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The champions of Bundesliga qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League – big deal? Not really. Given the high standards of the German league, one would really expect them to qualify. But what makes the results of Die Schwarzgelben stand out is the manner in which they qualified. Clubbed in Group D with the champions of England, Spain and Netherlands – the German side emerged unbeaten with 4 wins and 2 draws, thereby proceeding as group winners. They would have had a perfect record if they were not pegged back by late strikes at the Etihad and the Santiago Bernabeu. After being unceremoniously dumped out of the Champions League group stages last year, Jurgen Klopp’s charges have turned it around in some style. The 14-point gap that Bayern Munich have opened up in the Bundesliga this year means Reus, Subotic, Lewandowski and co. will be looking to progress further into the Champions League. Having proven their pedigree against some of the finest in Europe, it is no wonder that Klopp observed:
“We are a very difficult team to play against and I’m sure teams aren’t looking at us saying: we want to face them”
It has been a mixed season for Los Che so far. They qualified from their Champions League group with a game to spare. In the end they had to settle for second spot despite having amassed 13 points – the same as Bayern Munich but with a poor head-to-head record. It is only when their Champions League run is studied in context to their domestic season form when it becomes abundantly clear that the club has been playing at vastly different levels in the two tournaments. Los Che are currently languishing in the 12th spot in the La Liga at present and the last CL spot for the next season is a good 7 points away. Valencia has already suffered a change in management as Mauricio Pellegrino was replaced by Ernesto Valverde following a 2-5 home defeat against Real Sociedad last week. Compare 13 points from 6 games in the CL with 18 points from 14 games in the league – and you will understand why we say that they have exceeded expectations.
When the Champions League group stage draw was announced, people thought that selecting the top two would be easy. After all, Group E featured the defending champions Chelsea and Serie A winners Juventus, who were looking to add to their 40+ match unbeaten streak. Shakhtar however had other ideas. Mircea Lucescu’s men have proved that they will be no pushovers in this edition, turning a supposed two-horse race into a three-front one. At the end, someone had to return disappointed – and it was not Shakhtar. In fact the Ukrainian outfit put on such an imperious display that they qualified with a match in hand, thereby letting European heavyweights Chelsea and Juventus to battle it out for the other spot on offer. They have been utterly dominant on the Ukrainian platform, winning six of the last eight Premier Leagues. They have a settled side, a coach who has been around for a long time and will look to make an impact on the European scene as well. Their Brazilian stars have been a revelation this year and Willian, Fernandinho, Teixeira and Luiz Adriano will be out there to prove that their group stage result was not as much as a ‘shock’ as many are making it out to be.
Undoubtedly, one of the surprise packages of this year’s Champions League has been Malaga Club de Fútbol. With the club was taken over by the Royal Qatari family in the summer of 2010 and the subsequent investment, it seemed that the road to the promised haven of CL football would be just a small step away. However, things would not go according to plan for the Andalusians as the owners’ interest in the club cooled off and the club was hit hard by financial troubles. So much so that the club could not afford to buy a single player in the summer transfer window and was forced to sell their star assets in Santi Cazorla, Salomon Rondon and Joris Mathijsen. The Los Boquerones seem to have taken all these setbacks in their stride as they marched to the knockout round of the Champions League unbeaten (one of only four teams to do so this year) as group winners. For a moment it never looked like this club was only playing its second continental competition and was competing in the Segunda Division as recently as 2007-08. Drawn in Group C along with AC Milan, Zenit and Anderlecht, Malaga won three and drew three of its matches – keeping clean sheets in the first three fixtures and becoming one of the first teams to book a place in the knockout rounds. Teams will be wary of facing Isco, Joaquin, Eliseu and co. in the subsequent rounds of the Champions League.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – NOVEMBER 07: 18-year old Tony Watt, a £50,000 signing from Airdrie, scores the winner against Barcelona at Celtic Park
In what has been one of the most heart-warming results in the Champions League this season, Celtic has managed to progress to the round of the last 16. At the start of the season, it looked all gloomy for Scottish football as one of the historic clubs of the Scottish Premier League – Rangers were relegated to their third division. Celtic did their bit to lift some of this gloom and usher in a new era through their exploits in the Champions League this season. Celtic were playing in only their first group stage match since 2008-09. They were drawn in a group which featured teams like Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow. Neil Lennon’s men put up spirited displays in all their 6 matches. On the night of the 125th anniversary of the club, they caused the biggest upset in this year’s Champions League when they defeated European heavyweights Barcelona amid the vociferous support that they receive at Celtic Park. Coming into their last match in the group stages, qualification was far from assured. However the Bhoys put up an assured display against Spartak and it was Kris Commons 81stminute penalty which sealed the deal for the Glasgow outfit.
Neil Lennon would go on to say:
“It means a hell of a lot to the club. It is a monumental effort on our behalf. To be at the big table in the New Year is a phenomenal effort. Now we are more than just the team who beat Barcelona—we are the team who beat them and qualified [for the final 16]. This is the premier event, the toughest of the tough. No one gave us a prayer going into this group. This is the best night of my career as manager of this club.”
They progressed with 10 points (3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses) at the expense of Benfica who were held to a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou. What Celtic have gone on to prove is that it neither takes an expensively assembled squad of foreign recruits nor does it require playing in one of the more competitive leagues to dish out a spirited performance against the seemingly invincible when it matters the most. There is still scope for romanticizing in football.
