Euro 2012 trademark and other associated copyrights owned by UEFA.
After a full month of blood, sweat and tears; after all the drama, the excruciating near-goals and the fantastic saves, after the net has been battered many times, it all comes down to this - The Euro 2012 finals match between La Roja and the Azurri, Spain against Italy.
Image retrieved from deviantart.com. Digital art created by ~salm0.
Final match: Spain 4-0 Italy
The goal count should be enough manifestation that this was a one-sided game. Just 14 minutes in, David Silva heads in a beautiful goal from a brilliant Fabregas pass. Twenty minutes later, Jordi Alba, the superb Spanish Left-back (!), makes a brilliant run to make it 2-0 before half-time. Critics are bombing Spain of their lack of a striker and boring play... Do they really need a striker with this kind of play? And is this boring? No to both questions, I think.
Spain's Left-back Jordi Alba makes it 2-0 after a superb goal before half-time.
Video retrieved from youtube.com. Video uploaded by Mehran Ravanbod.
Second half and Italy was on the rally. Bouncing back was the ultimate goal. Put this to extra time, maybe? Or clinch three goals in 45 minutes? The race against the clock was on for the Azurri.
Unfortunately for the Italians, it was simply not their night. Italy had used its first sub on Chiellini in exchange for Balzaretti in the 21st minute (yeah, it was that early), followed by Cassano for Di Natale in the 46th and finally Montolivo for Motta in the 57th. Four minutes after that, Motta gets injured and is carried off the field, leaving Italy with 10 men over Spain's superb 11. There will be blood.
Torres was called in to replace Fabregas in the 75th minute. Nine minutes later, his goal would, without a doubt, sink Italy. And to add insult to injury (sorry 'bout the pun, Mr. Thiago Motta. It wasn't intended...), Chelsea's Juan Mata scores another goal for Spain, winning the match 4-0.
A bit of trickery from Torres draws Keeper Buffon out and helps Mata score for Spain 4-0.
Video retrieved from youtube.com. Video uploaded by Mehran Ravanbod.
With that, Spain silences its critics in breath-taking fashion. They were certainly not boring, not by a long shot. And they're lack of a striker is justified. The're style may have been blasted throughout the media in the recent days, but that brought them to their third consecutive trophy.
Congratulations to Spain for their well-deserved crown. Will there be 4th in a row? With what they just showed us, that is not unlikely.
Euro 2012 trademark and other associated copyrights owned by UEFA.
The semi-finals ended in dramatic fashion as they were both left undecided until the 11th hour. Favorites Germany and Spain had it tough against underdogs Portugal and Italy. Prior to the semi-finals, Manager Roberto Mancini predicted that it'd be Portugal and Italy to progress to the finals. He nearly had his prediction spot-on. Read further to find out how close he had it.
1. Portugal 0-0 Spain (2-4 on Penalties)
A couple of days earlier, we saw England and Italy engage in the first ever penalty shootout of the competition after a nerve-wrecking, exhaustive two hours. That feat was about to be repeated when Portugal faced Spain in the first semi-final match. Both sides urged to find a goal under normal and extra times, but couldn't get one.
When it was time for the penalty shootout, both missed their first penalties. Both clinched their second and third. It was a 2-2 situation. When the fourth came in, Ramos sank in a goal from the spot but Portugal's Bruno Alves didn't. It was an unlucky shot that bounced off the post. When Spain's Fabregas came in for their last try on the spot, he successfully converted his penalty, bring Spain the 4-2 win. Ronaldo was supposed to be the fifth one to be on the spot for Portugal, but his services were no longer needed.
With that, Spain progresses to the finals by a hair's width margin.
Fabregas shoots in the winning penalty kick for Spain as they progress to the finals.
Germany has impressed so far with its Euro 2012 run, reaching the semi-finals unbeaten from the qualifying rounds to the group stage until the quarter-finals. Then they face underdogs Italy, who almost got knocked out of the tournament with a nervous penalty shootout against England. Italy never knew they'd have another very similar test. Germany's play in the start-up was as solid as ever, until Balotelli pierces through the defense and sank two goals in a span of sixteen minutes. It was then all Germany who rallied to find two goals of their own. Many thought it was over for Loew's men until Mesut Ozil converts a penalty kick in the early minutes of injury time. There was still time. Neuer was the lone defender in the German half of the field with all of his teammates overloading in the attack trying to clinch a crucial equalizer in the final two or three minutes of the match. Sadly, they never found it.
