The End

The European seasons are not officially over yet but in all fairness the league competitions have been over for weeks, if not months.  In truth, none of the major leagues really offered any suspense at the top as clear favorites broke away early and the competition quickly turned into “who’s second best”.  Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been going on and of course I couldn’t stop myself from giving out some awards.

Italy – The biggest mistake AC Milan has made in the last decade was letting Andrea Pirlo go to Juventus. He may not put up big numbers but you can’t really argue with how good Juventus have been since he arrived.  They also benefit from a well balanced strike force who don’t really scare anyone in Europe, but are good enough for the sub par Serie A.

This year they led the league every week with the exception of the first because Napoli and Inter had a better goal difference for 5 days.  Since then they haven’t looked back and their biggest competitor this season, Napoli, lost their footing in February and March.  With one game left they now hold a 9 point lead, with the third place Milan 9 more points behind that.

At the bottom, it’s sad to see Palermo go, only real men can wear pink like they do while Siena are confirming their yo-yo status, and Pescara, well 22 points is 22 points I guess.

Player of the Season – Arturo Vidal. You could make an argument for Edinson Cavani but Cavani doesn’t do it against the really good teams, and he doesn’t really do it when it matters that much.  Vidal is essential to a dominant Juventus and is one of the reasons that they’ll probably repeat their Championship bit next year.

One goal against a top 5 team does not impress me.

Spain – Thanks to infighting that inevitably follows Jose Mourinho wherever he goes, this two team league has been a one team season since…well since Christmas. Strangely enough it was the other side of Madrid that held on longer.  Real Madrid was out of the race in September while Atletico Madrid put up a fight until they started giving away points after the New Year. Barca was clinical until everyone realized that they’ve become a one man show.

The relegation fight is still on as Spain finishes later than most other leagues and there are seven teams still duking it out, but Mallorca look to be in serious trouble.

Player of the Season – Other than the two givens, I’d feel silly if I didn’t give a shout out to Radamel Falcao.  He’s the most sought after forward in Europe, which is pretty big considering there are some big guns who are going to command some big transfer fees this summer (Rooney, Cavani, Lewandowski) but the guy is clinical and unlike some of his competitors he scores in a lot of different ways.  It’s too bad he’ll probably be moving to a different league as he’s made La Liga bearable this season.

Another Atletico forward bound for big money England?

Germany – Bayern Munich has had one hell of a season.  They could wrap up an outstanding treble if they can dominate like they have all season for their two upcoming finals. Again, they finished the league relatively early by opening up a ten point lead at the top by the end of November…NOVEMBER!

Dortmund has had a fantastic run in the Champions League this season and they’ve done well in the league but they just haven’t been able to be quite as dominant as Bayern.  It’ll make for one heck of a final at Wembley though. Unfortunately it looks like they will get relatively dismantled this summer with Gotze and Lewandowski looking certain to leave.

It would also be good to make a note of Bayer Leverkusen’s season.  If they can keep their players they have a squad that could do some damage in Europe next season.

The relegation battle is going down to the last day with Fortuna, Augsburg, and Hoffenheim competing for the one safe spot on the table.  Augsburg has the easiest last game as they host already regulated Furth while Hoffenheim heads away to Dortmund to wrap up their season and potentially their 5 year spell in Bundesliga 1.

Player of the Year – I really want to lean towards Robert Lewandowski and all he’s done for Dortmund in the past few years, but even Sweet Lou can’t hide how important Bastian Schweinsteiger has been to Bayern and the amazing season they are having.  They’ve only given up 15 goals, they’ve only dropped eleven points in the season this year, eleven.  They are winning the league by 22 points, that’s more than last placed Furth have accumulated over the entire season.  And he is the center of it all, consistently making that team attack like clockwork while stifling other teams’ midfields attacking abilities. As a general rule, if a team doesn’t have a breakthrough forward who scores 20+ goals a season but is still successful, you need to look at their midfield to find the source of their strength, Bayern and Schweinsteiger are a prime example.

Whitest player ever.

England – One of the ‘closer’ races in the top divisions this year, the two sides of Manchester fought it out amongst themselves for a little while at least.  At the end of November United had a one point lead at the top, by the end of December it was seven.  While Robin Van Persie highlighted their early season, Wayne Rooney filled in the cold months with a few performances worth remembering, all the while helping United pull away from City so that by the end of March the lead had gone to 15.  Even a few late stumbling blocks by United couldn’t overcome a City squad that seemed to be struggling with its identity as Roberto Mancini seemed to lose control and eventually lost his job. 

The relegation battle was lively for a long time but in the end Reading and QPR never really looked like Premier League teams and Wigan who have had a long run in the EPL were sent down with one game to go after they dared to win the FA Cup.

Player of the Year – Gareth Bale, hands down. Argue about RVP or Luis Suarez all you want but teams and defenders fear Bale like they haven’t feared a wide player since Ronaldo left for Spain.  Usually players start as Forwards and work their way back to defense as they work through their teens. Bale has done the opposite of that as he’s worked from a fullback to midfielder to winger, to central attacking midfielder.  It’s a bizarre progression that you don’t see often but Villas-Boas is finding out just how versatile and talented this kid is.  Hopefully he stays at Tottenham even if they don’t see Champions League football next year.

Not a current photo.

Champions League Final – I’d be remiss if I didn’t make a prediction for the “most important game of the season”.  As a general comment on the Champions League this season I have to say it’s been one of the better seasons I can remember.  The favorites were knocked out in spectacular fashion, the underdog hipster favorites have squeaked by to make it to the final, plenty of stories and “what if’s” to talk about and most of all, another switch in the balance of power in European football. Remember when Germany only sent three teams to the Champions League every year? Italy used to be good.

Dortmund are still underdogs for this game and you can see why considering Bayern’s season.  And to be honest do see Bayern winning in the end but I think there will be goals on both sides and I don’t see a blow out like we saw in the semi-finals.  I’ll say 3-2 Bayern when it’s all over.  Lewandowski with a brace and Muller will score one or two in that bizarre, ghostly way in which he tends to score without actually participating in the game.

Sir Alex Ferguson Retires – There’s more than enough being written about this so I won’t waste a bunch of your time but I would like to say that while his successor David Moyes has done an outstanding job at Everton while spending, on average, less than 1 million pounds per year. He may have some problems attracting players the way SAF has. Ronaldo, RVP, Van Nistelrooy...they all claim to have come because of the manager, not necessarily the money. 

What could have been.