In praise of...Klopp's Borussia Dortmund

A full piece appears at Row Z online here
https://rowzonline.org/2018/05/03/champions-league-favourites-borussia-dortmund-12-13/

With Jurgen Klopp on the verge of taking Liverpool to the Champions League final for the first time under his stewardship, after the 5-2 victory on Tuesday night at Anfield versus Roma, it is only fitting that we look back at the last attacking juggernaut he took to the promised land.  This piece will look back fondly at the 2012/13 Champions League season when the competition became distinctly German.

In honour of the 150th Anniversary of the Football Association, UEFA gave the honour of hosting the showpiece final at Wembley only two years after Barcelona had defeated Manchester United in 2011.  The irony was not lost on anyone that the anniversary and the birth of football in England was rewarded with an event featuring two German powerhouses at the home of football.

Whilst, Bayern Munich were entering this game with the hope of completing a treble in Jupp Heynckes last game in charge before stepping aside for the incoming Pep Guardiola, the hope of many a neutral was that Borussia Dortmund would finally garner the trophy their style of play deserved.  A mixture of bombast and beauty, Dortmund were the coming together of Klopp's beliefs - high pressing, stylish counter-attacking, breathless football.

Having won the Bundesliga title in 2012, the need to have a deep Champions League run was required to cement the legacy of Klopp's work and deny the Munich machine the last laugh.  The season itself was oddly though one of transition and movement; many key players were making important decisions about their future.  Mario Gotze would leave for Bayern Munich at the end of the season and the heads of other luminaries, Robert Lewandowski and Matt Hummels were believed to be turning.

This should not discount what Klopp achieved though, creating a roster that was the equal of Bayern Munich's all-star team.  From the aforementioned trio you can add Ilkay Gundogan, Marco Reus and Jakub Blaszczykowski as well as the steady Roman Weidendfeller being the last line of defence.

How best to explain Dortmund and their particular enduring appeal?  Think of it like a tennis aficionado; there are people who are either fans of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.  Whilst Federer is the archetypal doyen of balletic grace and finesse on the court, you would rely on Federer to save a match point and get the job done - you do not win twenty grand slams by being naïve; in contrast Nadal is the bombastic, the power, the explosion who came out of nowhere to attempt to usurp the natural order.

Munich is Federer, the machine who has grown more charming in an extended career but the envy of all before him due to the professional structure of their game; Dortmund is Nadal, the little guy who is far stronger than it appears and garners a universal acclaim of adoration and respect.

Dortmund's run in the Champions League was a welcome relief to the poor defence of their Bundesliga title, which resulted them in meekly surrendering their crown to Bayern by 25 points, only claiming second place ahead of Bayer Leverkusen by one point.

Perhaps an early decision was made by Klopp and his staff to go all in on the Champions League, and they were helped by having a good draw in the group stage; being drawn with Real Madrid - a side that always saves itself for the knockout phase; Ajax - a side living on past glories and no match for many a European superpower; and Manchester City - who were still finding their feet in European competition.

Manchester City were always an attractive side in the English Premier League, yet they could not translate that form to the European format - a problem they still have. Real Madrid scored a late equaliser in the return group game to save a point.  Dortmund were top easily, but could have won all six games.

In the first round of the knockout phase, they were drawn against Shaktar Donetsk, following a 2-2 draw in the Ukraine an easy 3-0 second leg triumph made light work of the Ukrainians prompting a quarter-final versus Malaga.

On paper, an easy tie and yet the Spanish islanders were 2-1 going into injury time only for Dortmund to score two late goals to steal victory from the jaws of defeat; goals from Marco Reus and Felipe Santana kept the unlikely dream alive for BVB.

The semi-final drew them with Real Madrid and the third and fourth games against each other; in the first leg in Dortmund all of Europe bore witness to the epitome of Klopp's attacking philosophy and one of the greatest performances in Europe's elite competiton.

In a season where he scored 10 goals in the competition, Robert Lewandowski scored four goals against a vaunted Real Madrid side led by Sergio Ramos.  The game was finely poised at 1-1 at half time with goals by the Polish striker and Cristiano Ronaldo, however the Pole scored a further three goals in the space of 16 second half minutes giving a 4-1 advantage going back to the Bernabeu.

The second leg was evidence of another part of Klopp's philosophy, his sides can defend when they need to, they are prepared to do the dirty work if need be something Barcelona and Real Madrid can be criticised for. This shows the loyalty players have towards Klopp and the belief he can instil in his troops to do what needs to be done.

Real Madrid won the second leg 2-0 but only scored the two goals after 83 minutes showing how resolute the defence was built around the superior leadership of Hummels and solidity of Weidenfeller.

And so to the final at Wembley Stadium, the first all-German final of the European Cup.  In a tense but highly entertaining and enjoyable spectacle, BVB started out the far more fluid side and yet could not convert their chances into goals with Manuel Neuer making some sharp saves.

