As if the romanticism and simmering brightness of an evening sunset couldn’t delight and inspire you more, the 65000 strong Dortmund faithful continued to light up the night long after the sun had gone down over the Signal Iduna stadium. It was a sweet embrace in a corner of Northern Germany, a wave of emotion from each stand, a night to behold, a statement to the rest of Europe.
The flags waved, the deep German voices bellowed out their heroes and one perplexed Portuguese manager looked on at Robert Lewandoski as if he’d just taken his homework and tore it up like rampaging pitbull. This was a night when the classical number 9 striker came out to play, when the definition of ‘that boy can turn on a 5 pence piece’ was epitomised in one....two....goal.
Whatever it is that might happen to this incredible Dortmund side in the near future was left somewhere far from the archaic stadium that was beamed around the world last night. They ripped into this Real Madrid team full of world class talent and individual brilliance right from the off, controlling the tempo, pushing high up the pitch and finding channels which at times sent the Madrid defence into a blubbering mess.
Dortmund’s first chance, a mazy run through the middle by the outstanding Marco Reus after the first few minutes, should have sounded the alarm bells for Mourinho’s men. Instead it set the tone for the night and a couple of minutes later Dortmund’s early pressure paid dividend. Lewandoski lost Pepe in the box as the departing Mario Gotze whipped in a delightful ball from the left and all the Polish international had left to do was poke it home with his outstretched right boot.
Madrid’s only real attack of the night came from a Mats Hummel’s mistake. He was too casual in attempting to knock the ball back to Dortmund keeper, Roman Weidenfeller. This came at a critical time in the game as half time approached. After they missed out on a penalty claim a few moments before Gonzalo Higuain squared to Ronaldo to slot home, they could have gone into the changing room at half time with heads bowed and a negative attitude for the remaining 45 minutes. In fact they did the opposite, with Hummel’s in particular looking fired up for the second half as they entered the field of play.
Dortmund seemed to use their setback as a mere stepping stone to greater things. And my did they create great things in what turned into a rout by the time the referee blew the final whistle. Ilkay Gundogan will no doubt be missing from all the big headlines but he churned out an incredibly patient and powerful midfield performance, setting off Dortmund’s forward play as well as cutting off the balls up to Mesut Ozil and Ronaldo, and along with the returning Sven Bender, stopped any of the attacks Madrid attempted.
The German side had the lead back 5 minutes after the restart with Sami Khedira lazily keeping Lewandoski on side, for the striker to turn and finish in one slick movement. If you thought that was slick then his third was perfection. An immaculate combination of touch, turn and close control gave Pepe a dizzy spell, matched by a clinical finish into the roof of the net to send the famous Subtribune behind Madrid keeper Diego Lopez’s goal into utter pandemonium.
Madrid looked stunned, and even more mystified when the magnificent Gundogan ran through 4 or 5 Madrid players only for his shot to be expertly save by Lopez. They need not have worried as to whether Dortmund would score a fourth, when in the 66th minute Xabi Alonso bundled into the back Reus. Alonso had been poor all night and was rarely given a chance to pass the ball the way he has done so efficiently for both Liverpool and Madrid. A clumsy takedown of an opposition player gave evidence to Alonso’s frustration and Lewandowski happily made the Spaniard rue his mistake with a thunderous strike into the roof of a net now worn down thanks to the 24 year olds right foot. In all honesty he could have tapped that ball at snail’s pace for it only to go the same speed as a rocket thanks to the yellow sea of fans pulling it towards their goal. 4-1 and Dortmund were in dreamland.
They saw out the game professionally and Weidenfeller was briefly reminded of what he faces next week at the Bernabeu when scrambling to block Ronaldo’s shot two minutes before time. Madrid are certainly capable of scoring three but the question is can they shut out this incredible attacking line Dortmund possess. A small miracle requires both Madrid and Barcelona to progress to Wembley on May 25th as the F.A celebrate their 150th Anniversary. Football (or should I say Fussball) is most certainly coming home in celebration of this, and it’s more than likely Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich will be at centre stage for it.
Friday 26 April 2013
The Vampire Witchunt
“He did not murder anyone. He did not conduct an armed robbery, or rob a car before driving 120mph down a motorway. The wrong way. Suarez did not beat up an old lady, fiddle his tax returns or misread the signs of economic recovery costing investors in a worldwide conglomerate hundreds of millions of pounds. Suarez did not do any of these things.
In fact, the more time we spend together compiling this list, the closer we might be to confirming that Suarez is, in fact, a thoroughly wholesome, law abiding individual who just happened to make another one of those daft mistakes he is prone to in a football stadium from time to time.”
I must have scoped through endless articles of the last few days before finding the quote above, many times close to opening my back door and launching the laptop at my little white West Highland Terrier who was minding his own business in the late April sunshine barking at the pigeons harassing him in his territory (don’t worry I didn’t).
What you should take literally from the above is my anger. And where is that anger coming from you ask? Well if you have seen any (and I mean ANY) news channel, twitter feed, Facebook video, new game alert pop up or a man at the bottom of your road screaming bloody murder then you’ll be aware that we on Merseyside are in the middle of a ‘lock your doors, there’s a cannibal on the loose’ phase in our lives.
There have been various sightings of this mad man as we peer around each corner to check if his blood dripping nashers are targeting us next, not knowing whether we will make it to the end of each day.
It’s all been too easy these past few days for the media as well as the wet lettuces at the F.A. It was a strange incident, one many will say ‘And just when you thought you’d seen it all, he bites someone’. It’s true that it was strange and it’s true I am not condoning what Luis Suarez did to Branislav Ivanovic. What he did was immature, selfish and all round stupid and its part of his persona that he must work on.
From what I do know, he is a family man, with a young daughter and a childhood sweetheart of a wife who keeps himself to himself off the pitch. His passion is unrelenting so much so that Jamie Carragher puts him almost alongside himself in that category. Something within Suarez ticks when he steps out over the white line, in front of the camera’s and the thousands of fans. In the heat of the moment his decision to react to whatever emotions he has felt in that instant was a bite. We are used to seeing a horror tackle, or an elbow, even a punch when a player reacts in their heat of the moment. A bite is strange behaviour, and it’s right that he should speak to Liverpool’s top psychologist, Steve Rodgers. And as Carragher said ‘we should help him, not hound him’.
To criticise Liverpool is unfair. My Evertonian friends may tell me I’m speaking through rose tinted glasses but they will also agree with me that the furore around this is quite ridiculous. Add this to the fact that it became all very easy for that fantastic institution of ours, the F.A to ban Suarez and you are in for a period in which the whole club is ridiculed.
And for those who say that two footed tackles, elbows and other such aggressive acts are ‘part of the game’, them I’m afraid you need to check your glasses........rose and tinted. These are acts added to an already aggressive game and acts that are fowl and in my opinion disgusting. I’d much rather be nibbled on the arm than on the receiving of a malicious high tackle. Football is a contact sport and I’m sure many who have the joys of playing football at any level love nothing more than a mud filled all out tackle that’s fair and ‘game-worthy’. And an elbow, well that’s just GBH.
