The Weekly Take, Issue 212: A Performance for the Ages

Sometimes, there are singular moments in football when everyone watching knows at once that they have just seen something truly historic and unprecedented. Such was the case after the final of the 2021-22 Champions League.

After months of gruelling competition, Real Madrid emerged victorious with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the final at the Stade de France. This meant that Real claimed the title for a record-extending 14th time.

With the victory, Los Merengues' head coach Carlo Ancelotti won his fourth Champions League title - a feat that makes him indisputably the greatest coach in the history of football. The combination of his achievements and longevity now ensure that even the likes of Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson, José Mourinho, Helenio Herrera, and Rinus Michels no longer have a genuine case for that honour. The Italian now stands alone at the top of the mountain; it could very well be decades before his status of "greatest of all time" is truly threatened.

However, in spite of Ancelotti's historic achievement, the spotlight after Real's victory was deservedly focused on one man: Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian goalkeeper turned in one of the greatest individual performances in Champions League history on the biggest stage of all. His nine saves set a new record for saves made in a Champions League final.

Two of Courtois's saves were of particular note. One of them prevented Sadio Mané from opening the scoring. Mané forced his way past two Real players before unleashing a vicious shot that seemed fated to fly into the bottom corner of the net. At full extension, Courtois somehow tipped the ball onto the post before scrambling back to collect the ball. This save set the tone for what would transpire over the rest of the match.

With eight minutes left in regulation time, Liverpool were a goal behind after Vinícius Júnior scored for Real in the 59th minute. Mohamed Salah received a long ball forward and soon got into position for a one-on-one scoring chance. The Reds striker's attempt to tie the match and put his club a step closer to a seventh Champions League title would, however, be thwarted by probably the most spectacular of Courtois's saves. Courtois saw it coming almost as soon as Salah took the shot, diving to his right and batting it out of bounds to the astonishment of everyone watching. That save also all but sealed Real's victory.

Over the years, the Champions League has seen several truly outstanding goalkeeping performances. One that comes to mind is Manuel Neuer's effort for Bayern Munich against Real in the first leg of the 2016-17 quarterfinals. Neuer made 10 saves, denying the likes of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo time and again. Although Bayern wound up losing the match 2-1, Neuer's incredible performance ensured that the Bavarian club would head into the second leg with a fighting chance. Neuer could not repeat his heroics and Bayern were eliminated; however, that does not take anything away from his play in the first leg.

Prior to Courtois's domination of Liverpool, the gold standard for goalkeeping in a Champions League final had belonged to Gianluigi Buffon for Juventus in 2003. Playing against an AC Milan team in the early stages of a dynasty, Buffon produced multiple to extend the match as he kept the score goalless. In the penalty shootout, the Italian would then go on to save penalties attempted by Milan players Clarence Seedorf and Kakha Kaladze. However, Buffon couldn't get his team over the hump as three Juve players saw their own penalties saved, ensuring that Milan would become the champions of Europe.

Thus, to contextualize Courtois's performance: it came in the single biggest match in club football, was a record-breaker, came against perhaps the most potent attacking line in world football, and most importantly, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for his club.

For these reasons, I would claim that Ancelotti is not the only figure at Real to find himself in a "greatest of all time" discussion after that match. Thibaut Courtois's display in Paris might very well be the finest 90 minutes ever put together by a goalkeeper in the history of the Champions League.

The Weekly Take, Issue 211: The Revival Is Complete

For the first time since 2011, AC Milan have been crowned Serie A champions. The Rossoneri clinched the Scudetto with a convincing 3-0 away win against Sassuolo. All three goals came in a 19-minute first-half flurry; Olivier Giroud scored the first two before Franck Kessié put the result of the match and the championship beyond any doubt.

The 11 years that have passed since Milan's last league title had been their least successful era since 1979-87. The absolute nadir of the more recent barren era came in the 2014-15 season when the Rossoneri only finished 10th in the league. It was their worst league finish since 1997 when an outrageously loaded team including players such as Roberto Baggio, George Weah, Paolo Maldini, Zvonimir Boban, and Edgar Davids somehow only managed to finish 11th.

From 2013-14 to 2019-20, Milan failed to qualify for the Champions League. This seven-year streak matched their 1980s drought. A return to Italian football's top table seemed lightyears away. However, in the later years of this span, the seeds which would someday blossom into the foundation of a revitalized Milan team were being planted.