So, after all that drama, it has finally come to this: the Euro 2012 final. It will be Italy against current world and European champions Spain. Italy has a steep mountain ahead of it. Will they be able to pull off another upset? Or will the Spanish earn their third title in a row?
Here's the finals match schedule, courtesy of Soccerway.com. (Images of national team logos retrieved from same.)
Euro 2012 trademark and other associated copyrights owned by UEFA.
After a singular, potentially £80 million goal, a German blitzkrieg against Olympus, a passing tango from the Spaniards and a Lion pack making all the wrong roars, the Euro 2012 quarter finals are over and now only four teams remain.
Once again, I'm here to give you the highlights of the passed match day, and I tell you, there are a lot of exhilarating action and drama on this one.
1. Czech Republic 0-1 Portugal
A single Ronaldo goal was all it took to sink the Czechs in the first quarter final match of the competition between Portugal and the Czech Republic. Both sides asked questions to no avail and seemed to be on an immovable deadlock until the second half when Moutinho gave a crucial pass to striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who finds the net with an emphatic header for the win.
Check out the video below for that smashing Ronaldo header.
Ronaldo beats keeper Pert Cech to sink in a wonderful header.
Video retrieved from youtube.com. Uploaded by 123KyleT.
2. Germany 4-2 Greece
Joachim Loew had a lot of surprising changes to his side coming in to battle against Greece. No Muller or Gomez was in the starting line-up, for starters, and young guns Schurrle and Marco Reus were to start. A lot of implications surrounded this match, including political and economic ones, a fact the German government did not hide when its chancellor Angela Merkel attended the match. Greece is blasting Germany for imposing on the former more austerity measures to combat their growing debt.
But Loew's side had no bailout talks in mind as he blitzed through the Greece side with four goals to two. A brilliant long goal from defender and captain Philipp Lahm just before half-time sent the German side into overdrive.
Greece thought they got back in the game when Samaras equalized in the 55th minute, but rapid-fire goals from Khedira, Klose and Reus negated that goal in dramatic fashion.
German captain Philipp Lahm fires in a wonder goal just before half-time.
Video retrieved from youtube.com. Uploaded by Euro ZweiTausendZwölf.
3. Spain 2-0 France
Vicente Del Bosque, Spain's head coach, has again opted to use the False Nine tactic against France. Fabregas was in front and center with Iniesta and David Silva beside him. Spain have been accused of playing a "boring" passing game by critics who clamored for the defending champions to show their prowess in goal count. Del Bosque would've none of that.
A goal by Xabi Alonso in the first half was the impetus for Spain, as well as for Alonso himself, who's celebrating his 100th match in the national team. A second goal by him from a penalty sealed Les Bleus fate.
4. England 0-0 Italy (2-4 on Penalties)
The Euro 2012 quarter finals certainly ended with a dramatic bang. A few days prior, a seemingly prophetic Lampard told his teammates to prepare for a penalty shootout against Italy. His statement must've been lost on his colleagues Ashley Young and Ashley Cole. Beside their names being the same, they also now have another thing in common: both of them missed in their shots at the penalty shootout against Italy.
It was all Italy during the normal and extra time but they couldn't budge the England defense. England had a few chances of their own but weren't able to capitalize.
In the end, the Three Lions couldn't pull off a death bite and leave the competition empty-handed as they lose through penalties again.
Italian goalkeeper Buffon saves the penalty shot from Ashley Cole.
And that sums up the quarter finals of Euro 2012. Now, only four remain for the semi-finals. Spain keep their dream alive of retaining the championship and being the first team to win it three in a row. Here are the semi-final fixtures courtesy, once again, of Soccerway.com.
Euro 2012 trademark and other associated copyrights owned by UEFA.
After all that action, the group stages of the Euros are finally over, and in just a couple of hours as I type in this blog, the UEFA 2012 European Football Championships enter the famous knockout stages. But before that, let me give you a hard-and-fast recap of the final day of the group stages.