For those who also say our children will be affected by this biting incident is completely ridiculous. When David Beckham kicked Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup and was sent off I was 8 years old. The week following that incident I’m relatively certain my friends and I did not produce savage ‘kicking attacks’ on other kids our age. Ironically what I remember the most is the effigy of Beckham hanging outside of a pub, printed by the media and for the people like some heroic act of righteousness. Funny how it all works isn’t it. What I would put it down to, the fact that some kids can be affected by such a baron attack on another human being, is poor parenting. The brutal truth I know but I’m not the only one thinking it.
The likelihood is that come September he will be tearing up defences in towns and cities near you, hated by the home support like a pantomime villain in his golden years, a caricature created by the media and F.A, heralded by the Liverpool fans like a returning hero, whose act of treachery is now a thing of the distant past.
And maybe that’s what it’s supposed to be; maybe this is the character Luis Suarez was destined to play since his days as a street baller on the streets of Montevideo. He’s made a mistake, and attempts to rectify it as well as making sure it won’t happen again are in place. Whether it works I’m not sure, but his footballing abilities are why I paid my ticket to watch Liverpool and Chelsea on Sunday. And that will never change.
In fact, the more time we spend together compiling this list, the closer we might be to confirming that Suarez is, in fact, a thoroughly wholesome, law abiding individual who just happened to make another one of those daft mistakes he is prone to in a football stadium from time to time.”
I must have scoped through endless articles of the last few days before finding the quote above, many times close to opening my back door and launching the laptop at my little white West Highland Terrier who was minding his own business in the late April sunshine barking at the pigeons harassing him in his territory (don’t worry I didn’t).
What you should take literally from the above is my anger. And where is that anger coming from you ask? Well if you have seen any (and I mean ANY) news channel, twitter feed, Facebook video, new game alert pop up or a man at the bottom of your road screaming bloody murder then you’ll be aware that we on Merseyside are in the middle of a ‘lock your doors, there’s a cannibal on the loose’ phase in our lives.
There have been various sightings of this mad man as we peer around each corner to check if his blood dripping nashers are targeting us next, not knowing whether we will make it to the end of each day.
It’s all been too easy these past few days for the media as well as the wet lettuces at the F.A. It was a strange incident, one many will say ‘And just when you thought you’d seen it all, he bites someone’. It’s true that it was strange and it’s true I am not condoning what Luis Suarez did to Branislav Ivanovic. What he did was immature, selfish and all round stupid and its part of his persona that he must work on.
From what I do know, he is a family man, with a young daughter and a childhood sweetheart of a wife who keeps himself to himself off the pitch. His passion is unrelenting so much so that Jamie Carragher puts him almost alongside himself in that category. Something within Suarez ticks when he steps out over the white line, in front of the camera’s and the thousands of fans. In the heat of the moment his decision to react to whatever emotions he has felt in that instant was a bite. We are used to seeing a horror tackle, or an elbow, even a punch when a player reacts in their heat of the moment. A bite is strange behaviour, and it’s right that he should speak to Liverpool’s top psychologist, Steve Rodgers. And as Carragher said ‘we should help him, not hound him’.
To criticise Liverpool is unfair. My Evertonian friends may tell me I’m speaking through rose tinted glasses but they will also agree with me that the furore around this is quite ridiculous. Add this to the fact that it became all very easy for that fantastic institution of ours, the F.A to ban Suarez and you are in for a period in which the whole club is ridiculed.
And for those who say that two footed tackles, elbows and other such aggressive acts are ‘part of the game’, them I’m afraid you need to check your glasses........rose and tinted. These are acts added to an already aggressive game and acts that are fowl and in my opinion disgusting. I’d much rather be nibbled on the arm than on the receiving of a malicious high tackle. Football is a contact sport and I’m sure many who have the joys of playing football at any level love nothing more than a mud filled all out tackle that’s fair and ‘game-worthy’. And an elbow, well that’s just GBH.
For those who also say our children will be affected by this biting incident is completely ridiculous. When David Beckham kicked Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup and was sent off I was 8 years old. The week following that incident I’m relatively certain my friends and I did not produce savage ‘kicking attacks’ on other kids our age. Ironically what I remember the most is the effigy of Beckham hanging outside of a pub, printed by the media and for the people like some heroic act of righteousness. Funny how it all works isn’t it. What I would put it down to, the fact that some kids can be affected by such a baron attack on another human being, is poor parenting. The brutal truth I know but I’m not the only one thinking it.
The likelihood is that come September he will be tearing up defences in towns and cities near you, hated by the home support like a pantomime villain in his golden years, a caricature created by the media and F.A, heralded by the Liverpool fans like a returning hero, whose act of treachery is now a thing of the distant past.
And maybe that’s what it’s supposed to be; maybe this is the character Luis Suarez was destined to play since his days as a street baller on the streets of Montevideo. He’s made a mistake, and attempts to rectify it as well as making sure it won’t happen again are in place. Whether it works I’m not sure, but his footballing abilities are why I paid my ticket to watch Liverpool and Chelsea on Sunday. And that will never change.
Monday 15 April 2013
A pocket of reflection......Justice for the 96.
Hillsborough- 15th April 1989
I slowly walked across the gravel car park outside Hillsborough Stadium, a bunch a red flowers in hand that offered the most inferior of sympathies. It was my third and final year at Sheffield Hallam University but the first time I had been in Sheffield for the anniversary.
I walked through on the right hand side of Leppings Lane end, a lone steward pointing the direction towards which I was to lay the flowers. As I turned the corner and walked a few more yards I saw two men in their late forties sitting 5 or 6 rows up, eyes as red as the Kop on a European night at Anfield.
The stadium lay silent, the brisk spring breeze of South Yorkshire swirled around the stadium. These two men sat close together, they looked tired, crestfallen at the events that had unfolded here all those years ago.
I didn’t say a word to them but I knew they were Liverpudlians, I knew they were there that horrendous day and I knew they had lost and suffered. I didn’t know them personally, I’d never spoken to them before that day and I’ll most likely never see them again. But I felt a connection to their misery, to whatever heartache that besieged them over two decades ago.
As I lay the flowers behind the goal, I took a minute to pay my respects, to remember the names of those who’d lost their lives. The last image I have is of those two men, still in the same frozen position as when I arrived and that is something that will stay with me forever.
As a Liverpool fan you feel part of something more than a football club, it’s an archaic institution that represents the lives of so many. Stories are passed down of games, players and journey’s gone by. There’s a part of you that feels like you were there. The story of Hillsborough however is the one story that I’ll remember the most.
I wasn’t even around in April 1989, I was 11 months away from coming into this world. It would be 5 or 6 years before I’d begin to think of Liverpool as my team. It would be a few more years later when, on a school trip down to London I accidently and shamefully bought the Sun newspaper without realising the extent to which it had enraged a city.
Since then I’ve grown up, become part of the clubs tradition and paid my ticket money. But most importantly I’ve listened. I have listened to those who were alive that day, who had witnessed it in person or watched as it unfolded on television. I even met a Yorkshire woman who, after the bodies of the dead had been removed from the temporary morgue in the stadium, had the horrifying task of cleaning the room where hundreds had lay injured and others had taken their last breath.
Learning the history of something, not just a football club, acts as a model for you as a person to develop your own life, to follow the ways with which you deem to be the correct ones. Sometimes those stories are good, sometimes, like Hillsborough, they are utterly gut-wrenching in every sense of the word. Sometimes they make you stop and appreciate what you have and who you have, and it makes life all that more special.
