semis were they faced Chelsea. Chelsea had beaten Benfica. Madrid faced European rivals Lyon yet again. But this time Madrid prevailed and faced Bayern in the semis after the Bavarians beat Marseille in the quarters. Madrid won the first leg 2-1 but Bayern returned the favor in the second leg which led to penalties. Ramos’ disastrous spot kick allowed Schweinsteiger to score the winning penalty and send Bayern into the final at their home ground of Allianz Arena.
The other semifinal saw bitter rivals Chelsea face off with Barcelona. On paper it was supposed to be a cake walk for Barca. Chelsea went into the tie as huge under dogs. Despite of that, fans from other clubs supported them due to their hate for Barca and their antics. The first leg saw Chelsea earn a 1-0 win at home. It was by no means a done deal. They still had to endure Barca at the Nou Camp in front of their countless supporters. Chelsea went into the game with a defensive mindset, understandably. They did not have the quality of players to match Barcelona’s and therefore they decided to sit back on their one goal advantage. But their luck ran out early on. Luiz pulled out of the game with injury and Cahill was taken off early as well due to injury. Barcelona scored quickly through Busquets. A bit after that Terry was sent off after a silly nudge on Sanchez with his knee. Barca capitalized and scored another goal this time through Iniesta. It was virtually over for Chelsea. Nou Camp, 2 goals down, captain and central defender sent off, 2 defenders injured and Barcelona’s attacking strength looked too much to overcome. Chelsea, over the years, have shown unparalleled character and this was the perfect time for some of that. Immediately they pulled one back. Lampard slid in a through ball for Ramires which he delightly chipped over the despairing Valdes. Chelsea at this point of time, were going through. In the second half Barca came out all guns blazing and Chelsea displayed the most heroic of rearguard actions. Messi managed to get a penalty which he shot thunderously against the bar. It was one of those nights for Barca. Late into the game a long clearance fell kindly for Torres. All the Barca players had pushed up and Torres had the abundance of Nou Camp to run into. Confidently he went past Valdes and slotted the ball home which proved to be the icing on the cake. It was dubbed as the fifty million pounds goal.
Chelsea faced yet another daunting task of taking on Bayern in the final at Munich. They had to do it without the services of the suspended Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires and Meireles. However, Cahill and Luiz were back at defense for Chelsea. Bayern went for goal from minute one. Relentless attacks after attacks were thwarted away by Chelsea with the occasional counter attack. The entire game was dominated by Bayern but some inspired defending helped Chelsea keep them out. Late into the game, Muller scored from a header. Yet again, it looked over for Chelsea. Or was it? Drogba, Chelsea’s star man, grabbed a very late equalizer through a thunderous header to send the game into extra time. The same pattern continued in extra time with Bayern pushing on. Robben had a chance to win it with a spot kick but Cech pulled off a great save. Luck was on Chelsea’s side yet again. In the end it was to be decided on penalties. Olic and Schweinsteiger missed for Bayern which left Drogba to score the winning penalty. Chelsea finally won the trophy they coveted for so long. They had also booked a place in next seasons competition at the expense of Tottenham despit Spurs finishing above Chelsea in the league in 4th place.
Flashback is over. Let’s fast forward 3 years to 2012. I’ll keep the most astonishing and incredible event for the last and fittingly so. For now let’s take a look back at last year’s Bundesliga. It’s not Bayern Munich who won the league, but Dortmund. It’s their second consecutive league title. They have shown unparalleled consistency in the league, which is far from matched in Europe. Consisting of talented players such as Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, they cruised to the league title with little irritation from the rest of the pack. Star midfielder Kagawa lit up the league but has been signed by Manchester United for the upcoming season. Finishing 8 points above second placed Bayern, Dortmund have once again cemented their reputation as German giants. In the German cup final against Bayern, they made a huge statement by mauling Bayern 5-2 just before Bayern’s champion’s league final game. One thing to note is that Dortmund had an inconsistent start to the season with Bayern holding on to top spot. At the midway point Bayern slipped up probably due to their European commitments. Dortmund seized the opportunity and clinched top spot and stayed at the summit till the end. They had a miserable European campaign finishing last in their group after Arsenal, Marseille and Olympiakos.
