Sometimes It's Different, But Mostly It's The Same

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - We're All In Love

            It had been some time since we had seen such a fascinating end of season all over Europe.  Strangely enough the formula seems to be similar in Italy, Spain, England and Germany. Overview.

The Titans’ duel.

            It’s clear to see that in the four major European leagues the title is disputed between two teams clear from any comeback from the third in the standings. In the Serie A, it’s Roma and Inter. The Giallorossi came back to win the Roman derby against Lazio, thanks to two goals scored by Vucinic The Great. Trailing 1-0 for almost an hour, Ranieri pulled out the great tactics replacing De Rossi and Totti  by Taddei and Perotta to align their 24th consecutive result (when I told I usually add one every week, I wasn’t wrong) with a 2-1 victory. Roma can thank the Montenegrin striker and his newfound pragmatism as well as Floccari’s miserably missed penalty kick that could have killed the game at 1-0. On Friday Inter had put the pressure on the Romans with a pushy 2-0 win over Juventus (see game report below for more) acquired with the help of Maicon’s fantasy. Roma lead the Serie A by just one point, Inter await in ambush. In England, after everyone had seen Chelsea consecrated a couple of weeks ago after their win over the Red Devils, the Blues find themselves only a point ahead of Fergie’s boys. Tottenham upset Chelsea with a stunning 2-1 victory at White Heart Lane in a game that saw a mute Drogba, a gigantic Dawson and a desperate Terry, receiving two yellow cards in just five minutes after giving away a penalty kick. Manchester took advantage of the situation with a last second 1-0 victory in the Manchester derby. Paul Scholes headed in an Evra cross at 90+3 to upset a whole stadium that had just assisted at a bleak confrontation lacking clear chances and pace. When the frontline doesn’t want to convert (Berbatov yet again delusional), the old guard takes matters in hand. The title race is back on in England, and with Manchester’s confrontation to Tottenham still coming, more surprises might yet show up. In Spain, and it is no surprise, Real and Barca are head to head in the final sprint. Things had seemed positive for the Catalans after their condescending victory over the Madrilenes in last week’s Clasico, but in this week’s Barcelona derby, the Blaugrana were confronted to a wall of will and courage put up by Espanyol. Messi and co. were suffocated and frustrated (see Dani Alve’s red card) and could only obtain a mere 0-0 draw. Hope is alive and well for Real Madrid (and Inter), who finally put on the turbo and a seeming façade of collectiveness to defeat Valencia 2-0. Ronaldo on fire, Guti making his last stance, Higuain as Argentine as you can get (his control on the goal is straight out of textbooks): the season might still turn to the best after a predicted catastrophe. Real Madrid trail by just one point and can count on the tiring of an epic Champion’s League confrontation on the Catalan side to see their eternal rivals (finally) fall. In Germany, after three weeks of handing each other the lead of the Bundesliga with flimsy and disappointing performances, the tendency between Bayern Munich and Schalke is now clear. The Bavarians lead by two points, strong of their pulverizing 7-0 victory over Hanover handed by a Large Muller, an XXL Olic and a Super-Size Robben. Schalke on their side did the job with a 3-1 victory over Borussia Monchenalkadfknefgladbach. The task seems difficult for the Ruhr team who just like Roma and Real Madrid can count on the Champion’s League to tire their opponents out in the final sprint.

The Lame Third

            The title race wasn’t always a normal love affair, that is, between two. At first it was more like a degenerate threesome, but one is always bound to fall out of favour. Too good for the fourth, assured to play in next year’s Champion’s League, but never ever good enough for the Titans up ahead. The symptoms are generally the same: numerous injuries, disappointing stars, early European exits and lousy end of games. The most faithful example is probably Arsenal. The infirmary is packed (Gallas, Vermaelen, Fabregas, etc…), the Champion’s League defeat in Barcelona still astounding (Messi 4-1 Arsenal) and the end of season as terrible as it could have gotten. With Chelsea’s poor results, Manchester’s lack of form, Arsenal could have seriously come back a serious pretender this weekend at Wigan. And until the 80th minute, everything seemed on the right tracks: two boring goals (Walcott solo run, Sylvestre’s metal head on a corner kick) for a 2-0 lead and a serious hand over the game for Arsenal. But a game lasts ninety minutes, as everyone says, and Arsenal experienced it the hard way. Three goals in ten minutes: the first where the defense is already on holidays, the second where Fabski displays his butterfingers and the third where N’Zogbia takes ¾ of the defense on a walk before perforating the same Fabianski; and Arsenal drown in shame. The revolution is summoned and Arsene might finally resort to spending all the big bucks acquired over these past years during summer, let’s hope, and not just to buy some random young talents. In Italy, Milan are also experiencing a severe case of Thirdititis. The injured players are mostly named Nesta and Pato; Ronaldinho and Huntelaar still disappoint; Leonardo on the ejection seat. It was no surprise to see Milan loose 2-1 at Sampdoria with a 90th minute goal from Pazzini. Furthermore, Milan saw their ex-goalkeeper pull out a top class save in front of Gattuso… But some teams might be satisfied with their third place, like Valencia in the Primera Division. Used to the demise of the bronze medal, the Valencians seem content to be the alternative, realizing they will maybe never beat the ogres (just like their 2-0 defeat at the Bernabeu this week), and do the necessary to secure their place in next year’s Champion’s League. The Europa League might be the icing on the cake for a constantly underestimated team. In Germany the case differs, as no team is properly third but straight into the mix of…

The Money Grabbers.

           With Werder, Bayer at 54 points, Dortmund at 53 and Leverkusen at 50, and a pending Champion’s League fourth place, the stakes are high for reaching the third place. Werder and Stuttgart continue their terrific end of season, lastly with respective wins over Woflsburg and Leverkusen. Leverkusen on their side continue their slow but sure slip down the table (they were leaders in February) and need to get back in shape if their dreams of Europe are to materialize. For Dortmund, it is a question of comeback, with a mediocre first half of season, and their stable results could reward a hard working team full of promises (at the image of their young central defender Hummels). In England, the same cluster appears just one place below Arsenal, with Manchester City and Tottenham fighting for the prestigious fourth place two points apart. Both teams have a harsh schedule up ahead that includes Arsenal for the Citizens and Manchester United for the Spurs, and surprises won’t be short in stock. Both teams seem on a good roll, Tottenham noticeably with their wins over Chelsea and Arsenal. For Manchester City, their cruel defeat against city rivals marked the end of a prolific run, and hopes are still high for next year’s UCL, especially considering the financial investment of the Arabian Sheiks. Needless to say, their confrontation on the first to last championship day promises to be all over the place, a great moment of soccer in view, as if we hadn’t had enough (I’m not going to complain). Most importantly though, both teams can thank Liverpool (usually subscribed to the fourth place) for their terrible season, in the same way that Sampdoria, Napoli and Palermo can thank Juventus for their troubles. Here again, all three teams, who hold each other in 5 points, can count on regular constant results, as Sampdoria’s win over Milan this week, or Palermo’s draw at Inter three weeks back, or yet still Napoli’s destruction of Juventus a couple of weeks ago. Here again x2, as in the EPL, the upcoming cross encounters (like Palermo-Sampdoria or Sampdoria-Napoli) entangled with confrontations to the bigger teams (like Palermo-Milan, Roma-Sampdoria) will promise to be treacherous or divine, revealing yet another endless supply of surprises. Have fun, I know I will.

TFO