France – Lille storm to double, Monaco slip up
Rudi Garcia’s irrepressible side (whom I did a feature on here) from the northern part of France powered themselves to a league and cup double that has made many across the continent sit up and take notice. With the fittest squad in the league and an unending supply of both audacity and confidence, LOSC Lille muscled their way to the summit in February and have stayed their ever since.
With the big three of Bordeaux, Marseille and Lyon are starting badly before firing in fits and starts, Lille’e consistency and solid away form were the cornerstones of their title charge. Proving that the league title was not just a flash in the pan, they went on to defeat PSG in the Coupe De France final as well.
Star attackers Eden Hazard and Gervinho were ably supported by a strong supporting cast in Ligue 1 top scorer Moussa Sow, captain Yohan Cabaye and defender Adil Rami. Veteran custodian Mikael Landreau’s season is net cannot be ignored either as he had an Indian summer between the posts. Lille’s season was built on teamwork and the team finished with the most wins, fewest defeats, best attack and biggest difference. If they can hold on to some of their more famous players, they should ruffle some feathers in Europe as well.
At the other end of the table, Monaco suffered shock relegation. The southern giants from the principality have long been one of Ligue 1’s most established and fashionable sides. They have multiple league and cup wins and have made deep runs in Europe, where they reached the 2004 Champions’ League final. A thin squad containing jaded veterans and the odd former top star, were unable to get going and their drop is deserving of their inconsistent form through out the season. Expect the team to bounce back to the top flight soon, however.
Lille’s Senegalese striker Moussa Sow led the scoring charts with 25 goals ahead of Kevin Gameiro with 22 for Lorient. Sochaux’s Marvin Martin chipped in with 18 assists.
Portugal – Potent Porto
Just to the Southwest, in the Portuguese Primera Liga, FC Porto wrapped up an impressive season with another treble, adding an unbeaten title winning league season with their Portuguese Cup and Europa League. Porto were rampant, several levels ahead of everyone else in Portugal and the title was a formality after their furious start which left them miles ahead by the end of November. The number speak for themselves – 27 wins, 3 draws, 73 goals with a difference of +57 and a record points tally of 84 from just 30 games. This was the most comprehensive domination of a league season ever seen in modern times and coach Andres Villas boas has built a formidable side that, if kept intact, can wreak havoc in the Champions’ League next season.
In a season in which it is difficult to look past the team from Oporto, Benfica and Sporting finished second and third respectively but will be disappointed at looking like timid pretenders. Benfica picked up 20 wins and reached the Europa League semi-finals but were distant in the league and went out to Sporting Braga, themselves an upper mid-table side, on the continent. A rare win over Porto in the Portuguese Cup semi-final first leg was merely an aberration as Benfica proceeded to lose the semi-final on away goals. Braga and Vitoria Guimaraes finished fourth and fifth respectively and will join Sporting in the Europa League next season.
Porto striker Hulk was top of the scoring charts with 23 strikes followed by team mate Radamel Falcao and Rio Ave’s Joao Tomas with 16 apiece.
Scotland – Rangers edge Celtic in a dead heat
In a season that threatened to be overshadowed by sectarian violence between the big two of Rangers and Celtic, Scottish football managed to pull through without unravelling any further. Rangers beat Celtic to the title despite the latter boasting a stronger squad, at a pinch, while looking far better for most of the season. Walter Smith’s trenchant style paid dividends in the end as he usurped Neil Lennon by getting greater mileage from a limited team. Celtic’s season was a peculiar one in which they lost one fewer game than their rivals in blue, had a better head to head record and a superior goal difference.
The two Glasgow sides extended their usual domination to the domestic cups as well. Celtic beat Motherwell 3-0 to win the FA Cup, having beaten Rangers in a replay earlier in the competition, while Rangers returned the favour by edging The Hoops to win the League Cup. Most encouraging was the performance of the other sides with Hearts, Dundee United and Motherwell all having strong seasons. In the final tally, it was Inverness Caledonia Thistle who made the difference, their 3-2 defeat of Celtic in April, eventually derailing the latter’s challenge. In the end, Scottish football showed that although neither green nor blue, it remains a passionate full-blooded affair.
Rangers’ Kenny Miller led all players with 21 goals ahead of Celtic’s Gary Hooper who had 20. Dundee’s David Goodwillie was arguably the player of the season with 17 goals and 10 assists. All three are Scottish.
Holland – Ajax sneak home
PSV’s promising season unravelled in spectacular fashion as they threw away a healthy lead in the Eredivisie to finish third, picking up just four wins in their last 10 games. Ajax, who looked stale and off the pace for most of the season eventually nicked in to win the title, picking their way to the summit as both PSV and Twente stumbled in the run in. A slow campaign gathered pace in the spring as the Amsterdam giants finished with six straight wins. Twente themselves had a good season, getting to the last 16 in Europe, beating Ajax in the KNVB Cup final and finishing runners-up in the league to return to the Champions League qualifiers. AZ Alkmaar joins PSV in the Europa League next season.
The Dutch mid-table was it usual crazy self as six different teams tussled for the Europa League Playoff spots (5th-8th). Eventually, Groningen beat Ado Den Haag in the playoff final on penalties, after both teams had won their home legs by identical 5-1 margins. Most healthy was the fact that all the leading scorers were, at the time of writing, from the lesser lights. Feyenoord were the biggest disappointment as the Rotterdam giants, one time European Cup winners, finished a lowly 10th.
NEC Nijmegen’s Belgian marksman Bjorn Vleminckx led all scorers with 23 goals ahead of Russian Dmitri Bulykin of Den Haag (21) and Dane Mads Junker of Roda (20). Hungarian Balazs Dzsudzsak of PSV notched 16 goals and 14 assists.
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