Come the second half, Bayern grew more into the game and this growth led to a Mario Mandzukic goal on the hour, which was cancelled out shortly after when Gundogan converted a penalty following a silly foul by Javi Martinez on Reus.  As

As the game got more and more stretched with both sides searching for a winner to avoid the energy sapping extra half hour.  Bayern Munich were starting to pick off holes in the defence leading to a Thomas Muller chance being cleared off the line by Neven Subotic which also prevented a tap-in for Arjen Robben; and yet the big bad wolf blew and blew and ultimately got the winner in the 89th minute as Robben ghosted through the box evading tackles and a weak toe poke of a shot left Weidenfeller flat footed as the ball rolled agonisingly into an unguarded net.  For all the ingenuity and intelligence on display during the game, for it to be decided in such an anti-climatic manner was a shame.

It was also a shame that Jurgen Klopp and his troops came away without anything to celebrate; whilst Jupp Heynckes celebrated a treble in his last season before Guardiola came in, Klopp had to face a summer of transition as players moved on.

While they are celebrated and lauded, there are eerie similarities with the side Klopp is in charge of now.  Liverpool are having people salivate over their attacking play this season spearheaded by an amazing individual season by Mo Salah who has scored 41 goals.  It feels that Liverpool have to win the Champions League this year so historians, statisticians and fans can look back at the season and say look what we won with that firepower behind us - instead Salah's season will become a footnote in history and merely that.

And much like Klopp faced then, he faces the possibility of losing one of his best players as Salah may well be sold to PSG or Real Madrid should he back up this domestic campaign with a good showing for Egypt in the World Cup.

Klopp hopefully has learnt that for all your attacking intent, you need to defend as much as score goals, let's hope his chance at history is not thwarted again.

Negative tactics in Champions League

 

Two supposed super-powers of Europe faced daunting first legs away from home in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Both would have hoped for better results, yet neither were helped by their negative selections in personnel and tactics which invited the home sides to prosper.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, the tie between Manchester United and reigning European champions, Bayern Munich was settled by Pep Guardiola's decison to not play an out and out striker, and instead select Thomas Muller upfront in a false nine role with ball handlers behind in an attempt to pass around Manchester United and eventually breakdown the United defence.

The improved defensive display by United was due to the fact that Munich did not play to the weakness of either Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, which is pace that scares them. Whilst Bayern had all the possession, United took the lead and it was only the introduction of Mandzukic that supplied Bayern with the impetus to score their equaliser.

Bayern have a vital away goal, and on paper should progess to the semi-finals due to their formidable home form, yet that is in domestic competitions. The last time they faced an English side in a knockout fixture at home, they lost 2-0 to Arsenal but thanks to a 3-1 first leg victory went through on away goals.

Chelsea also scored an away goal, however due to some inept goalkeeping and defending, they conspired to concede three goals to a Paris St-Germain team that were flattered by the 3-1 scoreline.  Chelsea also started the match without a recognised striker on the field, with Andre Schurrle leading the line yet the Schurrle's best form this season has come from the right wing and inside to the field; his hat-trick at Fulham can attest to that.

So why did Jose Mourinho not start either Fernando Torres or Demba Ba? Mourinho would have started Samuel Eto'o had he been fit, as the Cameroonian can lead the line well, timing runs and press up the field.  Schurrle was meant to press from the front yet could not forcing Oscar, Wilian and Eden Hazard to do more work in midfield.

Mourinho has clearly lost faith in Torres whose two year malaise is seemingly never-ending and Ba has shown little of the form that warranted a move from Newcastle to West London. Tellingly, Chelsea had little of the ball in the final third and their away goal came from a penalty converted by Hazard. 

Whilst the deficit of 3-1 is not insurmountable, as the victory over Napoli in the Champions League triumph of 2012 can attest to, Chelsea have certainly made the task more of an uphill challenge for themselves. 

Yet why such negativity, such attempts are trying to avoid the worst case scenario and invites the home team to gain momentum.  United could have had two goals before Vidic's set piece header and been 3-0 up.  Last season, Borussia Dortmund demolished Real Madrid in the first leg at home and winning the tie seemingly.

The old adage of having the second leg at home, is possibly a myth. You cannot be eliminated after the first leg, but the tie could well be over.  Chelsea will hope their pedigree will hold them in good stead nonetheless.

Follow me @JamieGarwood

How Moyes/ManU just might

David Moyes and Manchester United outdid themselves and surprised many by drawing with current Champions League holders, Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in the first leg of their quarter-final.

Bastien Schweinsteiger cancelled out Nemanja Vidic's opener to keep the tie even going back to Munich next Wednesday. Whilst the tie is even, Munich are in the ascendancy due to the vital away goal, Man United did enough to suggest they can compete and make it hard work for Munich to become the first team to retain the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola sent out a Bayern side without an out and out striker a la his false nine at Barcelona, spearheaded by Thomas Müller with more midfield luminaries; Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Toni Kroos, Schweinsteiger and Philip Lahm.  All horizontal passing and possession, led to little chances as the United defence of Vidic and Rio Ferdinand stood firm.

