European Soccer Weekly Bonus... Curtain Drawn on 2006-2007

Well, we’ve made it through another European football season!

Technically, however, the 2006-07 campaign still has a pulse. As we go to press, Spain’s crackling domestic race has two more rounds to go, with three teams still very much in the frame for the championship. The Liga festivities end on June 16. And, for good measure, there’s a Cup final still to be played in Spain, too, as the Copa del Rey won’t take place until June 23. Still, for all intents and purposes, the 2006-07 season is history.

How do we rate the overall campaign? To be fair, it probably wasn’t the best, and certainly not the the worst, season we can remember. Indeed, we finally had some good, down-to-the-wire domestic races this year, a far cry from many recent campaigns in which it was hard to find much drama at the top of any league. As usual, the relegation fights, for the most part, proved compelling viewing. And though it might not have been the best European season we can remember, the Champions League had its share of highlight moments, as did the UEFA Cup. Plus, for the first time this millennium, we have a repeat champion in Europe, as Sevilla has gone back-to-back in the UEFA Cup.

If there was one glaring omission this season, however, it was probably the lack of a true standout team on the continent. Sure, there were plenty of top-quality sides, but we’re not sure we saw any truly great teams on the pitch over the past ten months. Indeed, the Champions League winner, AC Milan, finished a distant fourth in Serie A (and wouldn’t have done better than third even without its point deduction at the start of the season). Arguably the most-dominant domestic performer, Inter Milan, with a Euro league record 97 points as it pranced to the scudetto, couldn’t get past the quarter-finals in the Champions League. Manchester United teased for much of the season, and appeared to have a treble in its sights deep in the stretch drive, but had to settle for only one piece of silverware (although the EPL crown remains a real jewel). Barcelona, a great side last season as it won Liga and the Champions League, regressed, with striker Samuel Eto’o, ESW’s Player of the Year in 2006, missing almost six months with a knee injury, and Ronaldinho’s World Cup funk extending into much of 2006-07. Indeed, Barca is in danger of being shut out this season unless it can pull out the Spanish title in a photo finish with Real Madrid and Sevilla.

So, no truly great teams this season, but some interesting action nonetheless. One last time, let’s go back and review the leagues and European competitions from 2006-07.

We have no argument with AC Milan winning the competition. There was nothing fluky about the rossoneri’s challenge for the European crown, and even if Milan was slightly outplayed by Liverpool for much of the Champions League final, it was a deserving winner of the continent’s premier event. In particular, we thought the dominating 3-0 win over Manchester United in the second leg of their semifinal matchup might have been one of the best displays by any team in a big match all season.

Moreover, in a sport where new faces pop up all of the time, and old ones disappear, there was something almost comforting about watching Milan go about its business in the Champs League. The likes of Paolo Maldini (left), Pippo Inzaghi, Clarence Seedorf, Cafu, and Gennaro Gattuso have all been around for more than a few years (way more than a few years, in fact), and if it was indeed a last hurrah for the core of the Milan side, they sure went out on style. For a moment or two, it was if we were watching a match from the late ‘90s, when most of the above mentioned were at the height of their powers. Combined with newer forces such as Kaka, Alberto Gilardino, and Andrea Pirlo, Milan was a handful when it was on song (as Man U painfully discovered May 2).

And, by us, we didn’t have a huge problem with Milan being allowed to participate in the Champs League this season, either. Itss point deduction from the Serie A penalties a year ago still allowed it to technically qualify. Now, we’re not sure there wasn’t a bit of arm-twisting going on at the corridors of Serie A and UEFA to get Milan eligible, in which case we might look at the rossoneri’s involvement with more of a jaundiced eye. But Milan’s play in the Champs League was mostly upbeat, and the competition, for this season, at least, would have been poorer without them.

Liverpool again put on a solid show, with the Reds continuing to gain quite a reputation under Rafa Benitez as a team to be reckoned with on the biggest stages. That Liverpool seems to focus more on the Champs League than English Premier League action under Benitez is no mistake; the Reds’ priorities are definitely in Europe, and domestically, they seem to perform just well enough in EPL play to get an invitation to the following season’s Champs League, while also focusing their attention on Cup play. Although Benitez was able to deliver silverware each of the past two seasons (Champs League in 2005, FA Cup last year) and couldn’t this year, this campaign was hardly a failure. Liverpool came within a whisker of its second Champs League crown in three seasons, and will be back again as usual in the continent’s glitziest competition next fall. Along the way, midfielder extraordinaire Steven Gerrard (right) continues to establish himself as one of Europe’s top big-match performers.

We wonder, however, if the Chelsea revolution is destined to continue falling short in the Champions League. Three times in the past four seasons, Chelsea has made it as far as the semifinals, only to be turned away before it could reach the finale. And this season’s painful shootout loss to Liverpool might have hurt even more than falling short against the Reds at the same stage two years ago. How long Jose Mourinho will stick around Stamford Bridge is another question, and we suspect that the championship window might be open for perhaps only one more year with the current, mostly-aging flock of superstars Roman Abramovich has assembled.

