Spanish And German Teams Dominant In Europe
La Liga and Bundesliga combine for five quarterfinalists this year.
Three Spanish
and two German teams are through to the Champions League quarterfinals,
as for the first time in 17 years, England are without a representative
in the final eight. Manchester United lost to Real Madrid in
controversial fashion at Old Trafford last week, while Arsenal defeated
Bayern 2-0 but were ultimately unable to overcome a 3-1 deficit from the
first leg.
“It is a massive wake-up call to have Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal out at this stage,” said Arsene Wenger. “It means the rest of European football has caught up with us — and we have to take that into consideration when we think about the future of the Premier League.”
Wenger’s statement, though sobering,
should not be taken as death knell for English football. One must
consider that the Premier League has sent eight teams into Champions
League finals in the last decade, and that Chelsea lifted the coveted
trophy just last summer.
One might also consider that Chelsea and
Manchester City, despite domestic accolades, are as yet relatively new
to the European stage and can be forgiven a few seasons more to find
their feet. City furthermore had the misfortune of being drawn into the
“group of death” against both Real Madrid and Dortmund. In the knockout
stages, the Premier League’s two other ambassadors found themselves on
the wrong end of Real Madrid and Bayern. Had the draws gone a bit
differently, perhaps the cries of decline would also be different.
Nevertheless, football on the continent
is certainly rising to a new level, between Dortmund’s swashbuckling
youth project and PSG’s enormous financial power. Plus, the Bundesliga’s
relative dominance this year reflects the dominance of the Spanish
national team with enormous potential in coming years. And what is there
to say about Real Madrid and Barcelona that has not already been said?
The new balance of power in Europe will
be revealed in the next few years, as it remains to be seen if these
high-flying clubs can carry today’s victories into a sustainable future.
Francisco “Isco” Alarcon : The Jewel Of Malaga
With Malaga’s 2-0 win over Porto (2-1
aggregate), Spain have three quarterfinalists for the first time in 10
years. On Wedesday at La Rosaleda, Isco erased Porto’s first leg
advantage minutes before the half time whistle, setting the stage for
Roque Santa Cruz to put the Andalusians through with a second half goal.
The true stand-outs of the
quarterfinalists, Malaga under Manual Pellegrini’s tutelage have
produced some heroic football in the face of financial insolvency and a
four-year European ban. The coach has stuck to his guns and his vision
of beautiful football, and his players have delivered.
Isco scored the first goal to pull Malaga level.
“This was unthinkable not long ago and it’s incredible,” said playmaker Isco. “This is a dream come true for everyone here.”
Amidst the heroes of this season, Isco
especially has drawn acclaim — as well as the eye of clubs abroad. With
his 43rd minute goal against Porto, Isco became only the sixth U-21 from
Spain to score in the Champions League knockout stages. The youngster
thus adds his name to an elite list that includes the likes of Raul
Gonzalez and Cesc Fabregas.
Sold off by Valencia to ease their
financial troubles, the 20-year-old Isco now finds himself once more on
the verge of leaving a club as a result of money troubles. Nevertheless,
there is little doubt that Isco will only continue to flourish.
“It is hard to say what a young player like [Isco] can achieve, but he really has all the qualities to become a star,” said former Malaga president Fernando Sanz. “He is a player who only needs time and experience at the highest level.”
And Isco’s superb performances with
Malaga in the Champions League this season will have only increased his
value. Bittersweet though the parting may be, at the end of this
particular rainbow Malaga should yet find a pretty pot of gold.
Will Bayern’s Success Be Their Undoing?
Thomas Müller and Laurent Koscielny battle for the ball during Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at the Allianz.
On the other end of the fairytale
spectrum, there is Bayern Munich with their record-breaking season — and
shock 2-0 home loss to Arsenal. After the triple runners-up debacle of
last season, Bayern were painted with a “big match phobia.” This year,
however, Bayern’s problem seems to be with the “little” matches. A
famous 3-1 loss to BATE Borisov in the Champions League group stage, in
hindsight, was portentous of things to come on a snowy Wednesday night
in Munich.Bayern have been tipped for the coveted
treble for months now, as team after team fell before the Bavarian
juggernaut this season. Jupp Heynckes’ side crunched through competition
in the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the Champions League, going 23
matches undefeated and scoring in all 44 competitive matches before this
week.
Injuries forced changes to the starting
lineups of both sides. Bayern missed Franck Ribery and midfield stalwart
Bastian Schweinsteiger, while Arsenal missed Lukas Podolski, Jack
Wilshere, and Wojciech Szczesny. Arsenal came roaring out of the gates,
however, and a third minute goal from Olivier Giroud immediately set
Bayer on the back heel. From there the game took form.Said form was, in a word, lackluster.
After the opening goal, Bayern kept Arsenal pinned back for the rest of
the first half. The Premier League side didn’t get another shot on
target until after the break, when they managed their second and final
one of the night, thanks to Laurent Koscielny. Bayern, by comparison
took 23 shots (5 on target), all summarily denied by Lukasz Fabianski.
Apart from a brief kerfuffle in goal following Koscielny’s header, the
second half had even less to offer than the first. There was no flow to
the play, between the barrage of fouls, yellows, and the referee’s
omnipresent whistle.
Bayern clung on grimly with everything
they had, including professional fouls, dives, and time-wasting. It was
not a pleasing match, but 38 fouls, 9 yellow cards, and 90+ minutes
later, Arsenal walked away with a pyrrhic 2-0 victory and Bayern were
through.It was a victory that presented more
questions than assurances, however. Arsenal should never have been
allowed to come within a whisker of turning the tables on Bayern, given
the Bavarians’ dominant form and the chasm of quality between the two
sides.“In their minds, they [were] already
through,” said Jens Lehmann commenting on Bayern’s mindset coming into
Wednesday night. On Tuesday, Bayern skipper Philipp Lahm had already
voiced his “surprise” that there would be no English teams in the
quarterfinals — never mind that there was still a second leg to play.
By all appearances, Bayern came into the second leg underestimating Arsenal after a resounding 3-1 win at the Emirates. An early lead stunned Bayern into cautious football, and cautious football will win them nothing. Bayern have dominated all season through patience, persistence, and aggressively following their own game plan. Thus they overcame Dortmund. Thus Bayern must continue if they hope to lift the Champions League trophy.And they must never, ever again underestimate another team. First BATE, then Arsenal — things come in threes, but Bayern cannot afford another nasty surprise as the Champions League enters its final stages.
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