Thursday, June 30, 2011

2010-11 UEFA Champions League Review

Another Procession, Exciting in Moments


Oddly, a somewhat tepid season with a lack of fireworks and only a smattering of exciting games.


Barcelona started the tournament as favourites and made good on their tag by easing to a comfortable Champions League crown, their second in three years.  A loss to Arsenal in their Round of 16 first leg aside, The Blaugrana were never under any pressure throughout and swept past Manchester United in a composed final victory at Wembley.


Real Madrid, their main challengers for the trophy, tried to run them close in a hard-fought, semi-final tie, but were never able to knock Barcelona off their stride.  A mental implosion as much as Barcelona's command of the game, left Real's challenge in tatters.  A visibly broken Jose Mourinho was left speechless, for once.





Defending Champions' Inter were inconsistent and paid a compliment to departed manager Jose Mourinho (under whom they won the 2010 Treble) by showing just how far they had fallen in his absence.  While flattering to deceive in the group stages, they ensured they would go down fighting with a come-from-behind, last gasp win over Bayern Munich in the round of 16.  They then promptly got shellacked by Schalke.


Schalke were joined by Copenhagen, Tottenham Hostpur and Shakhtar Donetsk as the surprise packages of the tournament.  While the German side were in the midst of a disappointing domestic campaign, they upset the odds to beat both Valencia and Inter to reach the last four.  Shallow in depth and containing only a smattering of top class talent, the Gelsenkirchen outfit scored 11 times in four knockout round games.


Spurs made good on striker Jermain Defoe's promise to go one better than rivals Arsenal as they finished top of their group (above Inter, whom they beat at home) and then eliminated Serie A winners Milan in the first knockout stage.  A final eight loss to Real was no humiliation and Spurs debut at Europe's grand ball was encouraging, if fleeting. 


Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, overcame an away game thrashing by Arsenal to win their group, overcome Roma and go out in the quarterfinals to eventual winners Barca.  An excellent campaign showed that they have since built on their 2009 UEFA Cup win.  With the youngest side in the tournament, coach Mircea Lucescu can look forward to several years of solid continental competition.


Copenhagen, finished second behind Barcelona in their group.  A Round of 16 loss to Chelsea followed, but like the season of their Blue shirted opponents, Europe hardly took notice.  It says much for the tournament if both Chelsea and Bayern Munich, in the midst of  lethargic and jaded seasons, still finished top of their respective groups.


From the remaining big leagues, the group stage was more or less a procession.  Only Auxerre, who were, in truth, overmatched in their group, finishing bottom; and Werder Bremen, in the midst of a fractured dressing room and suffering a complete lack of control by manager Steve Mclaren, missed out on progression from the group stages.  Interestingly, both Marseille and Lyon made it out from the group stages as Ligue 1 impressed.


Arsenal made a hash of their away games and instead of winning arguably the easiest group on paper, went through as runners-up, thereby earning a chance to avenge their 2010 loss to Barcelona in the quarterfinals.  Although the Gunners impressed in the tie, winning the first leg, they were eliminated on aggregate with a comfortable, if slightly contentious, loss to Barcelona in the second leg at the Nou Camp.  However, fellow group participants Braga, who were more than a handful, went on to reach the Europa League final.


Sadly, the rest of the round robin stage was predictable, a trend becoming more and more trenchant with each passing year.


Amongst the plucky underdogs, Twente, Bursaspor, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Rubin Kazan, CFR Cluj, Basel, Spartak Moscow, MSK Zilina, Partizan Belgrade won only six games between them to all miss out on moving out of the Group Stage.  Although possessing greater pedigree than the teams above, clubs like Rangers, Ajax, Benfica, Werder Bremen, Spartak Moscow and Panathinaikos still got eliminated at the first stage.  A worrying situation that reduces the parity in the tournament that continues to bring the financial rewards, the top clubs crave.


Benfica joined Braga for a long run in Europe but will rue their exit from the Champions' League.  Rangers and Ajax went on to get knocked out in the first knockout round from the Europa League as well.  Spartak and Rubin earned valuable coefficient points for Russia but barely made an impact in this tournament.


The Champions' League is a carousel for the biggest clubs in Europe with the only excitement coming from the games in the last few rounds or the odd upstart making a determined Cinderella run.  However, it remains a bastion of, albeit restricted, parity and is the World's best football tournament.


Lionel Messi led all scorers with an astounding 12 games from 13 games while Mario Gomez and Samuel Eto'o both scored eight goals.

Top XI Players:


Lionel Messi - Barcelona - Basically the best player in the world, played for the best team in the world, in the best tournament in the world and dominated.  12 goals, 13 games, three assists, less than 1100 minutes on the pitch.


Samuel Eto'o - Inter - In a season where Inter blew hot and cold, Eto'o still got things done for the Nerazzurri and practically carried them on the continent.  Eight strikes in ten games along with four helpers.


Roberto Soldado - Valencia - Six goals, seven games, 400 minutes of game time.  Valencia's tournament looked over once the striker played less than half an hour in the knockout stages.


Karim Benzema - Real Madrid - The French striker never quite convinced manager Jose Mourinho but he tried his best with some strong performances up front for the Spanish giants.  The best ratio of goals to minutes in the tournament with six strikes and one helper in six hours of football.


Gareth Bale - Spurs - For a brief while in the Fall of 2010, Bale was almost considered to be one of the best players in the World as he tore defending champions Inter and the rest of Group A apart.  While his elevation was premature, the plaudits were not as he racked up four goals and a pair of assists in seven games.