Dortmund players celebrate after scoring a goal.
Hamburg and Hertha Berlin have seen a huge change in fortune in recent years. The unpredictability of this league was evident as both the clubs just managed to avoid relegation. FC Koln and FC Kaiserslautern faced the drop. I have always considered the Bundesliga to be the most competitive if not the best league in Europe. Dortmund's triumph continues to prove me right. It's easy to imagine Bayern lifting the trophy every year with their monopoly of German internationals and exciting foreign players. But that's hardly the case. Teams such as Stuttgart, Bremen and Wolfsburg have also won the league in recent times and continue to persist in the top ten. The likes of Leverkusen and Schalke also occasionally provide us with a bit excitement. Schalke's Klaas Jan Huntelaar finished as top scorer with 29 goals and Bayern's Mario Gomez was second with 26 goals. Dortmund, Bayern and Schalke automatically qualify for the group stages of the champions league and Monchengladbach will play in the play offs. Remember that Germany now has 4 spots in the champion's league at the expense of Italy.
Hamburg and Hertha Berlin have seen a huge change in fortune in recent years. The unpredictability of this league was evident as both the clubs just managed to avoid relegation. FC Koln and FC Kaiserslautern faced the drop. I have always considered the Bundesliga to be the most competitive if not the best league in Europe. Dortmund's triumph continues to prove me right. It's easy to imagine Bayern lifting the trophy every year with their monopoly of German internationals and exciting foreign players. But that's hardly the case. Teams such as Stuttgart, Bremen and Wolfsburg have also won the league in recent times and continue to persist in the top ten. The likes of Leverkusen and Schalke also occasionally provide us with a bit excitement. Schalke's Klaas Jan Huntelaar finished as top scorer with 29 goals and Bayern's Mario Gomez was second with 26 goals. Dortmund, Bayern and Schalke automatically qualify for the group stages of the champions league and Monchengladbach will play in the play offs. Remember that Germany now has 4 spots in the champion's league at the expense of Italy.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Schalke won the golden boot in the Bundesliga.
Now let’s take a look at England. Not as competitive as Germany but exciting nonetheless. As you go towards the English mid table and below the quality increases than that of the German teams. Where do we begin? Chelsea had a dismal league campaign ending in 6th place. Andres Villas-Boas who was appointed in the summer was sacked midway through the season. His replacement, Roberto Di Matteo steadied the ship towards the end but the damage was already done and they could not topple even the likes of Newcastle. The team from Tyneside had a brilliant season which was sort of rejuvenation. After years of experimentation and mediocrity, they finally had a stable team. With the solid Tim Krul between the posts, they had a reliable keeper, the first one after Shay Given. Cabaye was a brilliant signing. He controlled the midfield just like Ballack or Gerrard a few years back. On top of that he is a dead ball specialist as well. Tiote is a rock in defensive mid. Ben Arfa as we know is very unpredictable. He showed some promising signs, performing well in the few games he managed to start. Senegalese duo Demba Ba and Papisse Cisse formed a formidable strike partnership after Cisse’s January capture. Ba scored for fun in the first half of the season. He passed the torch on to Cisse in the second half. Particularly in a match against Chelsea at the Bridge, Cisse scored two cracking goals, one of them arguably the best goal of the season. I am putting a lot of emphasis on Newcastle since they look promising and have shown the greatest improvement.