For anyone reading this who doesn’t know what Hillsborough is, consider this; this tragedy happened before my birth, but it has given me more lessons in life than most things ever will. It has given me an added determination to succeed in my chosen career field. Through watching the relentless search for justice these families have undertaken for the past 24 years puts everything into perspective. There is something deeply ingrained in humans beings to search for justice, to search for the truth and these people have gone past epitomising that. It has given me admiration for them beyond any stretch of recognition.
Let’s for a second forget the politics of this, I don’t need to remind you of the controversies in the aftermath of Hillsborough. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, look it up. Look it up and prepare to be astounded, ashamed, disappointed in our system. Astounded that a story like this is true. Ashamed that our countries institutions acted like this when human life was involved. Disappointed that 96 were not given a chance to live and to breathe, to love and to feel again. The words and phrases we associate with this disaster; ‘Justice for the 96’, ‘Don’t buy the Sun’, ‘24000 fans travelled that day, 96 never came home’, will never get old, will never cease to offer as powerful a message now than it did 24 years go.
This was nothing more than a monumental cover up. If you think moral, think the opposite. If you think truth, think the opposite. If you think clarity, think the opposite. If you think life......think death, and your heart will break. This is a relentless heartache that has spanned the course of my whole life. An agonising campaign for justice that should have been answered long, long ago. But for a reason unbeknown to me, these families, these tired people who wake up every morning and fight for a cause that would bring most to their knees, when they shouldn’t have too. They should NOT have too. Not anymore.
They are the inspiration. They are the beaming light coming of a city knocked down on countless occasions. They are the reason we remember this injustice, this tragedy, and I’m selfishly appreciative of the perspective they have given me on life as they continue to keep alive the memories of their loved ones who have moved on. Remember them, and remember what they have done and continue to do in their fight for the truth.
Justice for the 96.
I slowly walked across the gravel car park outside Hillsborough Stadium, a bunch a red flowers in hand that offered the most inferior of sympathies. It was my third and final year at Sheffield Hallam University but the first time I had been in Sheffield for the anniversary.
I walked through on the right hand side of Leppings Lane end, a lone steward pointing the direction towards which I was to lay the flowers. As I turned the corner and walked a few more yards I saw two men in their late forties sitting 5 or 6 rows up, eyes as red as the Kop on a European night at Anfield.
The stadium lay silent, the brisk spring breeze of South Yorkshire swirled around the stadium. These two men sat close together, they looked tired, crestfallen at the events that had unfolded here all those years ago.
I didn’t say a word to them but I knew they were Liverpudlians, I knew they were there that horrendous day and I knew they had lost and suffered. I didn’t know them personally, I’d never spoken to them before that day and I’ll most likely never see them again. But I felt a connection to their misery, to whatever heartache that besieged them over two decades ago.
As I lay the flowers behind the goal, I took a minute to pay my respects, to remember the names of those who’d lost their lives. The last image I have is of those two men, still in the same frozen position as when I arrived and that is something that will stay with me forever.
As a Liverpool fan you feel part of something more than a football club, it’s an archaic institution that represents the lives of so many. Stories are passed down of games, players and journey’s gone by. There’s a part of you that feels like you were there. The story of Hillsborough however is the one story that I’ll remember the most.
I wasn’t even around in April 1989, I was 11 months away from coming into this world. It would be 5 or 6 years before I’d begin to think of Liverpool as my team. It would be a few more years later when, on a school trip down to London I accidently and shamefully bought the Sun newspaper without realising the extent to which it had enraged a city.
Since then I’ve grown up, become part of the clubs tradition and paid my ticket money. But most importantly I’ve listened. I have listened to those who were alive that day, who had witnessed it in person or watched as it unfolded on television. I even met a Yorkshire woman who, after the bodies of the dead had been removed from the temporary morgue in the stadium, had the horrifying task of cleaning the room where hundreds had lay injured and others had taken their last breath.
Learning the history of something, not just a football club, acts as a model for you as a person to develop your own life, to follow the ways with which you deem to be the correct ones. Sometimes those stories are good, sometimes, like Hillsborough, they are utterly gut-wrenching in every sense of the word. Sometimes they make you stop and appreciate what you have and who you have, and it makes life all that more special.
For anyone reading this who doesn’t know what Hillsborough is, consider this; this tragedy happened before my birth, but it has given me more lessons in life than most things ever will. It has given me an added determination to succeed in my chosen career field. Through watching the relentless search for justice these families have undertaken for the past 24 years puts everything into perspective. There is something deeply ingrained in humans beings to search for justice, to search for the truth and these people have gone past epitomising that. It has given me admiration for them beyond any stretch of recognition.
Let’s for a second forget the politics of this, I don’t need to remind you of the controversies in the aftermath of Hillsborough. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, look it up. Look it up and prepare to be astounded, ashamed, disappointed in our system. Astounded that a story like this is true. Ashamed that our countries institutions acted like this when human life was involved. Disappointed that 96 were not given a chance to live and to breathe, to love and to feel again. The words and phrases we associate with this disaster; ‘Justice for the 96’, ‘Don’t buy the Sun’, ‘24000 fans travelled that day, 96 never came home’, will never get old, will never cease to offer as powerful a message now than it did 24 years go.
This was nothing more than a monumental cover up. If you think moral, think the opposite. If you think truth, think the opposite. If you think clarity, think the opposite. If you think life......think death, and your heart will break. This is a relentless heartache that has spanned the course of my whole life. An agonising campaign for justice that should have been answered long, long ago. But for a reason unbeknown to me, these families, these tired people who wake up every morning and fight for a cause that would bring most to their knees, when they shouldn’t have too. They should NOT have too. Not anymore.
They are the inspiration. They are the beaming light coming of a city knocked down on countless occasions. They are the reason we remember this injustice, this tragedy, and I’m selfishly appreciative of the perspective they have given me on life as they continue to keep alive the memories of their loved ones who have moved on. Remember them, and remember what they have done and continue to do in their fight for the truth.
Justice for the 96.
Thursday 11 April 2013
'Venturing over to the dark side'
'If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the curtains.'
The 8:40 Virgin train careered towards London Euston through the greenery and ice-ridden flatlands of England. The journey from my home on the Wirral, just outside Liverpool, to the heart of England’s capital city had taken a mere couple of hours. My thoughts often sidetracked to the quote above and others like it, as my friend and I made our way to North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspurs, White Hart Lane.
We were due to sit in the 27th row of the away end section for Tottenham’s home game against Everton. My friend, Sharpy had asked me a few weeks back if I wanted to go down with him and watch this important tie which could have had significant impact on who plays in Europe next season.
For those who are unlucky enough to know me, their knowledge tells them I’m a Liverpool fan and have been since I received both Liverpool and Everton shirts during the Christmas of 1995 and deemed the Crown Paint sponsored red shirt as my lifelong colour.
The way football works, particularly nowadays were it all seems to matter that little more, is that your club are your sole focus and that every other team doesn’t matter. Everything about them is alien to what you, your fellow fans and your club are about. So for me to travel so far from home for an Everton game is an eyebrow raiser in itself to say the least. My personal feeling though......Well, I’m just off to watch some Sunday football with one of my best mates.
As we rolled into Euston, you’re immediately hit with a sense of the multi cultural Britain that isn’t so obvious back home. Before I’d even walked out of the main doors to the station I’d heard 2 or 3 different languages, all stood looking at the departures board, confused at our running of public transport and unaware of the experiences they were about to have on board one of our ‘fantastic’ national trains.