What Guardiola ignored or failed to realise was that the gameplan of keeping the game in front of the defence plays into the hands of stalwarts like the United central defence pairing.  Guardiola feels that possession is nine tenths of the game, if you have the ball you win.  Yet United's weakness and especially those of an ageing Rio and Vidic has been exposed by pace as Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge can attest to.  Play counter-attack at pace with zip and you have United chasing shadows, Moyes had the benefit of playing Phil Jones at right back to give some more stability and insurance.

Moyes made a reputation of making his sides difficult to defeat and break down at Everton, and knowing that he was facing a formidable opponent he had to rock their boat and make them work for it.  The plan was to probably score one goal and stop Bayern scoring that away goal. Guardiola's personnel selection played into Moyes' hands, yet it is telling that once he injected Mario Mandzukic into the match Bayern created more clear cut chances eventually leading to the equaliser.

Man United did create chances especially Danny Welbeck whose pace frightened the make shift Javier Martinez in defence (Martinez is suspended for the second leg), yet Welbeck could not convert a one on one with Neuer.  Yet United scored a goal from that most English of archetypes, the set piece. A great corner delivery from Wayne Rooney was met by Vidic who cleverly diverted to the net helped by the absence of any defenders on the post in a redundant zonal marking system.

This provides the hope for United in the second leg will be to get that away goal that they will vitally need to progress to the semi-final.

The other morsel of hope is that Bayern Munich have this tendency to freeze at home in the Bayer Arena especially against English sides. They have not won the last four games at home to an English side starting with the final defeat to Chelsea three years ago, then the 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal, 2-3 versus Manchester City (which they led 2-0) and they drew 1-1 with Arsenal in the last round.

Do Bayern freeze at home or do the robustness of English sides disrupt their tempo? After starting Marouane Fellaini in midfield, Moyes need that injection of creativity offered by Shinji Kagawa to create chances for Welbeck and Rooney, he will also hope the injury that caused Antonio Valencia is not serious for him to miss out.  Kagawa was influential in the 5-0 away demolition of Leverkusen in the group stage.

David Moyes and Manchester United surprised many by not being embarrassed, now they have a real opportunity to cause a major surprise in Munich next Wednesday.

Tottenham Cutting it Close

In March following Tottenham Hotspur's recent defeats away at Liverpool and home to Fulham which threatened to undermine the hard work of January and February including the home victory over arch rivals Arsenal, Tottenham conspired to ruin their own chances of European glory when they lost in Switzerland to Basle succumbing to a very English disease of penaltitis.

However, this does not tell all of the story as on paper, Tottenham have not won a game since the Arsenal victory, losing two and drawing three games conceding 10 and whilst still scoring they are struggling to get over the finishing line and secure that Champions League place that their form that for 7 months of the season deserve.

Whilst at the start of the season this writer said given the circumstances of his appointment and the squad list in his control, a fifth place finish may be all we could have expected.  Yet the overall poorness of the Premier League, which has resulted in a Champion elect setting a possible record breaking winning margin and again a sixth place side closer to relegation than championship contending.

Tottenham went on a 13 game undefeated streak that looked to cement their place in the return to Champions League football, yet injuries and board decisions are threatening to ruin the hard work that Andre Villas-Boas has instilled into his threadbare squad.

In January, when the chance was their to cement the place and get a striker to help this was ignored, so what happens Jermain Defoe goes cold and has not scored since early January and then gets injured.  Emmanuel Adebayor who has had a poor season in general is playing with poor body language and has no form, despite scoring the vital away goal that defeated Inter Milan.

The Europa League campaign unfortunately has been lost by AVB's decision to maintain his promise to Brad Freidel to play in all European ties - Freidel showed his age of 42 because he has not been playing regularly, this continual changing of goalkeeper can be perplexing for the defence who themselves is constantly changing game to game due to tactical changes and injuries.  This may sound like we are doing a disservice to Michael Dawson, who was immense in Switzerland in a performance reminiscent of a younger John Terry in his willingness to block and marshal all those around him.

In the four goals Tottenham conceded to Basle, some were certainly avoidable, none more so than the first goal on Thursday which led to Tottenham having to score again having already taken the lead.  Spurs are a passing team and attempt to maintain possession and create openings in the defence by pulling defenders out of position by chasing the ball.  However, the hassling of Basle which Tottenham underestimated, Moussa Dembele had an errant pass and in two passes Basle scored.  If you break it down, Tottenham are susceptible as they play across the park and allow spaces between the defence and midfield which can be taken advantage of.  This was apparent in the defeat at Liverpool when Kyle Walker's crossfield ball was intercepted by Stewart Downing and converted.