Now let’s take a look at England. Not as competitive as Germany but exciting nonetheless. As you go towards the English mid table and below the quality increases than that of the German teams. Where do we begin? Chelsea had a dismal league campaign ending in 6th place. Andres Villas-Boas who was appointed in the summer was sacked midway through the season. His replacement, Roberto Di Matteo steadied the ship towards the end but the damage was already done and they could not topple even the likes of Newcastle. The team from Tyneside had a brilliant season which was sort of rejuvenation. After years of experimentation and mediocrity, they finally had a stable team. With the solid Tim Krul between the posts, they had a reliable keeper, the first one after Shay Given. Cabaye was a brilliant signing. He controlled the midfield just like Ballack or Gerrard a few years back. On top of that he is a dead ball specialist as well. Tiote is a rock in defensive mid. Ben Arfa as we know is very unpredictable. He showed some promising signs, performing well in the few games he managed to start. Senegalese duo Demba Ba and Papisse Cisse formed a formidable strike partnership after Cisse’s January capture. Ba scored for fun in the first half of the season. He passed the torch on to Cisse in the second half. Particularly in a match against Chelsea at the Bridge, Cisse scored two cracking goals, one of them arguably the best goal of the season. I am putting a lot of emphasis on Newcastle since they look promising and have shown the greatest improvement.
Demba Ba and Papisse Cisse celebrate after scoring.
Arsenal finished 3rd and have managed to keep their place in Europe. Tottenham finished but 4th but they won’t be playing in the champion’s league. More details on that later. Manchester United had a very close run in with City at the end taking the title defense to the very last minute of the last matchday. Having done their job at Sunderland, Utd hoped for City to drop points against QPR at the Eastlands. Shockingly QPR were leading 2-1 with 5 min remaining. Man City was throwing the kitchen sink at them but to no avail. Eventually they got a goal back through the substitute Dzeko and astonishingly grabbed the latest and the most dramatic of winners through Aguero after some neat interchanges with Yaya Toure. Utd were stunned and City clinched their first EPL title.
City, truly have a championship winning side now. Solid defence, versatile midfield and numerous attacking options provide them with optimism and great expectations. I can’t help but point out the strikers, Tevez, Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli, one from each major league of Europe. In Vincent Kompany they have a determined and committed captain who leads the defence alongside Lescott. Joe Hart is comparable to any world class keeper like Casillas, Neuer or Cech. Their midfield contains creative players like Silva and Nasri, as well as De Jong, Toure and Barry who marshal the defense. However it is essential to get the team selection correct by Roberto Mancini.
Manchester City with the EPL trophy.
At the bottom of the league, Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves were sent down to the 1st division. Bolton had a chance to survive but Queens Park Rangers got the better of them. Aston Villa had a slight scare and ended up just two points above the relegation zone. It was a disappointing season for them as they managed only16th spot. Van Persie of Arsenal took the PFA best player award as well as the golden boot award for the league. Almost single handedly he took Arsenal to 3rd spot but rumors are afloat that he wishes to leave the club after hearing their policies for the future. However, Arsenal have signed German international Lukas Podolski. Di Matteo has stayed on as Chelsea manager for another year atleast. Chelsea have also signed young, promising talents such as Marin, Hazard, de Bruyne and Piazon. Utd have captured Kagawa as stated earlier. Spurs are chasing Ajax defender Vertonghen. City have yet to splash into the market but it’s probably a matter of time.
Robin Van Persie with the PFA player of the year award.
Finally we get to the most exciting competition of them all, the champion’s league. Let’s just start off with the winners, runners up and knockout fixtures. Leverkusen faced giants Barca after finishing 2nd in their group after Chelsea. Barca took them apart easily. Zenit St. Petersburg faced Benfica in the round of 16 but lost out. Arsenal faced Milan in the knockout round. After a 4-0 demolition by Milan at the San Siro, Arsenal provided a small scare in the return leg as they won 3-0 but it was not enough. Bayern defeated Basel, Madrid beat CSKA and Marseille shockingly beat Inter. Chelsea and Napoli played out the best tie of the round. Having lost 3-1 to Napoli in the first leg, Chelsea stormed back to win 4-1 after extra time in the second leg at the Bridge.