Group A:
1. Denmark 1-0 Poland
The first hour of the game showed close saves and near-goals as the two sides were in a fierce, heated deadlock that got loose when Jiracek let one go an found the net just about 20 minutes before full-time. Poland went in the rush to find two goals for them to stay in the competition, but they were denied.
Co-hosts Poland leave the Euros disappointed, that's for sure. They simply didn't capitalize on their chances. They weren't able to connect their finishes.
2. Greece 1-0 Russia
This was a very weird match. Just before half-time, the Greek side's Karagounis somehow fired one into Malafeev's net, scoring the only goal in this match. It was a bit of a shocker since Malafeev seemed to have had it covered, but somehow the ball ricochet's past him and into the back of the net. To quote Coelho, the "Gods of Football" were watching Greece that night.
This shock loss astonishingly knocks Russia out. And considering they were pretty much on a roll in their past two matches... Football is a weird but fun sport, indeed.
Karagounis somehow beats keeper Malafeev to net the winning goal for Greece against Russia.
Video retrieved from youtube.com. Uploaded by t0nysFootballVideos.
Group B
1. Portugal 2-1 Netherlands
The Dutch were determined to win this one. After all, they needed the planets to line up this night. They needed a win plus they also needed Germany to beat Denmark for them to progress. They dreams seemed to have been half-met when van der Vaart finds the goal in the 11th minute. But then comes the previously misfiring Ronaldo, who nets ten minutes later. Ronaldo would pull the coup-de-grace trigger for the Dutch come the second half, when he finds the net again.
This means the Netherlands leave Group B without a single win. Miserable? Definitely.
2. Denmark 1-2 Germany
Denmark, like Netherlands, also needed a win tonight for them to progress. A 19-minute goal from Podolski made that seem less possible, until Bendtner made a crucial pass to his teammate Krohn-Dehli who successfully hit the back of the net for the equalizer. But then, lightning strikes twice, as they say. Just like their heart-breaking loss to Portugal after finding the equalizer, they suffer the same fate when German kid Lars Bender shoots a brilliant goal at the 80th minute.
Group C
1. Croatia 0-1 Spain
Before the match, UEFA's computers predicted a 2-2 draw between the two, to much anger from Ireland fans, since a draw here would kick them out the match. Both sides said the match-fixing allegation was nothing but that, a prediction. How true. Croatia tried to make sure they left this match with a win, to no avail. The deadlock was broken as late as the 88th minute, when Jesus Navas found the winning goal.
Croatia leaves Euro 2012 on a defeat, but a hard-fought defeat.
2. Italy 2-0 Ireland
Contrast to the Croatia-Spain bout, this one had no controversy. It was straightforward football, and the luck of the Irish was simply not to be found and Italian prowess reigned. A goal from Cassano in the 30th minute, and a fantastic finale goal from Balotelli at the 90th minute seals the Irish defeat.
Ballotelli pulls a cool volley to sink Ireland 2-0.
Image retrieved from 3news.co.nz
Group D
1. Sweden 2-0 France
Already knocked-out Sweden made sure they walked out of the Euros with fireworks. Goals from Captain Ibrahimovic and Larsson was enough for Sweden to walk into the sunset with a smile.
2. England 1-0 Ukraine
Rooney starts for England after a two-match ban has been imposed on him. And sure enough, he made sure Hodgson would know of his value when he netted the winning goal for his country, sending co-host country Ukraine out of the competition.
This was an important win for the Three Lions because they needed it to progress to the knockout stages of the competition.
Rooney heads the winning goal for England.
Image retrieved from nationalturk.com
And with that, the group stages are finished and we enter the quarter-finals! Here's the list of fixtures for that one, courtesy of Soccerway.com.
Euro 2012 trademark and other associated copyrights owned by UEFA.
The drama and action brought by the first match day of the 2012 European Championships was thrilling and all, but it certainly pales in comparison to the heat match day 2 brought. As the teams slowly learn of their fates in their respective groups, game play, determination and will all multiply exponentially as they race for those essential points.
We saw a few teams get their Euro 2012 journey end cruelly on this match day, and we see those who have one feet already stepping towards the final knockout stages of the tournament. To have a quick look at the group standings, click here. Standings courtesy of Soccerway.com.
