European roundup
by Paul O'Donnell
Ok, yes, West Ham WON another season in the EPL. And you know what, they did it on the pitch whether Tevez should have been allowed to play or not. Yes, they were gifted 3 points by the on field official’s poor decisions in that match with Rovers. However, they went on from there and EARNED another season. Distinctly different from the Blades of Sheffield United who are leading a legal challenge against West Ham trying to win in court what they failed to earn on the pitch.
How's that? Rewind the clock. The Blades held the cards and were free and clear of the relegation battle with only 5 matches to go. Not comfortable by any means but they were not in it at that stage. So, just how did they fare in those final 5 games?
They failed the test winning only 1 of them (a 1-0 victory over bottom of the table Watford) while conceding 8 goals and scoring only 2 of their own. Their record in those final 5:1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses claiming only 4 points of the final 15 available. Is that kind of performance worthy of another season in the EPL? With their fate in their own hands they failed to do what needed to be done ON THE PITCH.
Now, they want another season in the EPL granted them by the courts. The prize they couldn't win should be GIVEN THEM says their board. That’s ugly in my book.
Bundesliga
You may recall that earlier in the season I failed to mention the status of the German league, on purpose actually. With my favored Bundesliga side leading the pack (Schalke) I didn't want to jinx them. Then, I did. Well, looking at the table now you can see why. Schalke has surrendered the lead to Stuttgart by their loss last weekend to Dortmund and another win by Stuttgart will nail down the title and Schalke will again have failed at the end of the campaign. Good grief!
More troubles for the German league however is that their best club (based on the points they've won) would finish 4th in the EPL and no better than 3rd in La Liga or Serie A. The Bundesliga has achieved that sort of MLS parity and like MLS celebrates mediocrity instead of excellence.
Based on that sort of performance it is no surprise at all that their better clubs were soundly beaten in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup.
Beckenbauer is right but his insight applies to the league as a whole and not just Bayern Munich; they desperately need to rebuild.
La Liga
In case you haven't looked my team here (Celta Vigo) are on their way down again but the news is that Barca finds themselves now trailing Real Madrid. In the last month Real has risen from 3rd to take the lead with four games to go. Interesting. Real have been a better team since Ronaldo left them to join AC Milan.
UEFA Cup
Sevilla win it again in penalties over Espanyol; the team most 'experts' pegged to lift the Cup. Frankly, this was quite a good match and when Sevilla leveled at 1 goal apiece it was totally against the run of play. Espanyol got back on top in extra time only for Sevilla to knot the score at 2 via a classy late goal from Kanoute and win it in the penalty kick round. Sevilla is still in the running for the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey as well.
Champions League Final
Despite all the cheerleading for Liverpool I fully expect them to be soundly beaten by AC Milan. Not that I want to see that happen but it is what I expect to see. Why? Their not playing at Anfield and Liverpool are simply not the same club in games away from their home ground.
A very unfortunate situation for UEFA who lacked the intestinal fortitude to ban AC Milan from this competition due to the influence of big money and big politics. Frankly, a win by AC Milan will be a black eye for not only that team and the Serie A, but also for UEFA.
There is a lot at stake here and it's not all about the status of Liverpool.