There seems to be a reluctance or maybe ignorance by Tottenham's players to stick to the system and not let down the manager's beliefs.

This belief though is blinded and overshadowed by injuries to a thin squad.  Any side that misses Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon (whose influence is very much ignored), Sandro (out for the season) and Younes Kaboul will be effected.

Yet the tinkering continued, AVB clearly likes Kyle Naughton as a player although for me playing him at left back is counter productive due to him being predominantly right footed.  When Benoit Assou-Ekotto was injured you can understand a manager grabbing at straws, whereas with Ekotto back fully fit this breeds of necessity of keeping a squad fresh, the hope is that the traditional left-back returns to the starting XI for the next league fixture at home to Manchester City on April 20th.

Hopefully, the 10 day break from competitive fixture due to Chelsea's FA cup involvement, may lead to some reflection amongst the squad and allow Gareth Bale to continue his talismanic season.  Spurs have 7 games left and two big games against Man City and Chelsea, if they do not lose those games - best case scenario 6 points, acceptable would be 2 or 4 points, no points would be disastrous for the Champions League aspirations.

Many critics feel AVB should be given the benefit of the doubt, as does this writer but sometimes his decision making and not asking for a striker in January may be one he ultimately regrets.

Chelsea v Barcelona review

Chelsea take the plaudits, they beat Barcelona at home to take a 1-0 lead to the Nou Camp next week  for the vital second leg.

Barcelona could not beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in a rivalry that has been built up over the last six years as their paths have crossed in group stages and knockout matches. Barcelona have not yet won in West London.  Lionel Messi has still not scored against an English side in an away match (the final at Wembley does not count as it was a neutral site).

Chelsea won in spite of giving up 79% of possession to the Catalan giants, they had three shots at goal and scored with the only shot on target - Didier Drogba's first half injury time winner as he swept in Ramires' square ball following Frank Lampard's counter-attacking thrust as he dispossessed Messi in midfield.

The reason the Champions League holders always struggle at Stamford Bridge is the small confines of the pitch measurements.  Barcelona play an incisive, neat and patient passing game looking for openings in a defence which may crack under the constant pressure.  Yet in contrast to the vast size of the Nou Camp dimensions, the Chelsea home is tight and so the tactic of Chelsea employing two banks of four as walls in which Barcelona had to get past was impressive.

There were fears of Gary Cahill being overawed by the occasion, yet the ex-Bolton defender had his most impressive outing yet in a blue shirt.  He dived at every ball, was strong and indicative of the resilience of his teammates - John Terry, the recalled Ivanovic and solid Ashley Cole.

They were matched by the solidity in midfield by Frank Lampard, Jon Obi Mikel and Raul Meireles - a trifecta who knew they had to bide their time to make an impact.  Miereles fouled a few times in the first 10 minutes as he was outwitted by the tricky of the Barca midfield.  Yet when they did, Lampard made it count.  A glorious ball released Ramires who laid it on a plate for Drogba, who stayed on his feet for possibly the longest all night to convert the match winning chance.

The second half was a vertiable bombardment from Barca - they hit the woodwork twice in the match, and was thwarted by Petr Cech and the do or die blocking of the Chelsea defence.  The last chance in injury time summed up Chelsea's achievement - a Messi shot blocked by Cahill, it falls into the path of Pedro who strokes it to the far post, a slight deflection from Cahill makes it hit the post as Ashley Cole again goes back to the line to cover, the richochet back to Busquets is blasted over as bodies go flying.  The chance of an away goal has gone, and the opportunity for parity is squandered.

This was a game of respect, usually past encounters have turned into a shouting match overshadowed by refereeing inconsistencies and controversy yet this was a game when the magic of Barcelona went missing. Their body language was lazy, not arrogant just a general ennui with the surroundings and meeting head on the defiant rearguard.

Some players were absent without leave, Cesc Fabregas' return to London was a poor one.  He had a great chance yet his soft lift over Cech allowed the tracking back of Cole to easily clear away the danger, he wafted an air shot at a chance that went begging.  There was always the lovely caressing of the ball, yet the gaps to slide the ball into the net were few and far between.  Messi's best chance was a header from 18 yards out that failed to trouble Cech.

Oddly, it went exactly as Fabregas recalled past Arsenal v Chelsea ties, 'We would dominate the ball, keep possession, create chances and then....a counter-attack, Drogba, goal! They have a super fast counter attack', how odd that it should happen again.

You can expect more of the same next Tuesday night at the Nou Camp.  It promises to be intense, intriguing and immense. 

Pep Guardiola says Chelsea are favourites, this may be an attempt at psychology, nonetheless the chance for Chelsea is there to reach Munich.

Winter of their Discontent

Manchester United are in trouble.  It is not hard to see why, but it is a shame that it has come to this.  On Wednesday night they are eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage - the first finalist from the year before to not reach the knockout stage the following season.