Here is a review as well as some of my thoughts on the games in match day 2.
Group A:
1. Greece 1-2 Czech Republic
The Czechs are out for redemption in this game following their big 4-1 loss against Russia in match day 1. Two rapid-fire goals in the first six minutes of the match, provided by Jiracek and Pilar in the 3rd and 6th minute, respectively, was enough to get the victory against Greece. The Greeks did manage to find the net in minute 53 thanks to Gekas, but they weren't able to find the equalizer.
With just one point in their standing so far, Greece is definitely one foot out of the Euro 2012 door.
2. Poland 1-1 Russia
Co-host Poland once again fails to clinch a victory in their second groups stage match, this time against Russia. Russian hero Dzagoev finds the net once again at the 37th minute, thanks to the assistance of Arshavin. Midfielder Blaszczycowski equalized for Poland in the 2nd half, but that's pretty much it.
Poland find themselves lacking points to progress through to the next round, and their next match against Czech Republic would prove highly crucial.
Russian keeper Malafeev unable to thwart the curler from Polish captain Blaszczycowski.
This dramatic 2-3 scoreline is just one of two drama-filled thriller matches for this match day. Portugal pretty much had the game in their hands as the finished half-time with a 2-1 lead. It was about to be a Portugal win when Bendtner finds the net for the second time at the 80th minute. Then, in an eleventh-hour rally, Portugal takes back the lead seven minutes later with a brilliant, brilliant goal from Varela. Match ends 3-2 with Portugal earning a deserved, decisive victory.
2. Netherlands 1-2 Germany
The misfiring dilemma of the Dutch continues as they lose to a very much on-form Germany. It was pretty much the Mario Gomez show in the first half as he scores two goals. Van Persie was pretty much hitting nowhere until the 73rd minute, but that was simply not enough to beat the Germans.
The Dutch have not a single point on their name in their group, and its pretty much the curtain call for them. They need to win their last group match against Portugal, win it with a lot of goals, and have Germany win their match against Denmark if the Dutch want to progress to knockout stages.
Group C
1. Italy 1-1 Croatia
Italy continues its International Football drought as it once again fails to get a win, this time against Croatia. Pirlo scored beautifully in the first half, but the Italians were unable to retain their lead as Croatia's on-form goalscorer Mandzukic nets an equalizer.
Italy needs to win their last match against Ireland if they want to keep their Euro 2012 hopes alive.
2. Spain 4-0 Ireland
The world and European champions Spain show what they are all about by thumping Ireland in dominating fashion, scoring four fantastic goals. Previously misfiring Torres finally got his form back as he scored a brace in this one. Irish goalkeeper Given simply didn't stand a chance against the brutal and highly accurate Spanish attack force.
This loss ends Ireland's run in the Euros, and they must win their last match against Italy to get at least third place and some points for themselves, lest they go home empty-handed, in the most numerical and mathematical of sense.
Torres scoring the opening goal for Spain in the 4th minute.
Ukraine was unable to repeat their magical win against Sweden last time as they lost 2-0 against a French side desperate for a win. Two rapid-fire goals at the second half, both assisted by Karim Benzema, was enough to sink Ukraine and get a win for his side.
This loss puts Ukraine in third place at their group, and they would need a win against England in the final Group match to progress or its game over.
2. Sweden 2-3 England
This match is the second of the 2-3 edge-of-your-seat games for this match day. A 23rd-minute hail-worthy header from Carroll puts England in the lead, putting the Three Lions in the driving seat until half-time. Second half came a weird twist as a scrappy Sweden free kick put confusion on the pitch. There's some dispute over whether it was a goal from Swedish defender Mellberg or an own goal from Johnson. Nevertheless, Sweden takes one back. Mellberg definitely puts his name on the score sheet ten minutes later, putting Sweden in the lead. English coach Roy Hodgson puts on Walcott, which changes the game dramatically. The Sub scores the equalizer for England, and finally, Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck hits the back of the net for the win.
This dramatic Sweden loss puts them out of the tournament, but they have fought valiantly.
Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck sinks the winning goal for his country.
Two match days gone, one crucial day to go for the group stages of the 2012 European football championships. The action will just get higher as teams battle it out the win their groups and progress to the knockout stages of the competition. I tell you, this final match day is something you shouldn't miss!