It was also not a year for upstarts in the Champions League. Whereas a surprise package or two have often managed to slip into the knockout phase in recent campaigns, that wasn’t the case this season. France’s Lille might have been the longest shot to make it through the group phase, and it was mostly heavyweight vs. heavyweight down the stretch. And, ironically, England failed to produce the winning Champs League entry despite having three of the four quarterfinal teams!

Often overlooked, the UEFA Cup has at times provided a better show than the Champions League (at least for those who are paying attention). Certainly, this season’s finale in the UEFA Cup was a lot more interesting than in the Champions League, as Liga rivals Sevilla and Espanyol battled into extra time and a PK shootout in Glasgow before the holders from Sevilla prevailed. Melancholy observers could be excused for feeling bad after Espanyol fell short, which it painfully did in the same competition way back in 1988, when the finale was conducted over two legs. In that year, Espanyol squandered a 3-0 edge it had built after the first leg in an eventual PK shootout loss to Bayer Leverkusen.

The hero of this year’s UEFA Cup was undoubtedly Sevilla GK Andres Palop (left), who saved three of four Espanyol PKs in the shootout. But his biggest contribution of the competition might have been his unlikely exploits on the offensive end in the second leg of a round of 16 matchup with Shakhtar Donetsk. Trailing 2-1 and Sevilla on the brink of elimination at the death of the match, Palop ventured forward into the box as a desperate last roll of the dice, and remarkably headed home a Daniel Alves corner in the 4th minute of stoppage time (on likely the last play of regulation time!) to force overtime, where Sevilla prevailed on a Ernesto Chevanton goal. Rest assured we will consider Palop’s heroics when we get around to awarding the “goal of the year” for our Superlatives issue in December!

There was a time when it was almost a given in England that Manchester United would win the Premier League. With five of six crowns between 1996-2001, and six of eight stretching out to 2003, Sir Alex Ferguson seemed to own the EPL trophy in those days. But things changed after Arsenal and Chelsea stole the thunder the past three years. So, this season’s return to glory at Old Trafford was particualrly satisfying for Ferguson, who proved he’s still got the midas touch. The Red Devils went practically wire to wire, comfortably holding off a Chelsea charge in the late going to claim their first domestic crown in four years. Along the way, Cristiano Ronaldo (right) established himself as the clear favorite to win this year’s Player of the Year honors, with weekly displays often bordering on spectacular.

As for Chelsea, it wasn’t to be the Blues’ year, not with injuries slowing down the momentum, and the weight of fighting to the end in every competition perhaps depleting them further. We tip our hats to Jose Mourinho’s troops, however, for giving it a go and really attempting to win every competition in which it entered. That includes the often-dismissed Carling Cup, which Chelsea secured in February. Even though the Champs League brought more disappointment, Chelsea did get a satisfying win over Man U in the FA Cup final, giving the Blues a nice Cup double this season.

Elsewhere, winds of change could be blowing across the EPL, with new ownership groups moving into the forefront at both Liverpool and Arsenal. The situation to watch could be with the Gunners, where Thierry Henry (left) is making noise about departing Emirates Stadium (perhaps for Barcelona) as Arsenal has slipped from its elite perch of a few years back. Moreover, it’s looking as if Arsene Wenger’s long tenure behind the bench might now have to be viewed in a short-term manner after the departure of head honcho (and trusted ally) David Dein. Arsenal’s famous French Connection, which lost Patrick Vieira two summers ago, could soon be a thing of the past.

Overall, however, the Prem remained a formful place, with the “big four” (Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal) still dominating. Perhaps Everton, under David Moyes, Aston Villa, under Martin O’Neill, Newcastle, under new boss Sam Allardyce, or perhaps Spurs will finally mount something resembling a serious challenge to the big boys next season.

We’re hard-pressed to remember a domestic race that was as one-sided as this season’s Serie A. With Juventus banished to Serie B after last spring’s match-rigging scandal, and AC Milan and Fiorentina docked significant points at the outset, Inter began the season with a head-start, and just kept expanding its lead.

Indeed, Inter’s dominance qualifies it for the record books, as its whopping 97 points for the season marks a record for a major European league! Along the way, Adriano (left) and Inter lost just once in Serie A, and had the scudetto all but locked up by New Year’s.

Still, with AC Milan girding for the Champs League all along, this eventually became something of a memorable season in Italy after all. Roma also reappeared as a force and finsihed a clear second place in Serie A under manager Luciano Spaletti, with Francesco Totti also bouncing back from last season’s serious leg injury to re-emerge as a force. A numbing Champs League quarterfinal setback vs. Man United, when Roma was destroyed 7-1 in the second leg, put a bit of a damper on the proceedings, but an Italian Cup win erased the sting.

