The Weekly Take, Issue 17: A Night to Forget

Real Madrid clinched their third consecutive Champions League title, and fourth in five years, by beating Liverpool 3-1 in the final, with Gareth Bale scoring two goals to lead Los Merengues to a convincing victory.

As I alluded to in a previous article, I believe that this victory makes the current Real side the greatest club team of all time.

However, that was not the biggest story of the game. That would be the dismal performance of Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius, who made two errors that both led to Real Madrid goals.

Even though Karius had put together a solid campaign up to the final to help the Reds reach their first Champions League final in 11 years, the German turned in a performance which will be remembered by everyone watching, but for all the wrong reasons.

To put it simply: on the biggest stage of club football, Karius choked.

He isn’t the first player to choke on such a stage, and he won’t be the last.

However, what will define him and his career going forward will not be this match in particular, but how he responds to it.

An excellent example of a player who choked when it mattered most, but bounced back to put together an outstanding career, was Roberto Baggio.

As the reigning World Player of the Year, Baggio entered the 1994 World Cup with plenty of hype. Throughout the early rounds of the tournament, he duly delivered on the hype, scoring five goals and leading the Azzurri to a final showdown against a Brazil team containing superstars such as Cafu, Romário, and Dunga.

The match ended 0-0, and a penalty shootout ensued. As Baggio stepped up to take his penalty, he knew that if he missed, the shootout would be over, and Brazil would win the World Cup.

The Juve number 10 stepped forward and unleashed a shot that ended up settling somewhere in the stands. Like many before him, he, too, had choked when it mattered most.

However, he clearly rebounded well from this humiliating moment, as, in the subsequent 10 years from this game to his retirement, Baggio scored 96 Serie A goals – an impressive figure for a second striker and attacking midfielder hybrid, but even more so when considering that this period spanned Baggio’s age-28 to age-37 seasons. Today, Baggio is easily considered one of Italy’s top 10 players ever, and deservedly so.

On the other hand, another player who never truly recovered from a choke in a pivotal match was Andriy Shevchenko, in the 2005 Champions League final.

Once again, the situation was a penalty shootout. Shevchenko’s AC Milan team had already collectively choked in this match, having blown a 3-0 halftime lead against Liverpool. However, the Rossoneri had one final chance, as neither side had been able to score in extra time.

When reigning Ballon d’Or winner Shevchenko stepped forward to take his penalty, just like Baggio, it was a score-or-go-home situation.

Wilting under the pressure of the moment, Shevchenko shot a weak penalty which proved to be an easy save for Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, handing the title to Liverpool under improbable circumstances.

The moment seemed to mentally break Shevchenko, as he was never the same after the game.

Shevchenko would go on to play seven more seasons, spanning the ages of 29 and 35, when he would retire. In those seven seasons, the Ukrainian would only score 51 league goals, of which 28 were in a major league. For a centre-forward of prime Shevchenko’s calibre, that was an extremely disappointing statistic. In particular, during his time at Chelsea, he turned into a punchline of world football, scoring only nine league goals during his time there, despite his high transfer fee.

His precipitous decline can be traced back to that one fateful night in Istanbul.

Like Baggio, Shevchenko, and so many others, Karius has now also choked in an extremely important match. However, what is important is that he does not let this dismal display that lost Liverpool the Champions League define him or his career, and that he moves forward from it and emerges from the experience a better player. Otherwise, we may soon never hear from him again.

The Weekly Take, Issue 16: Winner Takes All

It is rare, but always especially thrilling, that two rival teams go head-to-head on the final day of a league campaign with all-or-nothing implications, whether the match is related to a league title, a spot in the following season’s Champions League or Europa League, or even survival in the division.

Such was the case when Lazio hosted Inter Milan this past weekend, with Inter registering a 3-2 win over nine-man Lazio. Matías Vecino scored the goal that took the Nerazzurri into the 2018-19 Champions League.

The match will be remembered as one of several memorable final-day deciders in football history.