After a brief shake of the head and a huge puff of despondent breath towards the 30p charge for being allowed to go the toilet, and with Euston stations very own ‘toilet monitor’ guarding the entrance to the cubicles like the Orcs of Mordor in Lord of the Rings which meant I couldn’t jump over the barrier, we went underground to the London tubes.
We were due to meet an old friend in Finsbury Park so our detour meant a couple of different lines before our final stop at White Hart Lane. Making our way down the 25 escalators before getting to what felt like the core of the Earth in the heat of the underground, we spotted Everton’s very own legendary striker Graeme Sharp. My friend, the Evertonian and season ticket holder at Goodison Park almost dropped the can of Kronenbourg he was carrying about the place as he meandered his way through the disgruntled Londoners awaiting their train. It’s safe to say the Cheshire Cat would have been proud of his smile, and after a brief conversation with his hero and 5 more minutes on the tube with his mouth gawping as wide as the Mersey Tunnel entrance staring at him, we arrived at Finsbury Park tube station.
My friend Karl, who we had just met, informed us that no pubs were open till 12pm, so being the excited away day travellers we were, stood outside the pub down the road from the station 10 minutes before opening time, eager to get our lips on the first proper pint of the day. We were greeted by a barmaid who seemed disgruntled to the fact we were keen to drink so early, but our awkwardness towards that particular situation was shared by the 7 or 8 others also waiting to enter the alehouse, so it wasn’t so bad. It seems our capital is a city of alcoholics and we were happy enough to get on board with that for the day.
Some pints later and a couple of expensive shots of Jager, we said goodbye to the creepy barmaid who was definitely high on something (and it wasn’t life) as well as arranging to meet Karl for a couple more drinks after the game. We merrily made our way down towards our tube station with Sharpy belting out a couple of Everton songs as I laughed and apologised to every passer by who’s eardrum had suffered thanks to his version of ‘Jela-Jelavic’. On the train we leapt and White Hart Lane was a few brief stops away.
Mini match report
The game itself was an enthralling one, with both teams having dominant spells throughout which created some fascinating counter attacking football. Both sides had players missing after injury or suspension sidelined them for the afternoon’s activities. Both though played like they deserved those coveted European spots and both had fantastic support from their respective fans on a fresh mid afternoon in North London.
Kevin Mirallas was the pick of the players for Everton as he created and scored the Toffee’s second with a couple of twists and turns to send Stephen Caulkner into a defenders nightmare. Victor Anichebe worked tirelessly but to no avail as he squandered a one on one with Hugo Lloris right at the death. Nikica Jelavic needed to find form in this one but found himself on the bench at the start of the game. He got his chance in the 52nd but didn’t do enough to convince the Everton faithful his form was returning. The Croatian’s 8 goals in 36 games this season is a poor return in comparison to the 11 he bagged in the 16 played after his January signing in 2012.
Tottenham at times looked tired, and with their Europa League fixtures continuing to pile up it almost felt like the late Gylfi Sigurdsson tap in was something of a surprise. 1 point in the last two home games has given the Spurs fans a minor cause for concern and this was pretty evident as we chatted to a couple of them on the walk back to the tube station.
They lacked pace, particularly on the wings with Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale both out. Scott Parker isn’t the fastest and as much as Dembele has controlled games on many occasions this season, he didn’t have his usual impact and was replaced by Tom Huddlestone in the second half. Tottenham though have a certain resilience about them that hasn’t been around in years before, and watching up close I got the feeling Andre Villas Boas has really moulded his team into what he’d tried but failed to do at Chelsea. Next season I have no doubt they will be one of the favourites for the Champions League places, and with added signings to go along with prospects like Lewis Holtby as well as Sunday’s goal scorer Sigurdsson, they look a potential force to be reckoned with.
With the game finished, we met Karl for a couple more drinks near Euston before getting on the wrong train back to our connecting station Crewe, and found ourselves on a four and half hour local stopping station train instead. This didn’t scupper my satisfaction at a great day of football and ‘away day’ travel. I’d ventured out of many people’s comfort zones and gone almost against the grain of what most believe shouldn’t be done in football. On the other hand, as an aspiring Sports Journalist, I’d gotten everything I’d wanted and when on that sloth like train crawling back to the North I couldn’t wait to get back and write this on my site.
Part of what football and sport is about is that of competitiveness, of people coming together and celebrating it, of cheering on the teams and the competitors we are lucky enough to be able to watch, to form a rivalry that’s respectful and not resentful of others. More often than not we see the negative side to what football has created, the vile chants, the abuse of players from fans, the abuse of fans to other fans. It’s a side I’ve never liked and will never have time for. One of the reasons I travelled down to London to watch Everton was to gain a simple understanding of fan culture. Many see going to watch another football team at another ground other than theirs as an act not even the devil can conjure up.
I can tell you right now that these 3500 Everton fans I stood in the middle of don’t have 3 heads, purple slobber and webbed hands or feet. They, like everybody else, spend incredible amounts to cover all corners of the country, of the world sometimes, to watch their team. They drink the same beer, sit on the same train, debate the same debates, read the same articles, sing the same songs (albeit with a couple of different words) and most importantly, they go to watch the same sport.
This article won’t change the minds of every rival hating supporter; this isn’t the angle I am trying to take here. I’m not a pushover fan either, I have one team and that will never change. I will happily go for a pint with a level headed Manchester United fan before they play against Liverpool. The debates can ravage on for hours, with healthy talk about best teams and great managers, and no bitterness towards past incidents of chants about Hillsborough or Munich. But once they enter their away section the rivalry (albeit respectful) begins. Unfortunately that isn’t the case for everyone, and that’s the unfortunate part of our sport. Maybe people should disagree with Bill Shankly, and open their curtains to any game, and enjoy it for what it is. I certainly did, and feel all the better for it.
The 8:40 Virgin train careered towards London Euston through the greenery and ice-ridden flatlands of England. The journey from my home on the Wirral, just outside Liverpool, to the heart of England’s capital city had taken a mere couple of hours. My thoughts often sidetracked to the quote above and others like it, as my friend and I made our way to North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspurs, White Hart Lane.
We were due to sit in the 27th row of the away end section for Tottenham’s home game against Everton. My friend, Sharpy had asked me a few weeks back if I wanted to go down with him and watch this important tie which could have had significant impact on who plays in Europe next season.
For those who are unlucky enough to know me, their knowledge tells them I’m a Liverpool fan and have been since I received both Liverpool and Everton shirts during the Christmas of 1995 and deemed the Crown Paint sponsored red shirt as my lifelong colour.
The way football works, particularly nowadays were it all seems to matter that little more, is that your club are your sole focus and that every other team doesn’t matter. Everything about them is alien to what you, your fellow fans and your club are about. So for me to travel so far from home for an Everton game is an eyebrow raiser in itself to say the least. My personal feeling though......Well, I’m just off to watch some Sunday football with one of my best mates.
As we rolled into Euston, you’re immediately hit with a sense of the multi cultural Britain that isn’t so obvious back home. Before I’d even walked out of the main doors to the station I’d heard 2 or 3 different languages, all stood looking at the departures board, confused at our running of public transport and unaware of the experiences they were about to have on board one of our ‘fantastic’ national trains.
