2013/2014 European Football Thread

Nice article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tara-Mario-Gotze-warning-European-rivals.html

Be afraid: Why Bayern are the team to fear again as they beef up already-fearsome midfield with more stars

They were rather good last season, Bayern Munich.
Won the treble, don’t you know – the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League. Jupp Heynckes’ side were the first German outfit to win complete such a feat.
And the domestic records were blitzed left, right and centre: most points in a Bundesliga season (91), the largest lead over the team in second place (25 points), the meanest defence the German top-flight has witnessed (18 conceded), the best goal difference (+80), the fewest away defeats (0).

Across all competitions, Bayern boasted a win percentage of 85 per cent, only usurped by the 'Total Football' of 1972 Ajax team, who won 88 per cent of their games.
On the continent, it was a Bayern procession. In the knockout stages, a 3-1 stroll at the Emirates deemed a second leg defeat irrelevant. Next up: Juventus, who had gone the previous season unbeaten in Serie A. No bother for Bayern, comfortable 2-0 victories home and away.
Then came Barcelona. Bayern were supposed to be found wanting, or at least challenged. 7-0, they won, on aggregate. OK, Lionel Messi wasn’t fully fit but this is Barcelona, who won 100 points in La Liga last season and have reached the semi-final of the Champions League for six consecutive seasons.
It was a brutal - yet beautiful - demonstration of Bayern’s modern machine. Relentless energy, blistering pace and risk-taking on the counter-attack. Bayern outmuscled, outran and outplayed Barcelona - home and away.

Bayern are an extraordinary unit, with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer the apparent reincarnation of Peter Schmeichel while Philip Lahm’s consistent brilliance at full-back surely makes him the most effective in the world in the position.
The midfield is something to behold. Bastian Schweinsteiger, a powerhouse who allies crunching tackles and unwavering stamina with sublime technical ability, runs the show.



Alongside him, Javi Martinez, signed for £31million from Athletic Bilbao last summer, is a another technical beast. In Germany, they compare him to Stefan Effenberg. The duo were utterly dominating against Barcelona.
In reserve, Bayern had the dynamic Luis Gustavo, a competitive holding midfielder player and Toni Kroos, a talented 23-year-old German playmaker of world-class potential. He would walk into any Premier League midfield.
Oh, and over on the flanks Bayern posses the wizards of the wing: Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery and the skilful young Swiss star Xherdan Shaquiri.

So what do you do with the club that has everything? Well, see off the treble-winning manager for starters.
Out went Heynckes - admittedly a decision taken mid-season - and in came Pep Guardiola. Guardiola, who many perceive to be the brightest coach of recent times, moulded the tika-taka Barcelona side that, prior to a thumping by Bayern, was being spoken about as the greatest world has seen.
And now they’ve gone and added to that supersonic midfield. Mario Gotze, 20 who made Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso look particularly ordinary in Dortmund’s 4-1 victory in the Champions League semi-final, has been snapped up for £32m. The most talented young German player will now be joined by the finest Under 21 player on the continent - if you go along with the voting panel that selected Thiago Alcantara as Player of the Tournament at the European Championships in Israel this summer.
The signing of Alcantara from Barcelona was announced on Sunday, for a fee of £21.6m.



The additions do not only strengthen Bayern but also pierce at the heart of their rivals, both at home and abroad. In Germany, runners-up Dortmund, whose pursuit of Bayern in the title race was concluded with six weeks to spare before the end of the season, have lost Gotze and prolific frontman Robert Lewandowski is a near certainty to follow his former team-mate to the Allianz Arena upon the expiry of his contract at the end of next season.
In the battle for European supremacy, Bayern have smashed Barcelona (and Manchester United) in the chops by winning the race to sign Alcantara. The Catalans take great pride in producing their own, and it will hurt that he has been whisked away - especially by former boss Pep Guardiola.
There is an unshakeable feeling that the power has shifted, that there is a new sheriff in town, that it is now Bayern at the heartbeat of European football. The structure of the club is one many others are seeking to replicate - Bayern’s development of homegrown players and the integration of former players into the coaching staff is particularly admired at Manchester United.
And with Bayern’s financial pedigree only set to be strengthened by UEFA’s FFP regulations, as the rich get richer, there is a very ominous feel about this Munich dominance.

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OPLBLgYPVKQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

The best midfielder in the world:

http://www.onfootball.co.uk/?p=3571

Imperious Schweinsteiger the world’s best midfielder

Amid a sensational team effort from Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, beating the mighty Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate in their Champions League semi-final clash, one man stood out from the rest, cementing his place as the most complete midfielder on the planet currently.