United are out of Europe, although they are physically now in the Europa League mentally they will not be competing.  Following the FA Cup draw last Sunday, they have been drawn away to neighbours Man City in the third round of the world's most prestigious cup competition.  It now bears out that following the first weekend in January, Man United - the champions of Europe - may only be fighting on two fronts and after the hurried Christmas schedule they could be further behind the same City neighbours in the title chase, and even behind current third place Tottenham who are undefeated in 11 games, with winnable encounters before the 22nd Dec match with Chelsea.

Man United are in a bit of a tailspin, following their shooting out of the blocks in August and September which included the 8-2 home win over Arsenal; United are suffering on many fronts - they are not scoring goals, they are not dominating games, they are suffering a whole host of injuries and players are playing low on confidence due to a collective loss of form.

Starting from the back - David de Gea was signed with many worrying over his transferring to a new league and a new country; he has not disappointed being at fault for several goals including the first at Basle on Wednesday night.  The keeper needs to be a leader from behind, and currently the defence are not assured of his positioning, handling and control.

Constant injuries to the back line mean a lack of continuity and consistency - both Ferdinand and Vidic suffered injuries in the first few weeks meaning an elevation for Phil Jones and Chris Smalling who faired admirably, now Vidic is out for the season suffering medial ligament damage in Switzerland.  Jones will have to play the rest of the season at the back, great for his English aspirations but not the best situation for United for the remainder of the campaign.

The midfield has suffered from the retirement of Paul Scholes and the lack of play for Ryan Giggs (who was United's best player on Wednesday), yet you cannot rely on a 37 year old to lead a midfield.  Tom Cleverly was doing really well yet his creativity is definitely missing from United, Michael Carrick is a good passer but lacks the creative impulse to grab a game by the scruff of the neck like a Gerrard or Scholes might.  Nani has been hot and cold like he always is, Anderson is a mis-step and Ashley Young is suffering from injuries himself.

Upfront, Ferguson appeared to find a brilliant partnership between Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck until Welbeck pulled up with a hamstring in that 8-2 victory and yet Rooney has not seemed the same player since Montenegro where he was sent off following the arrest of his uncle for match fixing.  Rooney has been playing with a cloud over his head since late October and is struggling to score.

United are still winning games but without that zest and dominance of past seasons, winning 1-0 away from home at Swansea and Villa. Victories but unconvincing ones do little for faith and confidence from the stands.

In some respects, I wish that United had done the impossible at Wembley in May against Barcelona and defeat one of the best teams of all time.  If that had happened, Alex Ferguson might well have retired and walked out on his terms (much like Tony La Russa with baseball's St.Louis Cardinals) with his work complete.  United would have been the undisputed best team in Europe, League Champions and Champions League winners (for a 3rd time) instead Ferguson is walking around looking for the perfect ending.  He has put his money were his mouth is and bought in young talent (Jones, Young, de Gea) coupled with rejuvenated youngsters from loans (Cleverley, Welbeck) to try and create another famous side.  This side's inexperience with European football was most abundant in the group stages as they struggled to win at home against Basle and Benfica.  Maybe next season in the Champions League will be the time for them.

However, now it looks like the ambitions for the season have altered due to the dominance of City's squad, this is a squad game now in the Premier League, City's 25 is much better than United's and they are scoring at will.  City will fluff their lines at some point this season, oddly they have saved their banana skins for Europe and facing Napoli.  United went through this last year and went on to win the league by some distance in the end.

Ferguson has seen it all in his 25 years, but I am not sure he has ever seen a more inept and embarassing performance as that on Wednesday night.  Now he must become accustomed to Thursday night, Sunday afternoon football in February and March, as will City.

Yet since the 6-1 demolition at Old Trafford, City are still moving forward wheres we are still awaiting a United response.  And as the nights get longer, there will be plenty for Ferguson to mull over this winter.

UCL: Where Complacency meets Inferiority

The Champions League proper is back, following the thrills and spills of Arsenal nearly succumbing to Udinese - the group stage and the smorgasborg of 16 games over 2 nights featuring the stars of world and European football.  However, whereas the Champions League was a unique idea when it originated in 1992/93, now we have a mish-mash of superior teams mixed with teams who although champions they are not up to standard.

And due to the UEFA co-efficients and rankings and pot seedings, you get some dynamic groups.  You need only look at Manchester City's group of death with Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal and then compare it with their city neighbour's snore-fest of Benfica, Basle and Gelati (of Romania, if you did not know). 

United are far and away the strongest English side with the largest depth available and yet Alex Ferguson had some problems following an international week and a PL fixture on Saturday evening.  He made numerous changes, gave David de Gea a much needed 'rest', Ashley Young is tired and he is still without his trusted central defensive pairing of Ferdinand and Vidic. 