After a brief shake of the head and a huge puff of despondent breath towards the 30p charge for being allowed to go the toilet, and with Euston stations very own ‘toilet monitor’ guarding the entrance to the cubicles like the Orcs of Mordor in Lord of the Rings which meant I couldn’t jump over the barrier, we went underground to the London tubes.
We were due to meet an old friend in Finsbury Park so our detour meant a couple of different lines before our final stop at White Hart Lane. Making our way down the 25 escalators before getting to what felt like the core of the Earth in the heat of the underground, we spotted Everton’s very own legendary striker Graeme Sharp. My friend, the Evertonian and season ticket holder at Goodison Park almost dropped the can of Kronenbourg he was carrying about the place as he meandered his way through the disgruntled Londoners awaiting their train. It’s safe to say the Cheshire Cat would have been proud of his smile, and after a brief conversation with his hero and 5 more minutes on the tube with his mouth gawping as wide as the Mersey Tunnel entrance staring at him, we arrived at Finsbury Park tube station.
My friend Karl, who we had just met, informed us that no pubs were open till 12pm, so being the excited away day travellers we were, stood outside the pub down the road from the station 10 minutes before opening time, eager to get our lips on the first proper pint of the day. We were greeted by a barmaid who seemed disgruntled to the fact we were keen to drink so early, but our awkwardness towards that particular situation was shared by the 7 or 8 others also waiting to enter the alehouse, so it wasn’t so bad. It seems our capital is a city of alcoholics and we were happy enough to get on board with that for the day.
Some pints later and a couple of expensive shots of Jager, we said goodbye to the creepy barmaid who was definitely high on something (and it wasn’t life) as well as arranging to meet Karl for a couple more drinks after the game. We merrily made our way down towards our tube station with Sharpy belting out a couple of Everton songs as I laughed and apologised to every passer by who’s eardrum had suffered thanks to his version of ‘Jela-Jelavic’. On the train we leapt and White Hart Lane was a few brief stops away.
Mini match report
The game itself was an enthralling one, with both teams having dominant spells throughout which created some fascinating counter attacking football. Both sides had players missing after injury or suspension sidelined them for the afternoon’s activities. Both though played like they deserved those coveted European spots and both had fantastic support from their respective fans on a fresh mid afternoon in North London.
Kevin Mirallas was the pick of the players for Everton as he created and scored the Toffee’s second with a couple of twists and turns to send Stephen Caulkner into a defenders nightmare. Victor Anichebe worked tirelessly but to no avail as he squandered a one on one with Hugo Lloris right at the death. Nikica Jelavic needed to find form in this one but found himself on the bench at the start of the game. He got his chance in the 52nd but didn’t do enough to convince the Everton faithful his form was returning. The Croatian’s 8 goals in 36 games this season is a poor return in comparison to the 11 he bagged in the 16 played after his January signing in 2012.
Tottenham at times looked tired, and with their Europa League fixtures continuing to pile up it almost felt like the late Gylfi Sigurdsson tap in was something of a surprise. 1 point in the last two home games has given the Spurs fans a minor cause for concern and this was pretty evident as we chatted to a couple of them on the walk back to the tube station.
They lacked pace, particularly on the wings with Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale both out. Scott Parker isn’t the fastest and as much as Dembele has controlled games on many occasions this season, he didn’t have his usual impact and was replaced by Tom Huddlestone in the second half. Tottenham though have a certain resilience about them that hasn’t been around in years before, and watching up close I got the feeling Andre Villas Boas has really moulded his team into what he’d tried but failed to do at Chelsea. Next season I have no doubt they will be one of the favourites for the Champions League places, and with added signings to go along with prospects like Lewis Holtby as well as Sunday’s goal scorer Sigurdsson, they look a potential force to be reckoned with.
With the game finished, we met Karl for a couple more drinks near Euston before getting on the wrong train back to our connecting station Crewe, and found ourselves on a four and half hour local stopping station train instead. This didn’t scupper my satisfaction at a great day of football and ‘away day’ travel. I’d ventured out of many people’s comfort zones and gone almost against the grain of what most believe shouldn’t be done in football. On the other hand, as an aspiring Sports Journalist, I’d gotten everything I’d wanted and when on that sloth like train crawling back to the North I couldn’t wait to get back and write this on my site.
Part of what football and sport is about is that of competitiveness, of people coming together and celebrating it, of cheering on the teams and the competitors we are lucky enough to be able to watch, to form a rivalry that’s respectful and not resentful of others. More often than not we see the negative side to what football has created, the vile chants, the abuse of players from fans, the abuse of fans to other fans. It’s a side I’ve never liked and will never have time for. One of the reasons I travelled down to London to watch Everton was to gain a simple understanding of fan culture. Many see going to watch another football team at another ground other than theirs as an act not even the devil can conjure up.
I can tell you right now that these 3500 Everton fans I stood in the middle of don’t have 3 heads, purple slobber and webbed hands or feet. They, like everybody else, spend incredible amounts to cover all corners of the country, of the world sometimes, to watch their team. They drink the same beer, sit on the same train, debate the same debates, read the same articles, sing the same songs (albeit with a couple of different words) and most importantly, they go to watch the same sport.
This article won’t change the minds of every rival hating supporter; this isn’t the angle I am trying to take here. I’m not a pushover fan either, I have one team and that will never change. I will happily go for a pint with a level headed Manchester United fan before they play against Liverpool. The debates can ravage on for hours, with healthy talk about best teams and great managers, and no bitterness towards past incidents of chants about Hillsborough or Munich. But once they enter their away section the rivalry (albeit respectful) begins. Unfortunately that isn’t the case for everyone, and that’s the unfortunate part of our sport. Maybe people should disagree with Bill Shankly, and open their curtains to any game, and enjoy it for what it is. I certainly did, and feel all the better for it.
Tuesday 2 April 2013
Changing Times in the Champions League.
The general consensus is one of disappointment for British teams this season, with holders Chelsea and Premier League Champions Manchester City crashing out in the group stages. Celtic found the might of a reinvigorated Juventus too hot to handle and as we all know, Manchester United went down to Real Madrid in two fantastic ties, if not with a controversial ending.
The quarter final draw was recently unveiled and here are the match up’s for the first and second legs starting on the 7th and 8th April respectively.
Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 10th April
• Bayern Munich vs Juventus
• PSG vs Barcelona
Wednesday 3rd and Tuesday 9th April
• Malaga vs Borussia Dortmund
• Real Madrid vs Galatasaray
As we now move towards the business end of the Champions League, I give a little inkling into the who’s who, what, where and how in terms of the chances of winning the competition for the remaining teams:
Juventus
Juventus have quietly gone through the motions in this year’s competition and eased past Celtic to gain their first Quarter Final spot since being knocked out by Liverpool in the 2004/05 season. Since that they have failed to qualify for the group stages in 4 out of the last 6 years, and the 2 times they did qualify they fell at the last 16 and group stage respectively.
Juventus’ off the field problems haven’t helped over the past few years with relegation from the Serie A in 2006 as well as league titles from 2005 and 2006 being stripped from them after the match fixing scandal that shook Italian football found Juventus guilty of involvement.
Recent time however have somewhat woke the sleeping Italian giant and after going throughout all of last season unbeaten, conceding only 20 goals in the process on their way to winning Serie A, there’s no doubt Juventus pose a threat in this year’s competition.