Barcelona then faced Milan in the semis and after yet another controversial tie, they managed to reach the semis were they faced Chelsea. Chelsea had beaten Benfica. Madrid faced European rivals Lyon yet again. But this time Madrid prevailed and faced Bayern in the semis after the Bavarians beat Marseille in the quarters. Madrid won the first leg 2-1 but Bayern returned the favor in the second leg which led to penalties. Ramos’ disastrous spot kick allowed Schweinsteiger to score the winning penalty and send Bayern into the final at their home ground of Allianz Arena.
Lionel Messi dribbling past Milan players in the champions league.
The other semifinal saw bitter rivals Chelsea face off with Barcelona. On paper it was supposed to be a cake walk for Barca. Chelsea went into the tie as huge under dogs. Despite of that, fans from other clubs supported them due to their hate for Barca and their antics. The first leg saw Chelsea earn a 1-0 win at home. It was by no means a done deal. They still had to endure Barca at the Nou Camp in front of their countless supporters. Chelsea went into the game with a defensive mindset, understandably. They did not have the quality of players to match Barcelona’s and therefore they decided to sit back on their one goal advantage. But their luck ran out early on. Luiz pulled out of the game with injury and Cahill was taken off early as well due to injury. Barcelona scored quickly through Busquets. A bit after that Terry was sent off after a silly nudge on Sanchez with his knee. Barca capitalized and scored another goal this time through Iniesta. It was virtually over for Chelsea. Nou Camp, 2 goals down, captain and central defender sent off, 2 defenders injured and Barcelona’s attacking strength looked too much to overcome. Chelsea, over the years, have shown unparalleled character and this was the perfect time for some of that. Immediately they pulled one back. Lampard slid in a through ball for Ramires which he delightly chipped over the despairing Valdes. Chelsea at this point of time, were going through. In the second half Barca came out all guns blazing and Chelsea displayed the most heroic of rearguard actions. Messi managed to get a penalty which he shot thunderously against the bar. It was one of those nights for Barca. Late into the game a long clearance fell kindly for Torres. All the Barca players had pushed up and Torres had the abundance of Nou Camp to run into. Confidently he went past Valdes and slotted the ball home which proved to be the icing on the cake. It was dubbed as the fifty million pounds goal.
Fernando Torres of Chelsea goes past Victor Valdes of Barcelona.
Chelsea faced yet another daunting task of taking on Bayern in the final at Munich. They had to do it without the services of the suspended Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires and Meireles. However, Cahill and Luiz were back at defense for Chelsea. Bayern went for goal from minute one. Relentless attacks after attacks were thwarted away by Chelsea with the occasional counter attack. The entire game was dominated by Bayern but some inspired defending helped Chelsea keep them out. Late into the game, Muller scored from a header. Yet again, it looked over for Chelsea. Or was it? Drogba, Chelsea’s star man, grabbed a very late equalizer through a thunderous header to send the game into extra time. The same pattern continued in extra time with Bayern pushing on. Robben had a chance to win it with a spot kick but Cech pulled off a great save. Luck was on Chelsea’s side yet again. In the end it was to be decided on penalties. Olic and Schweinsteiger missed for Bayern which left Drogba to score the winning penalty. Chelsea finally won the trophy they coveted for so long. They had also booked a place in next seasons competition at the expense of Tottenham despit Spurs finishing above Chelsea in the league in 4th place.
Chelsea players with the champions league trophy.
Manchester Utd were surprisingly knocked out in the group stages itself by Basel and Benfica. City shared the same fate as they lost out to Bayern and Napoli. It was one of the most astonishing of champion's leagues. Chelsea against all odds came out as winners. Overall it was a season which saw many changes and surprising results. It saw the emergence of new teams and the descent of the old and mighty.
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