One of the most memorable clashes of the sort took place on the final day of the 1971-72 Bundesliga season, when a star-laden Bayern Munich played against underdogs Schalke, who trailed the Bavarians by just one point heading into the match.

Ultimately, Bayern’s star power won out, as the team boasting all-time greats such as Paul Breitner, Gerd Müller, Uli Hoeneß, and of course, probably the greatest defender of all time in Franz Beckenbauer, destroyed Schalke with a 5-1 victory, giving Bayern the Bundesliga title in a most emphatic manner.

Another memorable final-day showdown occurred in 1989 and featured Liverpool and Arsenal. Before the match, Liverpool led Arsenal by three points and two goals, meaning that not only would Arsenal have to win, but they would also have to do so by two goals – a difficult task, considering that no team had won at Anfield by two or more goals since 1986. Liverpool were also the stronger team on paper, with a line-up including the likes of Bruce Grobbelaar, John Barnes, and Ian Rush.

As the match headed into stoppage-time, Arsenal led 1-0; impressive for the Gunners given the circumstances, but not enough to land them the league title. Then, in shocking fashion, Michael Thomas scored the decisive goal with almost no time left to deliver Arsenal the First Division title, to the astonishment of everyone watching.

The next match that deserves a mention is one that I have referred to in a previous piece, and that is the match between Barcelona and Valencia in 2001. In this match, a place in the Champions League was on the line. Valencia needed a draw; Barça, a win.

With just a few minutes to go, the match was deadlocked at 2-2, with Barça’s Rivaldo and Valencia’s Rubén Baraja having scored a brace apiece. At this stage, Valencia would have qualified for the 2001-02 Champions League at Barça’s expense, before one of the most iconic moments in world football history took place.

In the 89th minute, Frank de Boer sent a high ball towards the Valencia penalty area, which Rivaldo took on his chest just outside the box. What followed was a truly legendary goal, as the Brazilian superstar completed his hattrick and put Barça in the Champions League by firing an incredible bicycle kick that left Santiago Cañizares with absolutely no chance.

The match, and the goal, also played a huge role in Rivaldo’s winning the 2001 Ballon d’Or.

Perhaps the most impactful of all such matches was the 2003 match between Chelsea and Liverpool for England’s fourth Champions League spot. A draw would have been enough for Chelsea, while Liverpool needed a win. Unlike the other matches described here, the match itself was rather ordinary, with Chelsea winning 2-1 courtesy of a first-half Jesper Gronkjær goal.

However, the true impact of the match was that Chelsea’s qualification for the Champions League prompted Roman Abramovich to buy the club. Prior to this, Real Madrid were by far the biggest spenders in world football, loading their team with superstar after superstar, such as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldo. Abramovich’s takeover of Chelsea changed all of that and launched world club football into a new age: that of the transfer arms race, an era that reached new heights this past off-season when PSG signed Neymar for €222 million.

In years to come, the Lazio-Inter match will surely be remembered in the same way, because of the late last-minute winner and the two red cards. These winner-takes-all encounters are the reason many fans tune in, as there is no greater occasion in a league campaign than these matches which only come around once every few years.

The Weekly Take, Issue 15: The Underdog Success Story of the Season

Everyone loves the underdog.

A team which, despite their relative lack of star players, club prestige, or finances, end up punching well above their weight and achieving outstanding results.

This season, probably the most remarkable result by such a team was achieved by Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.

This past weekend, in the final match day of Bundesliga action, Hoffenheim beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 to leapfrog the Ruhr club into third place, sealing a spot in next season’s Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

Third place in the Bundesliga is a phenomenal result for Die Kraichgauer for a variety of reasons.

The club is not blessed with the wealth of rivals such as Dortmund, RB Leipzig, or Bayer Leverkusen. Yet, they managed to finish ahead of all three in the league.

Hoffenheim is also a club without much history. They were only promoted to Germany’s top flight for the first time in 2008, and, until 2016-17, had never finished higher than seventh in the Bundesliga. In fact, as recently as two years ago, Hoffenheim flirted with relegation, finishing 15th.