We are yet though to see Juventus against one of the big boys of European Football. With all due respect to Celtic, Juventus made slim pickings in both matches but Bayern Munich will provide a stern test which I imagine both players and fans will relish. It will take a lot to prove to Europe and the rest of the world that this famous ‘Old Lady’ is back in the big time but maybe this year’s Champions League can be the perfect starter in bringing back the glory days.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: After returning from incredible controversy they have rebuilt the old Italian force that I used to watch with intent as a young lad watching channel 5 on a Sunday afternoon. That force though is still building and although I believe they will provide some great moments when the Germans visit them in the Juventus Stadium, I don’t think they will progress any further than the quarter finals.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich showed up in North London with an air of swagger about them as they ripped into Arsenal with a sublime first half display to take a 3-1 lead. They did however make difficult work of the return leg, reaching the finishing line with a limp, quietly applauded along by 66 000 very nervous Germans.
Munich’s form this year, particularly in the league is frightening, conceding only 13 goals this year with only 2 away from home. A quite phenomenal statistic considering they had fallen by the wayside over the last couple of years to Borussia Dortmund.
Munich are a staggering 20 points clear at the summit of the Bundesliga and are looking to bury the demons created in last year’s final at home to Chelsea, losing on penalties in what was an enthralling final. Up to now they have done just that with ruthless efficiency, both domestically and in European competition. Conceding only 7 in 6 group games early on as well as scoring the most goals in the group games with 15, Bayern Munich are up there with the front runners for this year’s prize at Wembley.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Before their second leg against Arsenal, my personal opinion was that Munich were on a speeding steam train across Europe to London. Then I was reminded of the inconsistencies (against Arsenal) that have to often haunted them. So my prediction for the South German giants is the Semi Finals.
PSG
David Beckham may be the media’s talking point currently but in all honesty he isn’t the player who could be taking the Paris based club to the heights of European football. PSG haven’t been anywhere near the level they are now expected of with their last Champions League appearance being in the 04-05 season when they crashed out at the group stage.
9 years on and some heavy investment by Middle East company Qatar Investment Authority they have become a leading force in the race for the French Championship this year with players in the calibre of Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic providing the backbone to a club who are expected a lot of this season.
Their two legs against Valencia gave them a real European test and they came through that with a notable 2-1 away win in Spain. The rest of Europe will now take note as they progress into the quarter finals and are looking good for next year’s Champions League as they currently sit five points clear ahead of Lyon with 10 games to go.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: I don’t believe this year will be PSG’s year thanks to the quarter final draw revealing Barcelona as their opponents, but everyone should take note of this club as they rise into the echelons of the European competition.
Malaga
Malaga are somewhat of an unknown quantity as they head into unfamiliar territory in the form of a quarter final draw against Bundesliga Champions Borussia Dortmund.
This year saw them enter the Champions League for the very first time, and they did it in style by topping a group which contained AC Milan. Eventually they finished top with an impressive 12 points and joined Barcelona and Real Madrid in the quarters after knocking out Porto in the last 16. This marked the first time that 3 Spanish sides have reached the quarter finals in 10 years, another sign of growing dominance from the other top European nations.
Since 2010 Malaga have had significant investment put into the club, helped in part to Sheik Abdullah Al-Thani, a businessmen from the Qatari Royal family who took over officially in July 2010. Youth development has been their main focus, as well as their manager Manuel Pellegrini, a Chilean national and former Villareal and Madrid player.
Along with a certain Arsenal middle man in Santi Cazorla, Pellegrini led Malaga to a top four finish on the last day of the season last year. This year the star man is Isco, a 20 year old Spanish attacking midfielder who has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season for Malaga, the most notable one being the 43rd minute opener against Porto in the last 16 which helped them progress.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Malaga are the definite dark horses and have almost crept up from nowhere in this seasons Champions League. They did however top their group and come back from a 1-0 aggregate scoreline against Porto, so they fully deserve their place against Borussia Dortmund. My personal feeling however is that the German giants will provide too much. With Malaga having the home advantage first it’s important they stop the threat of Dortmund’s attacking force. They have experience though, with the like of Roque Santa Cruz, Javier Saviola, Martin Demichelis and Joaquin Sanchez all providing vast experience which could sway the tie in the Spanish clubs direction. Hopefully a close and exciting encounter to look forward to.
Galatasaray
Turkish side Galatasaray are appearing in their first Champions League Quarter Final since the 2000/01 season but come into their tie against Madrid in fantastic form. Losing only twice league game since January, they currently sit top of the Turkish Super Lig on 53 points. They stumbled a little at the start of their Champions League campaign, losing their first two games but they recovered to finish 2nd behind Manchester United on 10 points.
Galatasaray’s front man Burak Yilmaz, a 27 year old Turkish international is the man to watch currently. Relatively unknown in Europe until recently, he has scored 28 goals in 35 game s for club and country this season. Most notably he has bagged 7 in 8 Champions League games which earned him this season ‘UEFA player of the group stages 12/13’. His last goal came against Schalke and since then interest from the Premier League has been hot. At a tall, lean 6ft 2” he will provide all sorts of problems for the likes of Sergio Ramos at the heart of Madrid’s defence.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Galatasaray’s home stadium the Turk Telecom arena will provide the fiercest of atmospheres for Madrid in the second leg. This stadium and atmosphere is famously greeted by the home fans with bannerx to the away team that read ‘Welcome to Hell’ and in fact holds the Guinness World record for the ‘loudest crowd roar at a sport stadium’ at 131.76 decibels.
The Turkish team do have firepower with the recent signings of Wesley Sneijder and Drogba providing experience and a goal threat. Whether or no they can make it past the might of Madrid is another question though, my personal opinion is that the midfield talent that they possess will be too strong, even in an atmosphere that can potentially blow your eardrums to pieces. An honourable quarter final exit is my prediction and they won’t let Real Madrid walk past them either, not with those fans signing the way they do!
Real Madrid
Without European glory since the 2000/01 season, the Madrid faithful have grown more and more impatient as the years go by in their team’s quest to make it 10 European victories. 6 years on the trot from 2004/05 to 2009/10 has seen them drop out of the competition at the last 16 hurdle. Improvements have be made though over the last couple of seasons, but both have ended in frustration with 2 semi final exits, one to their bitter league rivals Barcelona and the other with a penalty shootout loss to Bayern Munich at home last season.
Redemption seems to be the cries this season as they look to end what they would consider a ‘baron spell’ in the Champions League. They came out of the cleverly titled ‘group of death’ (although nobody did die) 2nd to Borussia Dortmund on 11 points with 15 goals and only 1 loss.
Their league form has been inconsistent for a team who took the title off Barcelona last year so clinically. They have only won 7 games away from home compared to 16 last season. Their 5 losses and 3 draws away from home also, gives further evidence of their league position, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona in second.
They did however come through a difficult, if not controversial tie against United. Mourinho did admit that United deserved to go through over the two legs but they have been given a second chance in a competition that wouldn’t be the same without them involved. The calibre of players they posses from defence to attack would give you reasons enough to hand them the trophy now but that isn’t how this competition works.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: With the league pretty much wrapped up and handed to Barcelona, Mourinho will now give all his attention to this competition and I believe there is a place in the Wembley final for Madrid. As I mentioned before, Galatasaray will provide a stern test in both legs and should Madrid overcome it, I predict a shot at glory in London come May.