Jefferson Farfan - Schalke - The stocky Peruvian was the main reason why the Germans reach the last four.  Robust and fast with ferocious shooting, his performances in Schalke's midfield, powering upfield and drifting in off the wing were some of the best in the tournament.  Took his team past Valencia in the round of 16.


Pedro - Barcelona - Forever destined to be in the shadow of his more illustrious teammates, Pedro came of age on the continent this season.  Five goals and one assist in less than 12 full appearances were a complement to his tireless running.  Scored the opener in the final with an exquisite finish.


Eduardo - Shakhtar Donetsk - A heartwarming return to action for the Crozilian after his career went off the boil post leg break in England.  The tournament's deadliest substitute, he scored four times in just over 250 minutes of football, after coming off the bench.  Given an ovation at Ashburton Grove by his former club's home support.


Nicolas Anelka - Chelsea - With Drogba suffering from the twin perils of Roman inspired isolation and malaria, the veteran French striker carried the West London club on his shoulders, netting seven goals and one assist in nine games and six hours of football.


Mario Gomez - Bayern Munich - Somewhat unconvincing that he may be, had an excellent season up front for the Bavarian giants and delivered on the pitch.  Eight goals and 1 assist in as many games despite spending just over 10 hours in action.


Mesut Ozil - Real Madrid - Sparkling, creative and forever smiling, the German was a welcome alternative to the superior talents but sulky tantrums of Ronaldo.  Far more effective though with six assists and one helper despite playing five hours less than the $80 million dollar man.

Top XI Moments:


Arsenal fans giving Eduardo a standing ovation - Although down 5-0, Shakhtar were still positive and probing as they brought on the striker for the last stretch.  Obviously, in good spirits with their team on their way to another thumping win, the Gunner fans rose in unison and echoed Eduardo's name when he scored an improbable consolation with an excellent finish right at the death.  Excellent support from one of Europe's best fans, pure class from a proper club.


Internazionale 2 - 5 Schalke - Seven goals in a continental quarterfinal are rare, especially with the underdogs and away team coming back to stun the favourites with five goals.  Even rarer though is an opening kickoff following long range missile that Inter's Dejan Stankovic rifled in from the half way line.  The best game of the tournament as both teams threw caution to the wind and went at each other full throttle.


Barcelona 3 - 1 Manchester United - Not a vintage final but a classic Barca performance.  Delivering on their hype and etching their name on history, the Catalan giants ensured that the honour rolls remember their domination with a second win in three years.  Great teams get it done and Barcelona did so with an ease and swagger rarely displayed on the big stage.


Arsenal 2 - 1 Barcelona - The only time in Europe that Barcelona were undone and one of only four losses they suffered all season, Arsenal rose to the challenge and unseated their heavily favoured opponents.  Despite going a goal down, the Gunners never lost belief and justifiably took a win once Arshavin struck home in the 83rd minute.


Roma 2 - 3 Shakhtar Donetsk - When they last met, Roma welcomed Shakhtar to the big leagues with a 4-0 thrashing.  Since then the Ukrainian champions have won the UEFA Cup (2009), retooled and built around a youthful, yet experienced core with a formidable home record.  The pendulum has swung back as Shakhtar gave as good as they got with a win that took them through to the next round. 


Bayern Munich 2 - 3 Internazionale - Entertaining even while surrendering their crown, Inter looked dead and buried once Muller put the Germans in the lead with the second goal after 31 minutes.  However, Inter fought back and took back the tie by going through on aggregate with two late goals that ensured a 3-2 win at the Allianz Arena, both strikes coming in the last 30 minutes.


MSK Zilina 0 - 7 Marseille - So the Slovakian champions hosted the French ones and expected to hold them off in a cagey affair.  So did everyone else.  But, get this - the French side, turned everything on its head and destroyed their home team opponents in a performance of verve, passion and ruthless efficiency.  One of the tournaments biggest ever wins - away from home.


Roma 3 - 2 Bayern Munich - Group stage games are rarely very exciting as the big teams hold off, settle for the point and look towards hammering the minnows.  However these two served up a feast of attacking football in a game filled with flair and attacking intent.  Balanced on a knife-edge, with two goals at each end, till Totti stepped up to dispatch a perfect penalty in the 84th minute and send the Stadio Olimpico into mayhem.


Benfica 4 - 3 Lyon - A bit like the entire Group B campaign, all hell broke loose as any two of the above and Schalke looked capable of progressing.  Trading the advantage and goals at will, the match brought seven goals as Portuguese giants edged France's perennial Champions' League veterans in a night of end to end action.  Six different scorers netted on the night.


Internazionale 4 - 3 Tottenham - Another blinder that the Italian team had this year, they put Spurs to the sword only for the North London side to battle back and almost take a share of the spoils.  Although expected, Spurs' defeat was far from humiliating, and their confidence grew as they went to win the group.  The night Gareth Bale's legend was born with a single handed Maradona'esque hat trick right down the middle.


Werder Bremen 5 - 4 Sampdoria (Aggregate) - Even though both teams would go on to have nightmare seasons, the third qualifying round saw these two teams play out an excellent tie of attacking and positive football.  Antonio Cassano and Gianpaolo Pazzini teed off against Thorsten Frings and Hugo Almeida as nine goals were traded over two matches.  A real pity that one of them would be missing the big dance.




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