Ronaldo could not elevate the league’s standing in a season that mirrored recent ones, including ugly events off the pitchNot even an alien invasion could change the narrative for Italian football. Cristiano Ronaldo was hailed as an extra-terrestrial when he touched down in Turin, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner arriving in a country where no player had got close to the award since Kaká claimed it in 2007. The Portuguese forward was supposed to carry Juventus to European glory. Instead, they won an eighth consecutive Serie A title, and nothing more.Ronaldo, for the most part, delivered. He did not hit those otherworldly heights of his best years in Madrid, but 28 goals and 10 assists are hardly a pittance. His...
The relentless pressure to win the ball high up the pitch gives Jürgen Klopp’s engine room a different kind of creativityWhat a Champions League final we have in store. I am in Madrid and visited the Wanda Metropolitano day and there was already an anticipatory buzz around the stadium, so the atmosphere should be wonderful . I am lucky enough to have secured a ticket through the Uefa Masters course I’m doing and I’m expecting the match between two fantastic English teams to be as vibrant as the atmosphere. With the attacking style of both teams it promises to be spectacular. Whichever team wins will have provided the perfect finish to an amazing story.Which team will that be? That is...
Barça won the league again, Madrid had a nightmare, Getafe were the story of the season and Iago Aspas was Iago AspasSpain organised the biggest party in European football but didn’t bother turning up. The Champions League final is supposed to be Real Madrid’s place, it’s being held at Atlético’s place, and it’s the place Barcelona were desperate to go to, but none of them will be there on Saturday night. In August, Leo Messi took the mic and vowed to do everything to win that “lovely and longed-for cup”. They were close, but Liverpool scored, Anfield erupted and Rome came rushing back, invading their thoughts. Seventeen days later, Messi admitted it was still on their minds and the following...
Unai Emery’s side capitulated against Chelsea and, with such an important summer ahead, the damage may be severeThere was something almost pitiful about Unai Emery gesturing enthusiastically from his technical area, urging his team forwards, in the 90th minute at 4-1 down. He suddenly looked like a footballing King Canute, trying to stem a tide that washed all over Arsenal and left their present and future ambitions shipwrecked.The scale of the capitulation left Arsenal in shock. At the end of it all, the shattering despair felled their players. They had been banking on this, hoping that the Europa League final would bring a happy ending to this season and positivity for the next with a return to the Champions League....
Gian Piero Gasperini’s great entertainers made club history, while Inter edged Milan to a top-four place tooIn Milan, Florence and Ferrara they waited. In Rome and Reggio Emilia, too. The final six games of the Serie A season had been scheduled to kick off simultaneously, to ensure a level playing field for teams chasing a Champions League berth, as well as those fighting against relegation. But somebody, somewhere, was late.Referees tutted and glared at their watches, waiting for the signal to commence. Ultras completed their planned choreographies and wondered what to do next. Players bounced and bellowed at one another in overwrought voices. It was not exactly quiet before the storm, yet there was a moment of exquisite tension shared...