Borussia Dortmund
With a third Bundesliga looking more and more unlikely thanks to Bayern Munich’s incredible season, Dortmund are further looking to stamp their authority on the Champions League and add a first European Cup to their cabinet since 1997.
Dortmund topped their group ahead of Real Madrid with 14 points from 6 games, winning four and drawing two. After going out in the group stages last year, they will see this as a perfect opportunity to attempt to go all the way, and this begins with a Quarter final draw against Malaga.
Robert Lewandowski has got the cream of Europe snapping at his heels to join their club at the moment and with 5goals in this season’s Champions League, he will be the man the Borussia Dortmund fans will be hoping can guide them to Wembley.
Dortmund boasts a further array of talent however with the likes of Marco Reus and Mario Gotze scoring 28 goals between them in all competitions this season. Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic give a solid defensive line to a well balanced team and although they have fallen by the way side in the Budesliga this year, they have potential to join the group of Champions League heavyweights everyone wants to be in.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: With the Champions League draw not revealing who plays who in the Semi-Finals, my prediction of Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund in the final is a bit of a wild one. But it’s one I’m going to stick by as the Germans look to make swift work of Malaga in their Quarter Final match up. A tough game it will be, yes, there aren’t ever easy ones at this stage of the competition, But Dortmund have such fluidity throughout their whole team, and I believe this will be too much for Malaga over these next 2 legs. A final appearance for Dortmund is on the cards in my Personal Hunch Paragraph.
Barcelona
You might think I’m a complete idiot for not putting Barcelona in this year’s final at Wembley, a place they know well after previously downing Manchester United in the 2010/11 final. And you’re probably right looking at Barcelona’s record in this competition over the last few years. Champions 3 times in the last 8 years with 3 Semi-Final places to add to that, they are the team to beat and continue to be a European force.
Like Bayern Munich, they lost their League Champions status last season to their nearest rivals, and like Munich they are set to retain it with admirable efficiency. Their only loss in La Liga since January 19th came at the hands of Real Madrid. They have only lost one other game all season and with a 13 point gap between themselves and second place Madrid, only an incredible dip in form will stop them regaining La Liga once more.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Barcelona’s draw against PSG is certainly the glamour tie of the round and although PSG will want to have their say against the giants of European competition, I believe the Catalans will be too much for the French side. Lionel Messi’s 7 goals in 7 games in the Champions League will forever pose a threat in any game he plays in. Backed up by the two midfielders Xavi and Iniesta, the possession game and speed at which Barcelona hit teams in the final third will eventually lead to PSG crumbling in my opinion.
So there you have it, my take on this season’s ‘Big 8’. Just because there isn’t any British involvement in the Champions League this season, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it and pick a team to follow. Hopefully next season I will be looking into the chances of some of the Premier Leagues elite, and I’m sure they will be unhappy about missing out on the business end of this great competition this season. A blip in form from the British sides indeed, one which shouldn’t affect them too much......or so we hope.
The general consensus is one of disappointment for British teams this season, with holders Chelsea and Premier League Champions Manchester City crashing out in the group stages. Celtic found the might of a reinvigorated Juventus too hot to handle and as we all know, Manchester United went down to Real Madrid in two fantastic ties, if not with a controversial ending.
The quarter final draw was recently unveiled and here are the match up’s for the first and second legs starting on the 7th and 8th April respectively.
Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 10th April
• Bayern Munich vs Juventus
• PSG vs Barcelona
Wednesday 3rd and Tuesday 9th April
• Malaga vs Borussia Dortmund
• Real Madrid vs Galatasaray
As we now move towards the business end of the Champions League, I give a little inkling into the who’s who, what, where and how in terms of the chances of winning the competition for the remaining teams:
Juventus
Juventus have quietly gone through the motions in this year’s competition and eased past Celtic to gain their first Quarter Final spot since being knocked out by Liverpool in the 2004/05 season. Since that they have failed to qualify for the group stages in 4 out of the last 6 years, and the 2 times they did qualify they fell at the last 16 and group stage respectively.
Juventus’ off the field problems haven’t helped over the past few years with relegation from the Serie A in 2006 as well as league titles from 2005 and 2006 being stripped from them after the match fixing scandal that shook Italian football found Juventus guilty of involvement.
Recent time however have somewhat woke the sleeping Italian giant and after going throughout all of last season unbeaten, conceding only 20 goals in the process on their way to winning Serie A, there’s no doubt Juventus pose a threat in this year’s competition.
We are yet though to see Juventus against one of the big boys of European Football. With all due respect to Celtic, Juventus made slim pickings in both matches but Bayern Munich will provide a stern test which I imagine both players and fans will relish. It will take a lot to prove to Europe and the rest of the world that this famous ‘Old Lady’ is back in the big time but maybe this year’s Champions League can be the perfect starter in bringing back the glory days.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: After returning from incredible controversy they have rebuilt the old Italian force that I used to watch with intent as a young lad watching channel 5 on a Sunday afternoon. That force though is still building and although I believe they will provide some great moments when the Germans visit them in the Juventus Stadium, I don’t think they will progress any further than the quarter finals.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich showed up in North London with an air of swagger about them as they ripped into Arsenal with a sublime first half display to take a 3-1 lead. They did however make difficult work of the return leg, reaching the finishing line with a limp, quietly applauded along by 66 000 very nervous Germans.
Munich’s form this year, particularly in the league is frightening, conceding only 13 goals this year with only 2 away from home. A quite phenomenal statistic considering they had fallen by the wayside over the last couple of years to Borussia Dortmund.
Munich are a staggering 20 points clear at the summit of the Bundesliga and are looking to bury the demons created in last year’s final at home to Chelsea, losing on penalties in what was an enthralling final. Up to now they have done just that with ruthless efficiency, both domestically and in European competition. Conceding only 7 in 6 group games early on as well as scoring the most goals in the group games with 15, Bayern Munich are up there with the front runners for this year’s prize at Wembley.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Before their second leg against Arsenal, my personal opinion was that Munich were on a speeding steam train across Europe to London. Then I was reminded of the inconsistencies (against Arsenal) that have to often haunted them. So my prediction for the South German giants is the Semi Finals.
PSG
David Beckham may be the media’s talking point currently but in all honesty he isn’t the player who could be taking the Paris based club to the heights of European football. PSG haven’t been anywhere near the level they are now expected of with their last Champions League appearance being in the 04-05 season when they crashed out at the group stage.
9 years on and some heavy investment by Middle East company Qatar Investment Authority they have become a leading force in the race for the French Championship this year with players in the calibre of Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic providing the backbone to a club who are expected a lot of this season.
Their two legs against Valencia gave them a real European test and they came through that with a notable 2-1 away win in Spain. The rest of Europe will now take note as they progress into the quarter finals and are looking good for next year’s Champions League as they currently sit five points clear ahead of Lyon with 10 games to go.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: I don’t believe this year will be PSG’s year thanks to the quarter final draw revealing Barcelona as their opponents, but everyone should take note of this club as they rise into the echelons of the European competition.
Malaga
Malaga are somewhat of an unknown quantity as they head into unfamiliar territory in the form of a quarter final draw against Bundesliga Champions Borussia Dortmund.
This year saw them enter the Champions League for the very first time, and they did it in style by topping a group which contained AC Milan. Eventually they finished top with an impressive 12 points and joined Barcelona and Real Madrid in the quarters after knocking out Porto in the last 16. This marked the first time that 3 Spanish sides have reached the quarter finals in 10 years, another sign of growing dominance from the other top European nations.