United played a 4-3-3 of Lindegaard; Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Evra; Valencia,Fletcher, Carrick; Park, Giggs,Rooney. This side was deceptive, by flooding the midfield and picking Fletcher and Carrick, Ferguson hoped to nullify the emotional Benfica side that would be propelled by the passionate home support.  Giggs played off of Rooney who was very much mute all evening, Valencia rarely ventured forward and posed an attacking threat, whilst Park had to do a lot more defending than envisaged.

The team smacked of negativity, and yet Ferguson will believe he got a lot out of the game.  Players gained match minutes and if injuries do not clear then they can be called upon for the Chelsea game on Sunday, yet he must have a few questions.  What kind of statement does this performance give to the rest of Europe?  Contemporaries Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were both away from home and were dominant against lesser opposition, the difference being those two teams have harder groups.  United should top their group and will do with 3 home wins; and oddly the Champions League offers Ferguson a chance to utilise his squad options yet but for the weak finishing of Benfica's Nolito in the closing stages the campaign might have gotten off to the worst start. 

This complacency might haunt several teams, as it did Barcelona on Tuesday night when they did all the hard work against AC Milan coming back from a goal down to lead 2-1 gain 75% possession and yet concede a late set-piece goal which could be the difference between topping the group and coming second.  Barcelona have injury issues themselves - the first choice centre backs Pique and Puyol were out so Guardiola employed Mascherano and Busquets in central defence, and this lack of cohesion led to Alexandre Pato scoring after just 30 seconds.  Possession led to dominance and Barca had the lead after 50 minutes, yet they could not find the crucial third, as long as the score remained a goal difference Milan must have believed in one more chance.  It arrived in injury time from a corner by Seedorf met by Thiago Silva whose bullet header flew past Valdes who had the whole goal to protect with no markers on the goalposts.  That to me smacks of complacency, the last minute at home and you don't defend as if it is your last, The header went to the far post the most obvious post to cover from this specific set-piece.

Luckily, Barca and AC Milan are in a weak group with Bate and Plzen (yep, me neither) providing little opposition to these superior powers. 

And that is the problem with the UCL, the group stage is deliberate in keeping all the super-powers apart until the knockout stages in February begin allowing them all a thick slice of television money.  Unfortunately, certain big times may not actually start playing their strongest sides until they meet a team they believe to be their equal.

Lance and Ryan - Two Peas in a Pod

In spite of it being the last day of the Premier League season, with five teams at risk of joining West Ham United in the Championship and all the clamour and passion that familiar last day frenzy throws our way.  In spite of it being the European Rugby Cup final in Cardiff, which served up the equivalent of the Liverpool comeback with Leinster proving triumphant against a shellshocked Northampton.  In spite of the best European golfers dualling in Southern Spain for the World Matchplay title - it was two non-competing sportsman who took centre stage.

Both Lance Armstrong and Ryan Giggs have had their names dragged through the mud in recent days.  Armstrong (the 7 time Tour de France winner and spokesman for anything is possible after his winning battle against testicular cancer), was called out by former teammate Tyler Hamilton on the prestigious US show '60 Minutes' stating that both he and Armstrong injected themselves with EPO.  Hamilton has since returned a medal he won at the 2004 Olympics as a rite of passage and redemption. Whilst Armstrong remains silent on the matter except for a tweet on Thursday night after the broadcast which read, "20+year career. 500 drug controls, in and out of competition, worldwide. Never a failed test, I rest my case."


Well it does not really rest there unfortunately for Lance.  Having formally retired now from his illustrious cycling career, the feats remain in doubt in fact they have done since he returned from surgery to win the Tour; you came back from chemotherapy and won, and better than you did when properly healthy.  Now in the development of human beings, even that is miraculous.  Armstrong has these feats at stake, as well as his role as spokesman and ambassador for many charities and organisations, nevermind the endorsements he is still paid for the use of his image.  Now not only is the national exposure of Hamilton's testimony, but also Hincapie and Floyd Landis (another cheat) also state that Armstrong cheated knowingly.

As for another cheat in Europe, for the past few weeks, there has been a big campaign by freedom-of-speech lobbyists stating that the constant use of super-injunctions used by celebrities to sustain their wall of privacy.  The biggest one doing the rounds and offering lots of opinion in papers and call-in shows, is the one concerning a high profile footballer with a clean cut image had an affair with an ex-Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.  The crux comes because Ms.Thomas has been vilified for wanting to gain income off of her stories, whilst the footballer is allowed anonymity.

Until today, when MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name the footballer as none other than Ryan Giggs of Manchester United.  Giggs the 12 time Premier League winner, one of the most decorated footballers of his generation, and recipient of both the PFA Footballer of the Year and BBC Sports Personality of the Year in the last two years.  Giggs is less than a week away from the Champions League final at Wembley against Barcelona.  The clamour from the press - front and back page- will be immense to get quotes from him, and I am sure his manager Sir Alex Ferguson will not welcome the unwanted distratction to his preparations.

