Football Further

‘Pitchside Europe’

“To suggest that Celtic could carry on regardless without their old rivals is like claiming that Othello would be the same play if Iago or Othello were abruptly scratched from the script. Both teams define themselves by their opposition to the other. It can, on occasion, spill over into repellent sectarianism, but the great rivalries — be it Ali and Frazier, Prost and Senna or Nadal and Federer — are what enable sport to transcend the perfunctory accumulation of points, wins and trophies that it might otherwise be. John McEnroe and Björn Borg played out one of tennis’ great rivalries but after three years of fierce contests, the Swede retired in 1981 and McEnroe admitted that his career was never the same again.”

My latest Pitchside Europe column for Eurosport, which contemplates how Rangers’ sudden descent into administration could affect their hated rivals Celtic, can be read here.

“On Thursday, Ajax announced that their five-man supervisory board would step down after club icon Johan Cruyff succeeded in a legal battle to prevent the four other members of the board — of which he is a member — from appointing former coach Louis van Gaal as chief executive. Van Gaal’s nomination had been announced in November, prompting Cruyff to proclaim that his fellow board members had “gone mad” after they convened to finalise van Gaal’s appointment while Cruyff was away in Barcelona.”

This week’s Pitchside Europe blog for Eurosport, on the back-stage turmoil at Ajax that has plunged Manchester United’s Europa League opponents into civil war, can be read here.

“Boasting the third-largest budget in La Liga this season (€150 million), the Andalucian club were tipped to become credible rivals to Barcelona and Real Madrid but despite briefly topping the table at the beginning of October, they have failed to put any pressure on the top two. A six-game winless run either side of Christmas saw Manuel Pellegrini’s side slip to 10th in La Liga and although they went into Monday’s trip to neighbours Granada only four points outside the Champions League places, they were only six points above the relegation zone as well.”

This week’s Pitchside Europe blog, on Málaga’s stuttering challenge for Champions League qualification, can be read here.

“Benfica fans had two reasons to cheer about Porto’s unexpected 3-1 loss to Gil Vicente in Barcelos on Sunday evening. Firstly, and most importantly, it gave their side a five-point lead at the top of the Portuguese Liga and put them in an advantageous position to win what be only their third league title in the last 18 years. Secondly, but perhaps even more deliciously, it stopped Porto one game short of equalling Benfica’s 1978 record of 56 unbeaten matches in the Portuguese top flight.”

This week’s Pitchside Europe column, on how the balance of power in the Portuguese title race has shifted in Benfica’s favour, can be read here.

“The Foals had begun their campaign with a shock 1-0 win at Bayern’s Allianz Arena in August, but the context then was very different. Gladbach started the season as relegation candidates, having narrowly escaped the drop last term, and the win was only their second away success over Bayern in the league in the club’s history. Five months later, they are just a point off top spot and chasing a place in the Champions League.”

This week’s Pitchside Europe blog for Eurosport examines how Lucien Favre has transformed Borussia Mönchengladbach from relegation fodder to Bundesliga title contenders in the space of just 11 months. You can read it here.

“His honours list may contain only a handful of domestic cup competitions and the 2004 UEFA Super Cup, but Ranieri has nonetheless developed a unique reputation for turning around the fortunes of ailing clubs. Having restored the fortunes of Parma, Juventus and then Roma in Serie A, he is currently engaged in a similar salvage operation with Internazionale.”

This week’s Pitchside Europe column for Eurosport, on how Claudio Ranieri has helped Internazionale revive their season, can be read here.

“As the major continental leagues resume following the winter break – Serie A and La Liga returned to action over the weekend, with Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga set to follow suit in the next fortnight - Pitchside Europe looks at 10 issues that will help determine the balance of power across the European mainland in the 12 months ahead.”

This week’s Pitchside Europe column for Eurosport, which looks at Real Madrid’s quest to topple Barcelona, Juventus’ bid to prolong their unbeaten run and Borussia Dortmund’s emergence as enduring rivals to Bayern Munich, can be found here.

“With Europe’s major leagues closing down for the winter break, Pitchside Europe selects a team of players who have distinguished themselves in the season to date.”

My final Pitchside Europe blog of the year 2011 looks at the stand-out players from the first half of the 2011-12 season in Europe’s major leagues. You can read it here.

“The buccaneering Brazilian full-back, the classy Italian central defender, the battering-ram English centre-forward – football is populated by archetypes and few are as immediately recognisable as the rangy Dutch striker. From Faas Wilkes to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, via Marco van Basten and Ruud van Nistelrooy, no nation specialises in tall, technically-gifted forwards quite like the Netherlands. In Heerenveen’s Bas Dost, they may have unearthed another gangly goal-getter to uphold the tradition.”

My latest Pitchside Europe blog for Eurosport, on Heerenveen’s Bas Dost, can be found here.

“The 2010 French champions endured a similarly challenging opening to the 2007-08 campaign, winning only once in their first 10 games, before recovering to finish third. A run of one defeat in 17 matches between early November and mid-March provided the foundation for a late-season tilt at the podium, but third place was only secured thanks to a 78th-minute Djibril Cissé strike in a 4-3 victory at home to Strasbourg on the season’s final day. With only the top three sides in Ligue 1 qualifying for the Champions League again this season, Marseille need to pull off a similar feat to retain their place among Europe’s elite.”

My latest Pitchside Europe blog for Eurosport, on Marseille’s bid to overturn yet another sloppy start to the Ligue 1 season, can be found here.