Another season of football (or, to those in the United States, soccer) has ended, and this had become one of the biggest for me, if not the biggest, for a number of reasons. The twists and turns really game an exhilarating ride. Through there are a lot of disappointing results for me, this season is indeed one for the books.
Having said that, here's my review of the past season in the leagues that I follow closely.
English Premier League 11/12 Review
Top 4: Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham
Bottom 3: Bolton, Blackburn, Wolves
This season is really disappointing for me because my most favorite team, Manchester United, failed to win the title, more so they lost it to their noisy neighbors, Manchester City. Many would say that United has a fatal flaw in midfield, which I partly agree in. This was starkly evident as the campaign went on. The loss of midfielder Darren Fletcher was a brutal blow, too. But then, United brought back Scholes out of retirement and since then had pretty much patched up the midfield problem, even if temporarily.
However, the more important problem I see in United's side is the transition between defense and midfield. This is most evident in the final stretch of the season, where we see the Reds lose 6-1 to City at Old Trafford in their first meeting, 1-0 to Wigan, tie 4-4 against Everton and ultimately lose 1-0 in perhaps the biggest Manchester derby ever at the Etihad. Some may say that this was just because of the loss of Skipper Vidic through injury when they faced FC Basel in the group stages of the Champions League. But Vidic was there during the 6-1 thrashing at OT. Ergo, Vidic or his absence wasn't too significant a point. What's more significant is that United has a defensive frailty.
Still, the most significant mistake for Man Utd is the Wigan loss and the Everton tie. If these two matches have been won, United would have been champions. Before that match, United was five points clear (thanks to an imploding Man City side that time, especially when they lost 1-0 to Arsenal). Especially the Everton tie. To lose a two goal lead twice is beyond exasperation. A poor game, that was, which ultimately lead to my favorite team lose the title.
Still, there is always next year, right?
Other highlights of this season are promoted sides Norwich and Swansea. Many had already counted them off in the beginning of the campaign, saying they'll return back to Championship football come 12/13 season, but they were sure proved wrong, eh? Swansea's Sigurdsson and Norwich's Holt were the play makers for their team, and the teams overall did very well. Norwich's win against Tottenham in their second meeting and Swansea's win against Fulham 3-0 back in March pretty much proved they can hold their ground against the big guns.
Queens Park Rangers also hold on to their top-flight status after Bolton conceded a tie against Stoke in the final day of the season.
How about Newcastle? Their form has been unexpected, to say the least. I can still recall that around November to December they were playing in 7th to 10th place. Then come January, Newcastle soared past Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal to gain 4th. Despite them ending the season in 5th, it must be said that Newcastle, despite being on a meager budget, managed to play a brilliant game week-in, week-out. Papiss Cisse proving his worth, considering that he's just brought in for 10 million pounds, heck less than Torres or Carroll. 13 goals in 13 matches for Cisse this season since he entered in January. Now that's a record.
Speaking of Liverpool, they didn't do so well this season. Apart from a League Cup win, they didn't exactly do much else. They lost 16 of their last 20 matches and failed to clinch a double when they lost to Chelsea. And they finish 8th in the league above their Merseyside rivals Everton. King Kenny won't be too happy 'bout that, nor the club board.
All in all, the drama that English football brought in this year was just spectacular, to say the least.
Bundesliga 11/12 Review
Top 4: Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Schalke 04, Borussia Monchengladbach
Bottom 3: Hertha BSC, Koln, Kaiserslautern
This season's Bundesliga is a bit bittersweet for me. You see, I'm a fan of both Bayern Munich and Schalke. While Schalke did qualify for a sure Champions League spot next season by finishing third, Munich lost the title to Dortmund in staggering fashion, as Dortmund lead the Bundesliga table eight points clear.
The nail in Bayern's coffin may have been their dip in form during the period of November to February. They lost 3 and drew 2 from 12 league matches at that time, including a goalless draw against Freiburg and a 3-2 shock defeat against Mainz. That's a total of 13 points dropped out of 36. During the same period, Dortmund only dropped 3 points. It is disappointing to lose in such fashion since Bayern has the men to make sure this doesn't happen. They have Muller, Gomez, Ribery, Lahm and Schweinsteiger, five of the best players in the league, but somehow, something went wrong.
Bayern also lost 5-2 against Dortmund in the League Cup final. A poor show by Bayern that time, unable to stop Lewandowski from sinking a hat-trick in the final 20 or so minutes.
Nevertheless, Bayern will still face Chelsea for the Champions League final so they aren't going down badly just yet.
Meanwhile, Schalke did really well this season, apart from a few low points, the most disappointing of which is the 4-1 thumping they got against Nurnberg, Holtby scoring the only goal for them.
Augsburg also did rather well this season. Promoted to top-flight last year, Augsburg held on and retained their status, doing better than 2. Bundesliga champions Hertha BSC. Hertha Berlin are relegated back to second tier this year.
As for the players, Huntelaar once again never fails to deliver, scoring 29 goals this season. He is the league's top scorer, 3 goals behind Munich's Mario Gomez.
La Liga 11/12 Review
Top 4: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga
Bottom 3: Villareal, Sporting Gijon, Santander
This season of La Liga is the most disappointing for me, simply because my favorite team there, Barcelona, failed to clinch the crown. They did very well in terms of form, with Messi sinking more than 60 goals this season. That's roughly four more goals than what the whole Liverpool club did this season! Despite that, Barca's run-in form took a weird turn. After their brilliant 7-1 thrashing against Leverkusen in the Champions League, Barca slowed down a bit, drawing 3 and losing 2 in the 17 matches following the Leverkusen match. This included the dramatic 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid, ascertaining their 2nd place finish, and the shock near-defeat draw against Real Betis in the final day of the season. Still, Barca has a final match against Bilbao for the league cup so Guardiola's final season may end with a bang.
Another disappointment is the failure of Atletico Madrid to clinch Champions League berth next season. Despite their good form, they failed to secure top 4 and would've to go back to the Europa League. On a lighter note, that'd give them the chance to defend their Europa crown, since they won it against Bilbao this year.
How about Villareal? Something is definitely wrong on their end. One of the best teams in Spanish football, Villareal had a very bad form come out of nowhere, winning only nine games the whole season, culminating in their relegation to 2nd division. Now that's a weird thing to happen, huh?
Villareal's relegation means there's one more spot available for the last year's promoted teams Rayo Vallecano, Granada and Betis, especially for Granada. They are just one point above Villareal come the final day of the season a Villareal win would send Granada back to 2nd tier. Sadly (or fortunately for Granada), Villareal lost 1-0 against Atletico Madrid in the last day, ensuring Granada a stay in top-flight.
Real Betis also did good this season, finishing in 13th. Considering that, like Swansea and Norwich in England, many wrote Betis off. Betis silenced its critics when they won against Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Bilbao and Villareal in the final months of the season. How's that for a game, eh?
So that concludes my full-time review of the past football season. Can't wait for next year!
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