Ivorian midfielder Kessié was the first key piece to arrive. Kessié joined Milan on a two-year loan deal in 2017 and would go on to become a permanent player upon its conclusion. In the years to follow, Milan would add to their roster in a methodical manner, bringing in under-the-radar yet valuable signings such as Theo Hernandez, Sandro Tonali, and Rafael Leão. The finishing touches came in the most recent off-season when Milan made Tonali and fellow loan signing Fikayo Tomori permanent players while also bringing in French duo Mike Maignan and Giroud.

Milan overcame the loss of Gianluigi Donnarumma to Paris Saint-Germain astonishingly well. Prior to this season, Donnarumma had been the club's best player and was fresh off leading Italy to a European Championship title capped off by an outstanding individual performance in the final penalty shootout against England. However, as it would turn out, the acquisition of Maignan was a masterstroke. As Milan's new starting goalkeeper, Maignan quickly established himself as the best goalkeeper in Serie A with a campaign that saw him make the leap to elite status. On the other hand, Donnarumma's season as PSG will be most remembered for his costly error in the Champions League round of 16 that contributed to PSG's elimination against Real Madrid.

Milan's selection of Stefano Pioli as head coach in October 2019 went on to work out better than they could have ever dreamed. When his predecessor Marco Giampaolo was fired, Milan were 13th in the league; had they finished there, it would have been their worst league finish in almost 40 years. Upon Pioli's hiring, many Milan fans were skeptical; they were expecting a bigger name to enter the dugout. After a slow start, Pioli presided over a late-season surge that saw them vault up the table and finish sixth. They were only kept out of the next season's Europa League by financial violations previously committed. As Pioli became more and more familiar and comfortable in his role, Milan went from strength to strength, culminating in this season's triumph.

It is notable that Milan's revival did not come as a result of spending colossal amounts of money on players. At just €28.5 million and €28 million respectively, Tomori and Leão have been Milan's most expensive signings over the past three years. Though they may have taken the long way to get back to the top, the fact that they did so makes their victory all the more satisfying (except in the eyes of Inter Milan and Juventus fans, of course).

To make things even more interesting, it must be kept in mind that the city of Milan is a large, glamorous market which may have the potential to attract star players. Couple that with the fact that Milan are at their strongest in many years and it should become evident - Milan is suddenly a contender, albeit a fringe one due to their relatively lesser wealth, to land a genuine superstar in the coming off-season.

AC Milan is one of the most iconic clubs in world football. It may have taken them a while, but they are back where one would expect a club of their prestige to be.

The Weekly Take, Issue 210: The Only Realistic Challengers Next Season

The 2021-22 Bundesliga season has come to its conclusion, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, Bayern Munich once again won the league title by an enormous margin. At this point, Bayern can be all but penciled in for a league title every year for the foreseeable future... or can they?

Not many will have noticed, but there is a team which, if everything goes well during the off-season, might turn out to be Bayern's closest challengers next season. This team is Bayer Leverkusen, who closed out their Bundesliga campaign with a 2-1 victory over Freiburg. Exequiel Palacios scored Leverkusen's winning goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time. With the win, Leverkusen finished third in the league on 64 points, 13 behind Bayern. However, despite the large margin between themselves and Bayern, there is cause for optimism at the BayArena.

Although he will not return until the middle of next season, the play of Florian Wirtz following his return from a torn ACL will be crucial if Leverkusen are to make a serious title push. Prior to his injury, Wirtz was looking like a generational prospect in the making. At just 19, Wirtz seemed to be on a trajectory which would have seen him become not only an elite player at his peak, but even a potential future Ballon d'Or winner. Of course, a torn ACL is the one injury over which there will always be question marks over a player upon his return. That said, if Wirtz comes back at his previous level and continues his ascent accordingly, the sky is the limit - both for his career and his club.

Following a remarkable breakout season in which he established himself as one of the world's leading centre-forwards, Patrik Schick has established himself as the second of the team's two cornerstones alongside Wirtz. Sporting director Simon Rolfes has already confirmed that Leverkusen will not entertain any off-season request to sign the Czech, fending off potential interest from a number of top European clubs. After netting 24 league goals this season, Schick might even be a dark-horse contender for next season's European Golden Shoe. That may in turn make it far more difficult for Leverkusen to continue retaining Schick's services; however, as long as he remains at Leverkusen alongside a fully-fit Wirtz, their window remains open.

