Sliding out of the Champions League with two goals scored shows the scale of a relentless decline and a long road lies aheadThere were a little under eight hours until kick-off and Joan Laporta had come from Munich cathedral. “You have to have faith,” he said, heading into the Käfer restaurant and out of the snow, but faith is not enough. And although they had always suspected as much, it still hurt when the inevitable happened. Barcelona’s president had asked his players to show “pride” and “dignity”, to demonstrate “who they are”. As it turned out, who they are is a team no longer able to compete with the best. “That’s our reality and it really pisses me off,” Xavi...
Serbian outcast had played only 81 minutes all season but was brilliant after leaping off the bench to replace injured talismanKarim Benzema was down on one knee which meant Real Madrid were down on theirs, or so it goes. Saturday had been good to them until then – Barcelona had lost at home to Real Betis and Atlético Madrid had been beaten by Real Mallorca with on-loan Take Kubo slipping past Jan Oblak in the last minute at the Metropolitano – but this was bad news, its significance expressed simply. A couple of words and a couple of explanation marks would do: Benzema and off. It was cold, wet, noisy and 0-0 at Real Sociedad where no one had won...
Young star could be in trouble for criticising the referee in a wild match that showed his side’s rich potential … and limitsThis time, at least, there were grounds for debate. Der Klassiker has become the showpiece that retains attention but equally fuels the barbs of the critics, a symptom of Bayern Munich’s indefatigable dominance to pessimists and Bundesliga detractors. This time, the fixture’s usual chaotic energy synced with genuine jeopardy.Even if the current run was extended to Borussia Dortmund beating Bayern just once in their last 10 Bundesliga meetings (with six straight wins for the champions), Saturday’s latest edition oscillated wildly. Maybe slightly too much so for BVB tastes – do they occasionally, secretly yearn for a professionally seen-out...
Roma’s first-half collapse left their manager sniping at the media while Atalanta and Napoli showed the joys of footballJosé Mourinho cancelled his press conference before Roma’s match against Inter on Saturday, denying us a window into his emotions as he prepared to face his former club in Serie A for the first time. Eleven years had passed since he left the Nerazzurri in floods of tears, hugging Marco Materazzi before disappearing into a Madrid night after completing an unprecedented Treble win.He skipped the celebrations in Milan – fearing he could get caught up in a moment and make a commitment that he would regret. Real Madrid were ready to hire him and Mourinho now had his eyes on a different...
The 18-year-old Englishman has taken the Bundesliga by storm and may already be the most complete midfielder in the worldThe slogan of Borussia Dortmund is “Echte Liebe”, which means “real love”. These days, however, it conjures up mixed emotions among Dortmund fans. For many it is a nostalgic throwback to the club’s heyday under Jürgen Klopp, when the phrase first became popularised. For others it is little more than an empty marketing jingle, a hashtag, a symbol of how a club built on working-class passion has begun to take on an increasingly corporate character.At the human heart of this divide lies the club’s approach to young players. Over the last decade, Dortmund have made little secret of their business model:...