Expect a more interesting race in Italy next season, with Juventus reappearing after dusting off the competition in Serie B, AC Milan not docked points at the outset, and Totti-led Roma all gunning for Inter on a more-level playing field.

The Bundesliga turned into one of the best races on the continent, and surprisingly, Bayern Munich was nowhere to be found. Indeed, the Bavarians slipped all of the way down to fourth place, missing next season’s Champions League entirely, and they dismissed coach Felix Magath along the way. For a while, it looked as if coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, back in the saddle after leading Bayern Munich to its last European glory (a Champs League crown in 2001), was pulling out some more rabbits from his hat when Real Madrid was eliminated in a Champs League KO round battle shortly after his appointment, but a subsequent quarterfinal loss to AC Milan ended the dreams. Bayern Munich never adequately replaced departed midfielder Michael Ballack, and now must fill in some more in the fall after Owen Hargreaves recently bolted for Man United.

Into the Bundesliga breach, however, stepped Stuttgart, which rallied impressively down the stretch under coach Armin Vey to nip Schalke and Werder Bremen in an exciting photo finish. Bremen’s Miroslav Klose continued as one of Europe’s most-feared strikers, and will apparently stay put as Bremen looks to capture domestic glory and cause problems in the Champions League, with Klose again the catalyst, next fall.

Another ho-hum affair in Ligue Un, with Lyon’s domination continuing as the surest bet in Europe. For the sixth straight season, Lyon, seemingly on auto-pilot, snagged domestic honors once more, although the Stade Gerland boys continue to have a hard time of it in Europe. After reaching as far as the Champs League semifinals three years ago, Lyon hasn’t been able to make it as far since, and continued to play its best European football in the group phase. This time, in the first knockout round, underdog Roma delivered the final punch, and Euro glory remains elusive.

After the season, veteran mentor Gerard Houlliier decided to call it quits after back-to-back crowns that followed Paul Le Guen’s four-peat at the helm. Alain Perrin (left), previously at Portsmouth & Marseille and fresh off a successful run as coach at Sochaux that included this year’s French Cup win, will assume the role behind the bench in 2007-08.

No race in Europe, however, matched the cavalry charge we witnessed in Portugal, where Porto, Sporting Lisbon, and Benfica thundered down the stretch neck-and-neck. In one of the best three-team races in years, Porto survived, with only one point separating the top three. As for Scotland, it was another runaway for Gordon Strachan’s Celtic, as Rangers, after dismissing Alex McLeish and naming ex-Lyon gaffer Le Guen as coach at midseason, once again failed to mount a serious challenge.

And as for Spain? Remember, that one isn’t done quite yet, with some crucial matches still to be played. We’ll fill you in on those developments next time. Stay tuned...

Finally, an ESW issue wouldn’t be complete without some commentary on the latest from the halls of FIFA and UEFA. We discussed Sepp Blatter’s unopposed candidacy for the FIFA Presidency last month, which was confirmed at the recent FIFA Congress. And though we have talked at length about Michel Platini (right) before, we didn’t expect the former French star and new UEFA prexy to shake the foundations of the sport in the manner he recently has.

Specifically, Platini has decided to challenge not only the G-14 group of clubs, but, with Blatter’s help, the European Union as well. It seems as if Platini doesn’t want the EU getting involved in any way with football’s business problems. In lobbying the EU to consider football as more of a hobby than a legitimate business, Platini is attempting to do an end-run around Brussels and pending decisions that most predict will smack UEFA (and FIFA) particularly hard.

Unlike predecessor Lennart Johanssen, Platini is more than happy to wage a proxy battle for Blatter against the EU. It’s the old “club vs. country” row once more, and in the test case getting the most attention, small Belgian club Charleroi has a suit before the EU to recover damages from injuries suffered to one of its players while on international duty. Not surprisingly, the big G-14 teams are throwing considerable support behind little Charleroi. Meanwhile, Lyon also has a pending case, and insiders indicate Platini, and, more importantly, Blatter, could be shaking in their boots as they fear decisions favoring the clubs over the countries.

Again, Blatter is working masterfully behind the scenes, with Platini his willing new attack dog against the EU. That’s very shrewd of Blatter; Platini, whose on-field accmplishments in the late ’70s and ‘80s are still fresh enough in the minds of many bureaucrats to impress them, might have the ability to sway opinion in Brussels much better than Sepp himself. Meanwhile, with so much of Blatter’s support coming from African nations, he doesn’t want to risk the big European teams keeping their star players from performing in next winter’s African Nations Cup, a controversial affair played every two years right in the middle of the Euro domestic season. Several European (and especially G-14) teams could be losing key native African players for up to 6 weeks, and any hint that the EU will side with the teams in any club vs. country controversy is bad news for Blatter.

Meanwhile, those who wondered if Platini was just a puppet for Blatter might have been right all along. And the Seppmeister’s fingerprint s are also all over Platini’s railings against the big G-14 teams. Apparently, we might have to add “svengali” to the many characteristics of the balding Swiss FIFA boss.

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