Hoffenheim are also a team without a true star. Their best players include the likes of Oliver Baumann, Mark Uth, Håvard Nordtveit, Ádám Szalai, and Andrej Kramarić. Although they are all solid players who can make notable contributions to a team, none of them can truly be considered a game-changing superstar.

Furthermore, and perhaps the most remarkable part of Hoffenheim’s rise, the village (yes, village. Not city, not town, but village) of Hoffenheim has a population of just over 3,000.

To put this into perspective, the entire population of Hoffenheim could fit into the club’s Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion nine times, and there would still be empty seats.

On top of all this, Hoffenheim even made a profit in terms of transfers. Largely thanks to the big-money sales of Niklas Süle and Sandro Wagner to Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim made a profit of over €30 million in the transfer market this season.

Given all the information provided, Hoffenheim have truly enjoyed an incredible season – clearly the best in club history.

So, just how did this unfancied village club reach this point?

First of all, a tremendous amount of credit has to go to head coach Julian Nagelsmann. After taking over from Huub Stevens during the difficult 2015-16 campaign, he did not have the most auspicious of debut seasons, only narrowly avoiding relegation to the 2. Bundesliga.

However, since then, he has done an outstanding job. He followed up that season with a fourth-place finish in the league in 2016-17, thus allowing Hoffenheim to play in European competition for the first time in the club’s history. This season, he has gone one better.

At the age of 30, Nagelsmann is exceptionally young for one who holds his position. It is certainly possible that within the next decade, he will have taken over at the helm of a powerhouse of world football.

Hoffenheim also have a history of making shrewd, under-the-radar signings.

Among the players signed by Hoffenheim who went on to make a significant impact there, as well as at other clubs, include the following: Timo Hildebrand, Sebastian Rudy, Luiz Gustavo, Demba Ba, Vedad Ibišević, Gylfi Sigurðsson, and, perhaps most impressive of all, Roberto Firmino, who was signed from Figueirense at the age of 19.

This season, Hoffenheim’s new arrivals, such as Nordtveit, Nico Schulz, and Florian Grillitsch, have all fit seamlessly into the team, thus showing that this is a club that puts thought into their signings.

Finally, another important element of Hoffenheim’s, as well as any other underdog team’s success, is their sheer grit and determination.

It’s somewhat of a cliché, but every time Hoffenheim take to the field, they seem to “want it more” than the other team.

This is reflected in the final Bundesliga table: in what was probably the toughest battle for Champions League spots in modern Bundesliga history, with third through ninth separated by just eight points, Hoffenheim finished ahead of all the other contenders.

If Hoffenheim continue on their current path, there is no reason why they cannot carry on defying the odds next season, whether domestically or in the Champions League. Their success is a beacon of hope to all small-town teams, showing them that it can indeed be done if the right moves are made.

The Weekly Take, Issue 14: From Elite to Irrelevant

In an important Premier League match that had major implications on which teams qualify for next season’s Champions League, Chelsea beat Liverpool 1-0, with Olivier Giroud scoring the goal in the 32nd minute.

The victory moved Chelsea to within two points of fourth place, and with it, a spot in the Champions League.

However, one thing that was notable about the match was the relative lack of buzz over it.

Just six months ago, a Chelsea win over Liverpool in a clash of such magnitude would have set the football world on fire and have been the match everyone would be talking about the next day.

But now? None of that.

This is a perfect illustration of Chelsea’s season. In one season, the Blues have gone from a powerhouse domestically and in Europe to becoming ever more irrelevant.

One season after winning the Premier League title, Chelsea’s defense of the title has been utterly abysmal. They are currently fifth in the league and more than 20 points behind new champions Manchester City.

Their European campaign did not go well either.

In a Champions League group they were expected to win, Chelsea could only finish second behind Roma, and as a result, were forced to play against a first-placed team from another group in the round of 16.

Chelsea were drawn against Barcelona, and, to no one’s surprise, were duly knocked out by an aggregate score of 4-1.

Chelsea have also not fared well in terms of transfers.