Euro 2012 trademark and other associated copyrights owned by UEFA.
The 2012 European Championships are one week in and things are certainly heating up. Expectations are being shattered one by one and the underdogs are showing the big guys what they're capable of.
Here's a recap on the first week and first match day of the group stages.
Group A
1. Poland 1-1 Greece
Co-host country Poland opened the competition in a match against Greece. Many expected Poland to sweep Greece off the field on this one but in the end, it wasn't meant to be. Despite being dealt an early blow through a 17th minute clinical goal by Lewandowski, as well as being reduced to ten men by half-time, Greece, with a stroke of luck, managed to take a point with a goal from Salpingidis in the 51st minute.
2. Russia 4-1 Czech Republic
Russia was a slight favorite coming in this match, but that certainly didn't prelude a dominating win. Russia shattered the Czech defense and found the net four times, with man of the match Dzagoev shooting a brace. Cech's form coming in to this match was nothing more than paper weight, resulting to a string of memes popping in the internet mocking him. Here's one example:
Image retrieved from 9gag.com
Group B
1. Netherlands 0-1 Denmark
Bets were certainly overflowing for a Dutch win on this game. Sadly, a lot of people also lost a lot of money after this game was declared over. Despite Dutch coach van Marwijk's move to bring in the full attacking armada of his squad - he brought in Robben, Kuyt, Van Persie, Huntelaar, van der Vaart, Sneijder and Afellay - he was still denied victory over the Danes with a single goal from Krohn-Delhi at the 24th minute of the first half. No amount of rally could give the Dutch the equalizer as they failed to pull a finish on their runs.
2. Germany 1-0 Portugal
Drama was a theme of the game on this fixture as both sides were on a deadlock for most of the game until fortune dealt the Germans an ace when Mario Gomez netted a fabulous header at the 72nd minute. Portugal rose up to the challenge and rallied the best they can, but even with Ronaldo's prowess, Portugal couldn't find an equalizer.
Group C 1. Spain 1-1 Italy
Spanish coach Del Bosque decided to do an experiment for this match against Italy being lining not a single striker. Iniesta, Fabregas and David Silva were his front three. Goals were absent until the 60th minute when Italy's Di Natale scored a brilliant goal. At this point, the experiment seemed to be a failure for Del Bosque until Fabregas replied for the defending champions with a cracking goal of his own three minutes later.
2. Croatia 3-1 Ireland
With 30,000 supporters in the stands, Ireland was poised to pull an upset win. A morale-shattering third minute goal from Mandzukic set the challenge for them. They did reply with a set-piece equalizer from St. Ledger. From then on, Given was tested again and again. Ultimately he did fail, with goals from Jelavic and another from Mandzukic coming in. The luck of the Irish just wasn't there.
Croatia's renown creative midfielder Luka Modric
Image retrieved from Soccerway.com
Group D
1. England 1-1 France
With star striker Rooney out due to a suspension, fellow Manchester United striker Welbeck filled in for him. But this match was all Manchester City it seems, when Joleon Lescott netted a header from a corner to bring England the lead. Minutes later, Samir Nasri, also from City, would score for France an equalizer. France made their rally but Joe Hart made sure none was to come.
2. Ukraine 2-1 Sweden
Many pundits have declared that this match was going to be another "Ibra show", with star scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic in front and center of the Swedish attack force. It took a while for that show to begin, but it did start with Ibrahimovic finding the goal in the 52nd minute. Three minutes later, the show would be ended by veteran Andriy Shevchenko. Then the show was cancelled and put out of contract when Shevchenko finds the goal yet again just six minutes later. Sweden never recovered.
With many of the favorites drawing or losing points, the group stages of the Euros is far from over. The fates of many teams would be hanging until the last match day of the stage. Would be interesting to see how those teams, like Netherlands and Sweden, fight back.
Morgan Freeman's character Alex Cross in the movie Along Came A Spider once said, "It's just day one." But for this Euro 2012, the heat feels like the finals already.
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!
Altair rendering done by Codmaster 96 from planetrenders.net
Assassin's Creed game and game elements owned by Ubisoft
Games background acquired from gamemedia.wcgame.ru