The problem I have with things and the irony of the situation is that you have two esteemed sportsman both nearly the same age who have peaked on the highest stage and have spent the majority of their careers in the limelight of adulation and the fine line between sportsman and celebrity.

Armstrong feels he does not have a case to answer owing to his record in drug tests, and yet he responds to accusations via the slightly anonymous method of his twitter account.  Giggs on the other hand has had his legs swept out from under him, even though the Herald on Sunday in Scotland, did produce a picture of him with his eyes blanked out to keep the guessing game going - the irony being that jokes and rumours have circulated the internet for a number of weeks implementing Giggs as the man who slept with Imogen Thomas (herself a lady of Wales - hence the affinity between the two). 

My problem with both though is that Armstong and Giggs through their established personas as role models and model professionals have let themselves down further, by not coming out to face the music.  America has had this soap opera before in it's national pasttime of baseball during the steroid era as Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa all kept quiet as the whispers grew louder - now players are freely admitting hoping that time heals better than wounds. 

Armstrong is an institution and his record is unbelievable but all the more reason to fit for it surely, by coming out in a press conference and stating categorically that he did not do it.  When the whispers first started, I felt that if it were true and lets face it, it is slowly becoming that way, that it would be the end of cycling - the greatest example of the sport would be a fraud, and leaving proper figures like Mark Cavendish with no reason.  Armstrong may not only ruin his own vaunted reputation, but also that of cycling itself.  People will switch off and turn away from the sport.

As for Giggs, for so long a quiet man is it any wonder he kept quiet for so long or wanted to keep his privacy to himself - but he would not have been the first married footballer with children to play away from home and he certainly will not be the last.

My problem is that with footballers we know what they get paid for approximately three to five hours work a week, and in this business much like heads of large corporations they should act accordingly and appropriately.  Football clubs are multi-million pound businesses and should expect their employees to toe the line in regards to conduct.  The players seek privacy yet if they were grieving over the sudden death of a family member, or had been diagnosed with a serious illness they would announce a press conference and state that they would like their privacy to be respected; so what is the difference here, come out and admit it, ask for privacy then.  We football fans are not stupid yet we do not want to be treated like cretins when it comes to matters of what we should and should not believe, especially when it is the average football fan that pays the wages of said footballers.

The old adage of straight from the horse's mouth has never seemed more appropriate, and yet we seem to have found not one but two mute stallions.

Real Madrid v Barcelona UCL Semi-Final 1st Leg Preview

As the world waits with baited breathe for the El Clasico Champions League double-header, the focus on the clash of two goal-scoring machines and the midfield battle between Xavi and Xabi, may take focus away from the real battle and where this game may be won - defence.

Real Madrid have seemingly found a rich vein of form lately, and in the two recent El Clasico match ups have conceded only one goal to Barcelona and that was a penalty, a significant improvement from the famous 5-0 mauling at the Nou Camp in November when the single best team performance left egg on the Mourinho face.

Since then, though the defence has improved and the solidity of Iker Casillas and the growing responsibility of Carvalho has led to more clean sheets, along with the versatility of Pepe either next to Carvalho or as the marshall in midfield to disrupt the fluency of Xavi and Iniesta as some enforcer.  Some critics likened Madrid's tactics last week in the Copa del Rey final as that of Holland versus Spain in the World Cup final, and only one player getting sent off issued another type of referreing leniency.  The referee for tonight's game will certainly have his work cut out in the Santiago Bernebeau.  Unfortunately, due to suspension Carvalho is unavailable for the 1st leg, so the idea of defensive stability maybe exploited by Messi and the out of form, David Villa

As for Barcelona, the return of Carlos Puyol and Gabriel Milito to defence will ease some headaches after the loss of Maxwell.  And with Daniel Alves forsaking his defensive responsibilites down the right flank, Pep Guardiola may well play three centre backs in Puyol, Milito and Gerard Pique three giants to disrupt Ronaldo, Benzema and Ozil. 

Yet Real Madrid are the team with momentum; they won 6-3 at Valencia on Saturday with goals coming from Benzema, Higuain (back from injury) and Kaka (back in favour). 

And following the injury to Andres Iniesta, meaning he misses the first leg, Barcelona may well travel to Madrid with the plan of possible damage limitation and attempt to score a goal on the counter attack and get a vital away goal.  Whilst, Jose Mourinho may well know that tonight is the night to put the knife into Barcelona and go for the jugular much like his Inter Milan side did in last year's semi-final first leg where a 3-1 advantage was too much to overturn - Madrid have the attacking thrust to exploit.

Without Iniesta, the advert for football is diminished and perhaps this might be the game of four El Clasico's in quick succession that may well fail to live up to expectations.  However, it sure does whet the appetite and the anticipation for kick off at 7.45pm tonight on ITV1, cannot come soon enough.