This season, Chelsea have spent tremendous amount of money to bring in names such as Antonio Rüdiger, Álvaro Morata, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Giroud, and Ross Barkley. While each of these players were expected to make significant positive contributions to Chelsea’s cause, especially given their high transfer fees, none of them have managed to move the needle the way that they were expected to.

On the other side of the coin, among the players who have departed from Stamford Bridge this season include Nemanja Matić, Asmir Begović, Juan Cuadrado, and Diego Costa. Thus far, all four have been playing at a higher level than they had been at Chelsea.

This is not the first time that Chelsea have made such mistakes in the transfer market.

Among the future stars that Chelsea gave up on before they were truly able to blossom include Kevin de Bruyne and Mohamed Salah, both of whom have become the best player at Premier League rivals Manchester City and Liverpool respectively – clear examples of poorly-judged player sales that have come back to haunt Chelsea.

Even though Chelsea have qualified for the final of the FA Cup, where they will play against Manchester United, even a victory over the Red Devils at Wembley will not make up for an underwhelming season that has not only provided little in terms of results, but also diminished Chelsea’s reputation on the global footballing stage. This is particularly true when the amount of money spent, the players signed, and the hype behind the club going into the season are all taken into account.

Even though a club may have large amounts of money, the club’s wealth does not guarantee that they will perpetually remain relevant.

A good example of this is Monaco.

Despite the tremendous amounts of money Monaco have spent, over the last five seasons including this one, Monaco only have one Ligue 1 title to show for it, while their best showing in the Champions League has been a semifinal appearance.

In this season’s Champions League, Monaco finished dead last in their group, behind Beşiktaş, Porto, and RB Leipzig. Not only were they knocked out of the Champions League, they didn’t even drop into the Europa League because they were last in their group and not third.

Monaco are largely considered irrelevant on the continental stage and not genuine contenders either domestically or in Europe.

This should serve as a cautionary tale for Chelsea.

If Chelsea fail to improve on their poor showing this season, they too will run the risk of not only losing their status as one of football’s elite clubs, but also falling away to the point that they become irrelevant and a non-factor, whether in the Premier League or in European competition.

The Weekly Take, Issue 13: Two Matches from Immortality

After beating Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal, Real Madrid are almost certainly guaranteed of a spot in the final at Kiev’s Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex. Marcelo’s goal two minutes before halftime equalised after Joshua Kimmich had put the Bavarian club ahead, and after the break, Marco Asensio put Real 2-1 ahead, which is how it finished.

Should they advance to the final, Real will be the clear favourites to complete a Champions League “three-peat” by beating Liverpool, who themselves raced out to a 5-2 lead after one leg against Roma.

I cannot overstate just what a monumental achievement it would be if Real were to win their third consecutive Champions League title, and fourth in the last five years, this season.

Such an accomplishment, in my opinion, would make the current Real Madrid side the greatest club team in the history of football, for this level of excellence and dominance has not been seen since Real’s team of 1956-60, featuring legendary names such as Ferenc Puskás, Alfredo Di Stéfano, and Francisco Gento.

However, although that team won five European titles in succession, if Real were to win it all this season, I would rank the current Real squad above the team of six decades ago, because the current group has done it in an era in which sustained success at this level is far more difficult.

Another Champions League title would also see them move ahead of other legendary teams, such as the 1970s Bayern and Ajax sides, the Liverpool team of 1977-85, the AC Milan teams of 1988-94 and 2003-07, the Real Madrid team of 1998-2003, and the Barcelona team of 2009-15.

Every single one of those teams won the European Cup or Champions League multiple times, and all were led by some of the greatest footballers of all time, much like the current Real squad.

However, once again, changes in format, as well as the sheer level of dominance shown by Real Madrid right now, mean that all these would pale in comparison to Real’s achievements over the last five years, should they win the title this season.

It wasn’t until the 1997-98 season that non-champions from stronger leagues were allowed to participate. Prior to this, only league champions were part of the tournament, and this led to teams from extremely weak leagues taking part, rather than the teams that were truly the best in Europe.

