The Final

The Final

                I hope I don’t have to say which final it is that I am discussing as there is only one 'big' game that matters in sports in the month of May.  I am excited to say that this Saturday brings us a European Cup Final that I have personally been waiting for since my exchange experience in Germany back in the 1999-2000 school year.  On exchange, I was sent to Dortmund on my exchange, and my interest in soccer/football went up tenfold.  The fans there are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, maybe outside of the Dortmund-Galatasaray (gala fans) fixture I went to that season.  It’s usually 75,000 strong, and it’s loud and passionate and just an absolutely fantastic atmosphere.  It was the first time in my life that I recognized that being a fan of your favorite team meant more than the simple pleasure of enjoying the sport.  It was a lifestyle.

                That being said, I can still look at this game from beyond my yellow tinted glasses.  Living in Dortmund it was only natural to dislike Bayern Munich.  For everything that they stood for, and beyond that.  Coming back to the states and not experiencing that disgust on a weekly basis though, I really learned to appreciate how Bayern plays and how they manage and react to organizational success.  They don’t care how fans and the media view their club, and they always do what’s in their clubs own best interests.  They have no concern for the league, or the country, and certainly not the fan base.  For better or worse, it’s what makes them so successful.  And it’s what has put them in this position today; a third Champions League Final appearance in four seasons.

                This clash is probably one of the biggest matches in the history of German football.  Dortmund will be hard pressed to get back to this summit with their current squad; many of the players are expected to be leaving over the next couple of seasons.  Mario Götze is already leaving for Bayern Munich after the game.  Dortmund have changed their brand significantly over the last couple of seasons; they used to challenge with Bayern style money.  Once their club’s finances hit the skids and they were close to bankruptcy, did they decide to build from the ground up and create one of the great youth academies on the entire continent.  Bayern’s legacy will also be challenged during this affair.  They haven’t won a Champions League Final since 2001; in fact they have lost in three of their last four final appearances.  A lot of their players have made Bayern their summit, and with their philosophical change after the hire of Pep Guardiola, the former great Barcelona manager, a number of these current players could be gone after the season.  Arjen Robben is viewed in most circles as a rather selfish player, and it appears that Götze will be his direct replacement.  Boateng, Gomez and Pizarro could all be replaced as well.  This has been a dominant domestic side this year, but they wouldn’t have brought in Guardiola if they weren’t prepared for some change.

                I see the game playing out one of two ways.  The first way is how most domestic clubs continental matchups go, which is boring and unconnected.  No team wants to lose to a big rival, and no player (or manager) wants to take it upon himself to be the hero.  A la 2003 European final between Juventus and Milan which was a bore 0-0 draw.  In 2000, Madrid was just superior to Valencia in every way, and the game was almost an afterthought beyond halftime.  The 2008 match between Manchester United and Chelsea had its moments, but outside of Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational header, and Drogba’s casual slap, it rather lacked creativity and passion.  The other direction this game could go is a barn burner in which both teams attempt to attack the same way they decided to against the Spanish sides in the semi-finals, and we get a 4-3 classic.  I believe that the game will attempt to begin in this fashion as both teams sense their own confidence in being capable of winning the match.  Bayern went this route last year, and just couldn’t get the goals to finish off Chelsea.  But no fan doubted who was the better side that day.  I can't remember specifically, but I think they outshot Chelsea 28-5 on the day. Dortmund knows that their legacy with these kids is going to soon end, as there is too much money in the sport now to keep this group of talented players intact.  Bayern’s overall dominance is reason enough to give Dortmund all they can handle.  I think that with Götze officially out of the game, and with Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger playing magnificently during these last few weeks, that Bayern will get the best of Dortmund in an open match, 3-1.

 

Borusssia Dortmund player to watch: Robert Lewandowski.  Stud. Scored 4 goals in the home leg against Real Madrid in the semi, and will be in different colors next season.  Ideally in Rooney’s #10 shirt.

Bayern Munich player to watch: Javi Martinez.  I would’ve picked Philip Lahm, but I have every round, so it’s time for someone new.  Javi is the defensive-midfield version of Zidane.  Elegant on the ball and a great, all-around understanding of the game. 

Probable Lineups:

Dortmund 4-2-3-1

GK –Weidenfeller
LB – Schmelzer
CB – Hummels (if he’s healthy)
CB – Subotic (if he’s healthy)
RB – Piszczek
DM – Gündogan
DM – Bender
LM – Großkruetz
CM – Reus
RM – Blaszczykowski
ST – Lewandowski

Bayern 4-2-3-1
GK – Neuer
LB – Alaba
CB – Boateng
CB – Dante
RB – Lahm
DM – Martinez
DM – Schweinsteiger
LM – Ribery
CF – Müller
RM – Robben
ST – Mandzukic

It would’ve been interesting to see if Toni Kroos would’ve had a place in the final before his season ending injury.  I think this is their best line-up even though I rate Kroos very highly.  Mario Gomez will be brought on if they are down, as will Schieber if Dortmund is in the same situation.  Should be pretty straight forward.  Dortmund did pass the animal test for those of you that know the history of Paul and the German obsession with his success. Enjoy the match, and until next season, goodbye readership!

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.