That man is Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The 28-year-old is a player at the absolute peak of his powers. He is old enough to have a huge amount of experience behind him, but is also not yet at the age where his game has started to deteriorate. He is a colossal footballer, and a joy to watch.

Schweinsteiger made his Bayern debut in 2002 as an 18-year-old, in a Champions League game against Lens, and he created a goal almost straight away. After initially impressing he was sent back to the reserve team in the mid 00s under the management of Felix Magath, before fighting his way back into the first-team and becoming a regular soon after.

In those days he was used in a more attacking midfield role, often out wide, and he was outshone by the likes of Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto in the Bayern midfield. Slowly but surely he has been used as more of a deep-lying playmaker, and that is where Schweinsteiger has really come of age. He dictates the pace of games now, and there is an aura about him that demands respect on the pitch.

The German has been very highly regarded for a number of years now, but this season his game seems to have gone up another notch. He is a leader of men, has great creativity, works hard, tackles and scores goals from deep. His back-heel against Frankfurt last month sealed the Bundesliga title, and it was fitting that he should have the say in such a big moment in the season.

He may not quite have the genius of Andres Iniesta, the passing of Xavi or the power of Yaya Toure, but he can do the whole lot better than anyone else. There are virtually no weaknesses in his game.

Against Barcelona Schweinsteiger was absolutely imperious, and along with the magnificent Javi Martinez he ran the show from start to finish. Never have Xavi and Iniesta been made to look more ordinary and unthreatening in a battle for midfield supremacy. Not only were they out-hassled they were also out-passed, which takes some doing against two of the greatest midfielders of all time.

Maybe his crucial penalty miss in the shootout defeat to Chelsea in last year’s final has given Schweinsteiger that extra bit of drive to succeed this time around, but whatever it is it’s certainly working. Bayern are well on course for an unprecedented domestic treble, and Schweinsteiger’s 40 appearances this season have been absolutely crucial to Jupp Heynckes’ side’s dominance.

Bayern now look hot favourites to win what will be a wonderful final against Dortmund, and the German will be the key man in the showcase event at Wembley. For all the pace and threat of Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery, Mario Gotze and Marco Reus; the finishing of Robert Lewandowski and Mario Mandzukic and the young German talent of Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan, the 28-year-old’s performance on the night will have the biggest say on who wins Europe’s biggest club competition. If he bosses proceedings like he has of late it will be very tough for Dortmund to prevail.



The fact that many are now comparing Schweinsteiger to German legend Lothar Matthaus sums up how highly rated he is for both club and country. Matthaus won a remarkable 150 caps for Germany, but his record is genuinely under threat from Schweinsteiger. He has 98 caps to his name, which at 28 is very impressive, and there is no reason why he won’t remain in the Germany side for the next five or six years if he maintains this current level of brilliance. He is not a player who relies hugely on pace, making it more likely that he will be able to play on for longer.

At international level, Schweinsteiger is just as influential as he is at Bayern. Germany have a hugely exciting generation of young stars emerging- Gotze, Reus, Hummels, Gundogan, Thomas Muller, Tony Kroos, Andre Schurrle and Julian Draxler to name a few- but the experience of the midfield maestro is invaluable.

‘Schweini’, as many refer to him as, made his debut for Die Mannschaft back in 2004, and he has simply got better and better the more responsibility he has been given. He has played in the last five major international tournaments, and by the time the World Cup in Brazil rolls around next summer he will still be at his peak, hoping to inspire Germany to World Cup glory for the first time since 1990.

As Barcelona and Spain’s dominance of world football looks to be coming to an end, a fantastic next decade beckons for the Germans. They have all the tools required to dominate the domestic and international game for the foreseeable future.

For this dominance to happen, however, both Bayern Munich and Germany need the inspirational, peerless Bastian Schweinsteiger in their ranks.

Here’s to the world’s best midfielder.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/K7dg5WeCZA8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Man, this offseason has been like a dream for me.

Bayern gets Götze and Thiago.

The Rockets get Dwight Howard.

Unbelievable.

I'll say it:

If our key players stay healthy, I don't see a reason why we cannot win the Champions League the next 2, 3, 4 years.

Obviously, it always takes some luck.

But as long as Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Ribery, Neuer are still in their prime (and they should be, for the next 3-4 years, still), and with the young players we have like Götze, Thiago, Müller - I feel like we can always beat anyone, including Barca with Messi and Neymar.

After the football break, I am SO ready for the new season.

(And I am also looking forward to the Houston Rockets tearing it up in 2013-2014! )

 

Bayern 2013-2014

Look at the trophies!

 

Hope he gets well again. Sad news.

 

Chump Change for the Qatari guy. But Messi won't leave Barca.