Furthermore, the Champions League did not expand to 32 teams until the 1999-2000 season. Thus, that is the first season that can truly be said to be the first of the modern Champions League era.

This, therefore, would put Real ahead of all the pre-2000 teams mentioned, because of the degree of difficulty involved.

When comparing Real’s achievements to those of their more recent counterparts, they still outshine the likes of the mid-2000s Milan side or the early 2010s Barça side.

The mid-2000s Milan team, though they won two Champions Leagues and reached the semi-finals every year but one over a five-year stretch, struggled domestically, surprisingly winning only one Serie A title despite boasting such legends as Andriy Shevchenko, Rivaldo, Alessandro Nesta, Kaká, and Andrea Pirlo.

Although the Barça team, featuring greats like Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol, and Xavi, did win the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League in 2009 and 2015, they never won consecutive Champions League titles, let alone three in a row or four in five years.

At the moment, when it comes to ranking the greatest club teams ever, I have that Barça squad and Real’s current crop as being tied for the greatest of all time.

However, Real Madrid are now standing on the brink of footballing immortality.

By winning the Champions League this season, they will put clear daylight between themselves and that legendary Barcelona team, as well as every other great club team there has ever been.

Even those who do not support, or even hate Real Madrid, have to admit the following: we are witnessing one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports.

It is certainly possible that if Real Madrid win their third straight Champions League title this season, the feat will not be repeated for at least another 50 years.

The Weekly Take, Issue 12: Seven Years Too Late

Ordinarily, my column is about a particular match that occurred during the week and my thoughts on an aspect related to the match in question.

However, something happened in the world of football this week that was so unexpected, so mind-boggling, and so astonishing that, although it was not related to any match, I just had to write about it.

Of course, I am referring to the resignation of Arsenal head coach Arsène Wenger, who will step down at the end of the season, having been in charge of the Gunners for almost 22 years.

To put in perspective how long Wenger has been at the helm of Arsenal, consider the following:

When Arsène Wenger first took over at Arsenal:

The reigning FIFA World Player of the Year was George Weah.

The Czech Republic had just reached the final of the European Championship.

The Atlanta Olympics had been held just a few months prior.

The #1 song on Billboard was “Macarena”.

The highest-grossing movie of the week was “The First Wives Club”.

Montenegro and Timor Leste were not even independent nations yet.

In hindsight, although Wenger’s time at Arsenal has been eventful as well as fruitful, at least in its early days, it is clear that Wenger will leave his position at Arsenal about seven years late.

Over a seven-year span between 2006 and 2013, Arsenal were never in the top two in the Premier League and never reached the final of the FA Cup or Champions League.

In the early days of the Wenger era, Arsenal had been a club that attracted star players, such as Thierry Henry, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Marc Overmars, and Robin van Persie, among others.

However, at this stage, Arsenal are more known for losing star players, with names such as Cesc Fàbregas, Alexis Sànchez, Bacary Sagna, and van Persie having slipped through the club’s fingers since the turn of the decade.

This is unacceptable for a club that is not only among the world’s most famous, but is also a big-market team, as they play in London.

A sizeable amount of the blame for this has to be given to Wenger.

Time and again, especially since the mid-2000s, he has failed to bring in the appropriate players, either by refusing to adequately spend money or by spending the money on the wrong players.

He has also insisted on playing a certain way, and this rigid adherence to the “Arsenal way” has been to the detriment of the team.

Since 2005, Arsenal have only won three FA Cups, have only finished in the top two of the Premier League once, and have not even been close to winning the Champions League.

For a club of Arsenal’s stature, reputation, and resources, this is certainly underachievement.

Although Wenger led Arsenal to some extremely impressive seasons from the late 1990s until the mid-2000s, he has done almost nothing positive of note over the last decade.

So dire was the situation that the club endured a nine-year trophy drought from 2005 to 2014.

Here is a sampling of some of the clubs from one of the four major leagues that won at least one domestic league or cup title over this timespan.