I dare not predict the score, but if Howard Webb is referee. I predict a riot.

Wenger and the blame game

Being a Tottenham Hotspur fan, I suppose I should not give two hoots about the goings-on and latest title surrender from the Emirates nor care that Arsene Wenger is going a sixth season without any silverware.  But I feel a little bit miffed at his continual approach this season to take the blame, football is fast becoming a blame game more and more.

Players blame the referees, referees blame the clubs for lack of respect, managers blame referees, (okay I am a part-time referee aswell, and yes we do get the blame too often) but sometimes the blame should lay with the players who cock-up, the goalkeeper that drops a clanger, the player that gets needlessly sent off, the lazy defending at set pieces and failure to close out teams.

This has happened too often at Arsenal this season, they have squandered too many winning positions and dropped close to double digit points that have cost them a chance at the Premier League title. The one piece of silverware left to aim for, after being in all four major competitions come the end of February.

They lost the Carling Cup final to Birmingham, and the blame game started; but luckily it was the sort of clanger from Sczeceny and Koscielny that blame could easily be affixed, but it took away credit from a spirited Birmingham display and showed Wenger was out-thought by his opposite number Alex McLeish whose tactical nous prevailed, as he loaded the midfield with his triumvate of Bowyer, Ferguson and Gardner.  Their grit was too much for the Arsenal midfield and but for an offside flag, Arsenal might have had to play the whole game with just 10 men.

Then came Barcelona in the Champions League, a great draw at home gave hope but then followed Arsenal chasing shadows at the Nou Camp for the second year in a row, but the sending off of Robin Van Persie was used as blame in spite of the fact that Arsenal could not hang with one of the great teams of recent years.

The FA Cup dream died at Old Trafford, when Wenger's rotation policy and team selection seemed baffling considering they had the second leg in Spain still to come he chose to pick a weaker than usual side, and Man.United duly won 2-0 without much trouble.  This left the leg which three weeks ago was wide open owing to Arsenal maintaining a game in hand, they just needed to stay in arm's length before the May 2nd showdown at the Emirates against the champions elect. 

Alas, goal shy attackers and long injury times, have ended up with a nine-point deficit with four games remaining, not mathematically impossible but quite possibly that is all she wrote for another season, following a 2-1 defeat at Bolton with Tamir Cohen headed in a winner in the last minute of regulation.  No 11 minutes of injury time this week, and four minutes later Arsenal were cursing their luck again.

And yet following the game, Wenger was at liberty to take blame for another poor showing following a week of three league games, they have picked up just two points from two winning positions but the points at home to Liverpool and away at Tottenham were just indicative of Arsenal's season.

I wrote some weeks ago, about a lack of consistency and I used Arsenal as an example, a team that loses at home to West Brom and Newcastle, do not deserve to be considered title contenders - yet they were still there. And yet the players do not take the intiative, the attackers have gone backwards lacking bite and relying on the prolificgacy of young Jack Wilshere to take them to new heights, and the continual troubles in defence continue.  The lack of a marshalling keeper and the loss of Tomas Vermaelen meant that clean sheets and dominating defence were missing from this line-up.

But for Wenger to take the blame is okay in some respects but not on this occasion, now he has players who do not mind losing and do not take responsibility for their actions and poor performance(s).  Instead they realise, their manager will take the buck and the pressure off of their young shoulders. 

But we cannot keep saying this team is young, Emanuel Eboue's foul against Lucas in the Liverpool game was incredibly naive, he is 28.  Wilshere has looked at times older than 19, but he is growing an increasingly petulent streak for such a young man. Wenger likes to put his staple on a team a combination of youth and expert training; an accusation that has led to rumours of a rift between captain Cesc Fabregas and the manager over comments in a Spanish magazine.  Fabregas asked that Arsenal need to make a decision between challenging for Europe's biggest prizes or develop youth in the future. 

This summer with the funds of Kroenke coming into account, Wenger needs to make a new statement of intent, use money to convince Fabregas to stay and avoid another prolonged summer soap opera.  Arsenal need a goalkeeper, but they may have to fight Tottenham for Shay Given; a central defender to co-operate with the returning Vermaelen and a dominant midfielder who is a work-horse, like a Birmingham City midfielder and a goalscorer, unlike the one Chamakh hoped to be.

I should hate Wenger, but now I see a man who is becoming deluded in his appraisal of the playing staff.  And he is failing to remember that managers are more dispensable than players who command bigger wages than a one annual salary man; and managers are judged by their track record, and as we have seen in the last six years, that resume of success is looking particularly bare.  Even Steve McLaren has won more in those six years than the great saviour Arsene Wenger.

Spurs European Adventure

Follow this link guys, to read my thoughts on how Spurs should get back to the big time next season

http://soccer-magazine.com/soccer-news/blogs/jamie-garwood/spurs-thanks-for-the-good-times-more-please/