One important point about this Leverkusen team is the fact that all their key players are relatively young. This season, almost all of Leverkusen's best players were 26 or younger. In addition to Schick and Wirtz, other young players who were major contributors this season and figure to continue doing so going forward include Jonathan Tah, Moussa Diaby, Jeremie Frimpong, and Edmond Tapsoba. Diaby has already been linked with a move to Arsenal as well as a possible return to hometown club Paris Saint-Germain. This is a roster brimming with potential - if Bayern were to have a rare down year next season, the door might just be ever so slightly open for Leverkusen to take advantage.

There's no question that taking down the juggernaut that is Bayern is probably the mightiest task in the four major domestic leagues. However, now that Borussia Dortmund have lost Erling Haaland to Manchester City and RB Leipzig are still rebuilding after seeing former head coach Julian Nagelsmann leave for Bayern, Leverkusen may just have a puncher's chance to push Bayern all the way next season.

Certainly, no one is having any delusions - Leverkusen will not be favourites over Bayern by a long way. However, if Die Werkself can keep the "sharks" circling their club at bay for just one more transfer window and their young players continue to develop with one or two having a breakout season, something might just come of that. Add in Schick's continued dominance in front of goal and Wirtz coming back as good as before, and now there'd really be something going.

Of course, it has to be noted that for Leverkusen to win the league next season, they'll also need a healthy dose of luck - practically everything has to go perfectly. But as things stand right now, Bayer Leverkusen are quite possibly in position for their best season in many years.

The Weekly Take, Issue 209: One Final Push Coming?

A crucial Premier League match with major implications on both the league title race and the chase for a Champions League spot next season ended in a stalemate. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 at Anfield - a result which all but handed yet another league title to Manchester City. Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Spurs in the 56th minute with his 20th league goal of the season. Luis Díaz would later score Liverpool's equalizer. However, despite Liverpool's constant pressure and multitude of goalscoring opportunities, they just could not finish off a resilient Tottenham side.

The result leaves Tottenham four points behind North London rivals Arsenal with three matchdays remaining. While this may seem like an almost insurmountable gap to overcome, it must be kept in mind that Tottenham next play against the Gunners in what will surely be one of the most hotly-contested North London derbies in years. Only a victory will do for Tottenham; fail to do so and they can forget about the Champions League next season. That being said, a victory over Arsenal would not be unrealistic by any means. It would also leave Tottenham just one point behind the Champions League berths with two matches remaining.

Tottenham's future might very well hinge on their qualification for the Champions League. Fail to do so and they might see player after player leave Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the coming off-season. It isn't out of the question that the likes of Hugo Lloris, Lucas Moura, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, and maybe, just maybe, even one or both of their superstar strike duo of Son and Harry Kane could seek an exit following a third consecutive failure to qualify - something that hasn't happened since the 2014-15 season.

As the club regarded as the least "glamorous" of the three major London teams, Tottenham arguably need a Champions League berth more than do Chelsea and Arsenal in order to boost their chances of attracting top players to the club. Tottenham have been linked with players including Marc Cucurella, João Palhinha, and Jordan Pickford. Tottenham are also expected to turn Dejan Kulusevski's loan stint from Juventus into a permanent move. However, these players might just opt out of choosing Tottenham if they cannot participate on the biggest continental stage.

A failure to qualify for the Champions League might also cause head coach Antonio Conte to leave Tottenham at the end of the season. He has presided over a rather tumultuous period ever since taking the position in November last year. Conte even publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the team in general following a loss to Burnley in a Premier League match in February. Having achieved tremendous success at clubs such as Juventus, Chelsea, and Inter Milan, Conte's Tottenham stint has been a reality check. It would not be a surprise to see the Italian consider his options if Tottenham miss out on next season's Champions League.

Having said all of this, Tottenham nevertheless have at least a puncher's chance at a late rally to snatch fourth place from Arsenal. If they win out, they will finish on 71 points. After the North London derby, Tottenham's final two league matches will be against Burnley and Norwich City - two likely gimmes. Arsenal, on the other hand, still have Newcastle away. Win that and they more or less clinch fourth. However, that match also presents the clearest opportunity for either North London club to drop points after the derby. If Arsenal lose the derby, fail to beat Newcastle, but beat Everton, they will finish on either 69 or 70 points - not enough to deny Tottenham in this scenario.

Given their position in the league, all the pressure will be off Tottenham as they embark on the final stretch. Of course, even a final charge might prove to be too little, too late. Although many clubs won't be overly affected by one missed Champions League qualification, Tottenham Hotspur are not one of them. It really is do or die for Tottenham right now.

Time is running out on Tottenham's top-four hopes. Is it also running out on their spot at England's top table? We don't yet know, but it doesn't look good.