There is a bit of football left to be played in Europe before we close for summer (the Swedish league will keep everyone intrigued though). Who will prevail in the Alps? Will Zürich or Basel come out first in their two-horse battle? Will Sturm Graz stay ahead of chasing Austria and Red Bull? What will happen to Rapid Wien?
And. Who will win the second Greek Champions League qualification spot? And who will win the cups in Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Belarus, Moldova and Azerbaijan? Will Blackpool win a fair play card to the Europa League (which would mean England have to 2nd division teams in Europe this autumn)?
And then there is some game between United and Barca still to be played. Anyway, in one week it will all be over but to be first on the ball, let's summarize now. The top 5 hits and flops of the 2010/2011 season in Europe
1. Porto. League - unbeaten. Cup - 4th straight title after 6-2 in the final. Europa League - goal record for Falcao. An enourmous tripple for Villas-Boas' boys. There is so much 2003 over Porto 2011 that it is almost scary to think of what can happen in 2012. And I am not talking about the Maya calendar.
2. Dortmund. Dortmund has always been in my do not like folder. The background to that is unclear. Ok that they have an ugly kit - but which German team doesn't? And ok that Andy Möller was an exceptionally annoying footballer. Still. Had Youtube existed in the late 80s, had I known about the Südtribune, I would probably had a different opionion of Dortmund. This season, they have been the biggest charmer of European football. Winning the Bundesliga easily, with a team full of youngesters, full of players with a big Dortmund heart, and with an attacking, positive football. All credit to them. Dortmund will likely be seeded in the fourth and last group in Champions League next year. A bad draw for the teams they will play.
3. Udinese. Started the season with four losses before they could finally claim a point against Sampdoria with a goalless draw in round 5. Then they started winning. And scoring. They started 2011 like this. Chievo (home) 2-0. Milan (away) 4-4. Genoa (away) 4-2. Inter (home) 3-1. Juventus (away) 2-1. Bologna (home) 1-1. Sampdoria (home) 2-0. Cesena (away) 3-0. Brescia (home) 0-0. Palermo (away) 7-0. Bari (home) 1-0. Cagliari (away) 4-0. And so on. A break for national team games but them off a bit, for a while it looked as if they would challenge for the Scudetto. Natale and Sanchez on fire, an average of four goals per game away in Serie A. Hats off. And best of luck in the quest for Champions League. Well deserved, although it will not be easy to live through the play-off (likely against either Bayern, Arsenal, Lyon, Villareal or Benfica).
4. Lille. Lille have been coming for a while. Again, it is a team known to foster their own players that finally made it all the way against the bigger clubs. Again a team that may be a Champions League 4th seed.
5. Dacia Chisinau. Dacia Who? Dacia deserves a special mentioning as they have put an end to the most dominating streak in European football. Sheriff Tirsaspor have won the Moldovan league for 10 consecutive years, and consistently with 20 or so points. This year Dacia secured the title with three rounds to play. I can't say I'm an expert on the topic, but I imagine this is big for the Dacia fans.
We also congratulate the following teams on fine fine seasons: Racing Genk, Sturm Graz, Napoli, Viktoria Plzen, Lazio, Mainz, Otelul Galati, Bolton, Valencia, Hannover 96, Milan, Gaziantespor, West Bromwich, Braga, Barcelona, Manchester United, Cesena. We thank Tottenham Hotspur, Schalke 04 and Blackpool for having made this season more interesting to watch.
Flops
1. Sampdoria. A minute from Champions League group stage in September. What happened then? Who sells Pazzini and Cassano? What the hell were you thinking? Think better in Serie B next year.
2. Birmingham. A solid Premier League team last year. A better squad this year. Another relegation that should not have happened.
3. Roma. I thought Roma had a team that could challenge for the scudetto this year. They were never close, they were rarely exciting. And their performance against Schalke was just awful.
4. Galatasaray. What ever happened to Galatasaray? The whole Turkish Süperlig seems to be in flux. Is Elmander the man to save them?
5. Bourdeux. Girondines started the collapse already last spring. The team that was to dominate French football is now just another team in Ligue 1.
We also say boo to CFR Cluj (where did all the money go?), Juventus, Werder Bremen (although we are glad you are still so hard to predict), Feyenoord, (Pierre van Hoijdonk, where are you?), Bayern, Getafe and Deportivo, Universitea Craiova, West Ham, Almeria, Bari. And a special mentioning to Cukaricki in Serbia. No wins. 4 points. 9 goals scored in 28 games. Worst top flight team in Europe?
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