Since 2010 Malaga have had significant investment put into the club, helped in part to Sheik Abdullah Al-Thani, a businessmen from the Qatari Royal family who took over officially in July 2010. Youth development has been their main focus, as well as their manager Manuel Pellegrini, a Chilean national and former Villareal and Madrid player.
Along with a certain Arsenal middle man in Santi Cazorla, Pellegrini led Malaga to a top four finish on the last day of the season last year. This year the star man is Isco, a 20 year old Spanish attacking midfielder who has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season for Malaga, the most notable one being the 43rd minute opener against Porto in the last 16 which helped them progress.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Malaga are the definite dark horses and have almost crept up from nowhere in this seasons Champions League. They did however top their group and come back from a 1-0 aggregate scoreline against Porto, so they fully deserve their place against Borussia Dortmund. My personal feeling however is that the German giants will provide too much. With Malaga having the home advantage first it’s important they stop the threat of Dortmund’s attacking force. They have experience though, with the like of Roque Santa Cruz, Javier Saviola, Martin Demichelis and Joaquin Sanchez all providing vast experience which could sway the tie in the Spanish clubs direction. Hopefully a close and exciting encounter to look forward to.
Galatasaray
Turkish side Galatasaray are appearing in their first Champions League Quarter Final since the 2000/01 season but come into their tie against Madrid in fantastic form. Losing only twice league game since January, they currently sit top of the Turkish Super Lig on 53 points. They stumbled a little at the start of their Champions League campaign, losing their first two games but they recovered to finish 2nd behind Manchester United on 10 points.
Galatasaray’s front man Burak Yilmaz, a 27 year old Turkish international is the man to watch currently. Relatively unknown in Europe until recently, he has scored 28 goals in 35 game s for club and country this season. Most notably he has bagged 7 in 8 Champions League games which earned him this season ‘UEFA player of the group stages 12/13’. His last goal came against Schalke and since then interest from the Premier League has been hot. At a tall, lean 6ft 2” he will provide all sorts of problems for the likes of Sergio Ramos at the heart of Madrid’s defence.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Galatasaray’s home stadium the Turk Telecom arena will provide the fiercest of atmospheres for Madrid in the second leg. This stadium and atmosphere is famously greeted by the home fans with bannerx to the away team that read ‘Welcome to Hell’ and in fact holds the Guinness World record for the ‘loudest crowd roar at a sport stadium’ at 131.76 decibels.
The Turkish team do have firepower with the recent signings of Wesley Sneijder and Drogba providing experience and a goal threat. Whether or no they can make it past the might of Madrid is another question though, my personal opinion is that the midfield talent that they possess will be too strong, even in an atmosphere that can potentially blow your eardrums to pieces. An honourable quarter final exit is my prediction and they won’t let Real Madrid walk past them either, not with those fans signing the way they do!
Real Madrid
Without European glory since the 2000/01 season, the Madrid faithful have grown more and more impatient as the years go by in their team’s quest to make it 10 European victories. 6 years on the trot from 2004/05 to 2009/10 has seen them drop out of the competition at the last 16 hurdle. Improvements have be made though over the last couple of seasons, but both have ended in frustration with 2 semi final exits, one to their bitter league rivals Barcelona and the other with a penalty shootout loss to Bayern Munich at home last season.
Redemption seems to be the cries this season as they look to end what they would consider a ‘baron spell’ in the Champions League. They came out of the cleverly titled ‘group of death’ (although nobody did die) 2nd to Borussia Dortmund on 11 points with 15 goals and only 1 loss.
Their league form has been inconsistent for a team who took the title off Barcelona last year so clinically. They have only won 7 games away from home compared to 16 last season. Their 5 losses and 3 draws away from home also, gives further evidence of their league position, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona in second.
They did however come through a difficult, if not controversial tie against United. Mourinho did admit that United deserved to go through over the two legs but they have been given a second chance in a competition that wouldn’t be the same without them involved. The calibre of players they posses from defence to attack would give you reasons enough to hand them the trophy now but that isn’t how this competition works.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: With the league pretty much wrapped up and handed to Barcelona, Mourinho will now give all his attention to this competition and I believe there is a place in the Wembley final for Madrid. As I mentioned before, Galatasaray will provide a stern test in both legs and should Madrid overcome it, I predict a shot at glory in London come May.
Borussia Dortmund
With a third Bundesliga looking more and more unlikely thanks to Bayern Munich’s incredible season, Dortmund are further looking to stamp their authority on the Champions League and add a first European Cup to their cabinet since 1997.
Dortmund topped their group ahead of Real Madrid with 14 points from 6 games, winning four and drawing two. After going out in the group stages last year, they will see this as a perfect opportunity to attempt to go all the way, and this begins with a Quarter final draw against Malaga.
Robert Lewandowski has got the cream of Europe snapping at his heels to join their club at the moment and with 5goals in this season’s Champions League, he will be the man the Borussia Dortmund fans will be hoping can guide them to Wembley.
Dortmund boasts a further array of talent however with the likes of Marco Reus and Mario Gotze scoring 28 goals between them in all competitions this season. Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic give a solid defensive line to a well balanced team and although they have fallen by the way side in the Budesliga this year, they have potential to join the group of Champions League heavyweights everyone wants to be in.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: With the Champions League draw not revealing who plays who in the Semi-Finals, my prediction of Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund in the final is a bit of a wild one. But it’s one I’m going to stick by as the Germans look to make swift work of Malaga in their Quarter Final match up. A tough game it will be, yes, there aren’t ever easy ones at this stage of the competition, But Dortmund have such fluidity throughout their whole team, and I believe this will be too much for Malaga over these next 2 legs. A final appearance for Dortmund is on the cards in my Personal Hunch Paragraph.
Barcelona
You might think I’m a complete idiot for not putting Barcelona in this year’s final at Wembley, a place they know well after previously downing Manchester United in the 2010/11 final. And you’re probably right looking at Barcelona’s record in this competition over the last few years. Champions 3 times in the last 8 years with 3 Semi-Final places to add to that, they are the team to beat and continue to be a European force.
Like Bayern Munich, they lost their League Champions status last season to their nearest rivals, and like Munich they are set to retain it with admirable efficiency. Their only loss in La Liga since January 19th came at the hands of Real Madrid. They have only lost one other game all season and with a 13 point gap between themselves and second place Madrid, only an incredible dip in form will stop them regaining La Liga once more.
Personal Hunch Paragraph: Barcelona’s draw against PSG is certainly the glamour tie of the round and although PSG will want to have their say against the giants of European competition, I believe the Catalans will be too much for the French side. Lionel Messi’s 7 goals in 7 games in the Champions League will forever pose a threat in any game he plays in. Backed up by the two midfielders Xavi and Iniesta, the possession game and speed at which Barcelona hit teams in the final third will eventually lead to PSG crumbling in my opinion.
So there you have it, my take on this season’s ‘Big 8’. Just because there isn’t any British involvement in the Champions League this season, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it and pick a team to follow. Hopefully next season I will be looking into the chances of some of the Premier Leagues elite, and I’m sure they will be unhappy about missing out on the business end of this great competition this season. A blip in form from the British sides indeed, one which shouldn’t affect them too much......or so we hope.
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