Espanyol. Lazio. Nürnberg. Portsmouth. Stuttgart. Wigan. Wolfsburg.

The fact that clubs such as these won at least one domestic honour in a period in which Arsenal could not speaks volumes.

A while ago, I wrote about who I consider to be the greatest coaches in football.

My “Mount Rushmore” of football head coaches includes the following: José Mourinho, Rinus Michels, Helenio Herrera, and Carlo Ancelotti.

Arsène Wenger would not even crack my top 25.

Although he achieved much in his first eight years at Arsenal, those eight years gave him a free pass for all the mistakes he would go on to make.

The results, or rather the lack of them, speak for themselves.

As Arsène Wenger leaves Arsenal, fans of the North Londoners everywhere should rightly honour all that the long-serving Frenchman has done for the club.

However, they should also look to the future with optimism, because in many ways, Wenger has contributed to the destruction of the club that he once laboured to build into a powerhouse.

The Weekly Take, Issue 11: Crashing Back Down to Earth

After their earth-shattering comeback from three goals behind to beat Barcelona in the Champions League, many expected AS Roma to continue their run of form and carry that momentum through the Derby della Capitale against Lazio.

However, it was clear that the Giallorossi were unable to maintain the level of intensity and effort that brought them the victory against Barça as they laboured to a 0-0 draw against their city rivals.

For Roma fans, this would have been especially galling, because it’s one thing to show that sort of lack of urgency in any other match.

It’s quite another to do so in a derby against one’s rival team.

Furthermore, the dropped points see Lazio remain third, four points ahead of Roma. With the Serie A season ending soon, time is running out for Roma to gain ground on Lazio and qualify for next season’s Champions League.

This is also clear evidence as to why Roma have no chance to win the Champions League this season.

Of course, you could also point to the relative lack of star power in their squad, but let’s face it: if a team follows up an incredible victory like that against Barça with a lackadaisical, uninspiring performance in a derby, that speaks volumes about their ability to maintain focus in pursuit of the biggest prize in club football.

It should be noted that Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool – the three other teams that have advanced to the last four of the Champions League – all followed up their respective Champions League victories by winning their own league matches.

It may be true that physical and mental fatigue played a role in Roma’s diminished performance. This may be seen in Roma defender Kostas Manolas, who scored the winning goal that knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League, being substituted off near the end of the match due to injury, which may have been brought on by his efforts against the Catalan club.

But even so, derbies ought to be different. Derbies are often decided by which team just wants it more during the game, and Roma simply did not want it badly enough.

As was mentioned earlier, it is very possible that Roma could pair their season of overachievement in the Champions League with a league campaign that sees them missing out on next year’s edition.

This also brings me to my other point: Roma’s relative lack of star power, which is also a problem of their own doing.

In what will go down as a colossal blunder by the Roma front office, the Italian club sold Mohamed Salah to Liverpool in the off-season. Although not many eyebrows were raised by this transfer at the time, it could come back to haunt them in dramatic fashion, as Roma were drawn to play against Liverpool in the Champions League semifinals.

While Roma do have some solid players, such as Alisson, Radja Nainggolan, Kevin Strootman, Juan Jesus, Edin Džeko, and Stephan El Shaarawy, none of them are on the elite, game-changing level of the likes of Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Robert Lewandowski.

Roma will go into their semifinal against Liverpool as the clear underdogs, and for good reason – not only did they sell an emerging superstar to the team they are about to face, but they have also shown that they lack the sort of consistency that will lead them to a European title.

In fact, I will come right out and say it: Roma have no chance of victory over two legs in the semifinal.

This would also have been true if they had been drawn against Real or Bayern.

Among the four teams remaining in the competition, Roma have the least star power and are the least consistent. They also have relatively little big-match experience, unlike the battle-tested veterans in Madrid and Munich.

It is a shame that this season, in which Roma have surpassed many expectations, could end with them having absolutely nothing to show for their efforts – not even a place in next season’s Champions League.

Unfortunately, though, in spite of all they’ve done so far this season, Roma just do not seem to have what it takes to win it all.