Dortmund shed hipster tag

Dortmund exploded onto the mainstream football vocabulary last week, casting doubt on their role as the hipster team of choice for discerning football fans.

A standing section that holds fans for as little as €12 a game, an eccentric and loyal young manager, constant suppression by a more financially powerful rival, young and local players, fluid and attractive football and playing in the world’s most happening league means Dortmund were quite rightly the most obvious (and successful) hipster team of choice over the last five seasons.

Dortmund have won two Bundesliga titles in the last three years and also claimed two German cups in this time. Of the team that beat Real last week, the two oldest outfield players, Łukasz Piszczek and Jakub Błaszczykowski  are 27 years of age, suggesting that this team can progress and become even more expansive.

However, the demolition of Real Madrid at the Westfalenstadion last Wednesday, has thrust Dortmund into the conscious of the mainstream media (especially Jamie Redknapp) and in the eternal hipster paradox, once something becomes popular, it is surely time to move on. Under-performing should be a pre-requisite of any hipster football team, and it is clear that Dortmund have been over-indulging in footballing success.

It is easy to forget that 12 years previously Dortmund were as guilty as Bayern are now in splashing the cash to compete in the German league. The Borussians spent €28.6 million on Nicolas Amoroso in 2001, a move which won them the title, but almost bankrupted the club by 2003. In fact Dortmund were reliant on a €2 million loan from Bayern to fund their own payroll, the financial situation was so dire.

It is hard to know whether almost bankrupting your club to achieve success is an attractive trait for football hipster fans (Portsmouth are just about hip, less so Leeds and Man City) but here is a list of  football clubs, that are likely to become and then be discarded by transient football hipsters in the next few years.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Staying in Germany, the Bundesliga’s other Borussia outfit lay claim to several of the conditions needed to be football hipster material: a young squad, a cult hero in Juan Arango, a feeling of injustice (after Dortmund exploited a release clause to take Marco Reus back) and with a nickname of Die Fohlen, they will always have their indie fans. Lucien Favre has assembled a precocious set of players; Granit Xhaka, Luuk de Jong and Barcelona target, Marc-André ter Stegen, who all look set for a fantastic future. After finishing fourth last year, Gladbach have had a fairly tepid 2012-13, ensuring hipsters can continue to back them.

Getafe

Atletico Madrid often get a raw deal as Madrid’s second club, but few fans in England will even realise Getafe are based just outside of Madrid. Michael Laudrup continued his Spanish odyssey at Getafe for a solitary season, reaching the Copa del Rey final after thumping Barcelona 4-0 en route and only being beaten by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup in 2008. Michael Laudrup, being oppressed by illustrious rivals and previously being sponsored by Burger King make Getafe hipster cat-nip.

Rayo Vallecano

Rayo were briefly thrust into the mainstream focus last summer after Michu introduced himself to the Premier league with a debut brace and people remembered he cost just £2 million. Thankfully this season the club have drifted back into the left-field, although that might change as clubs fight it out for this year’s top-scorer, Piti, who has 15 goals from midfield. Vallecano are another Madrid based club but unlike Real, who had strong ties with Franco’s governance, have a proud anarchist supporter group.

Fiorentina

Rather than going for lowly and leftie Livorno, Fiorentina are clearly the hipster team of choice for students of calcio. Going bankrupt in 2002, some 33 years after their last Serie A title, the club began their re-ascent with captain, Angelo Di Livio, who chose to stay with the fledgling club. Fiorentina have won a remarkable six Coppa Italia’s and current Italy boss, Cesare Prandelli cut his teeth at the Viola. Politics are important in football hipster affiliation, but any club who wears bright purple and boasts Gabriel Batistuta as a former player is impossible to resist.

Malmo

Fashion matters to football hipsters. Being able to pull-off a vintage jersey of your hipster team of choice is an important consideration. So if you’re going to go for one of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s former teams, Malmo are the least mainstream offering. Zlatan played for Malmo for two years, wearing the below shirt as they were relegated, before firing them back up in his second year at the club. Ajax, Roma and Arsenal came sniffing that summer, with the egotistical machine moving to the Arena. Ajax director, Leo Beenhakker, got the deal done for €8 million and famously remarked: “Give me 11 arseholes like him and we’ll be champions.”

Holland's Got Talent

The race for the title looks to be all but wrapped up in Europe's 'big' five leagues: Spain, England, Italy, Germany and France by late March, but the battle for the Eredivisie is incredibly close.

Man United sit 15 clear, Barcelona are 13 points ahead, Bayern are six points away from winning the Bundesliga, after a wobble Juventus are now nine points clear and thanks to a combination of their own wealth of experience and the implosion of any challengers, PSG look likely to hold onto their five point advantage. 

By contrast, the top four teams in the Eredivisie are separated by three points, with seven left to play.

PSV exploded out of the blocks and by early December looked on course to beat the previous goal-scoring record in the Netherlands, held by Ajax from the 1966-67 season who scored 122 times. Their form and rate of scoring has dropped off  in the new year and recent mistakes have allowed Ajax to climb to the summit of the Eredivise, at the most crucial part of the season.

Managed by Dick Advocaat and led on the pitch by returning talisman, Mark Van Bommel, PSV have played some fantastic football, a goal difference of +54 is indicative of this. The lack of an obvious striker has been disguised by the goal-scoring form of Belgian, Dries Mertens, who with 13 league goals looks set for a summer move to one of Europe's elite sides. 

Kevin Strootman is a ready-made Premier League player. The 22-year-old is famous for his coverage on the pitch and at 22 he is an established part of Louis Van Gaal's young national team, along with 25-year-old Jeremain Lens. 

Despite only conceding two more goals than Ajax, when any defence contains Wilfried Bouma, who looked past it at Villa two seasons ago, this area could well be where PSV lose the title. Bouma is only playing due to injury to former Newcastle target, Erik Pieters, who lost virtually all season to injury before being sent off and punching a glass partition on his eventual return.

By contrast Ajax have been the quietly efficient challengers who now lead the pack of four in Holland. Frank de Boer has assembled a squad of young technicians who, if kept together, could be destined for great success nationally and on the continent. Manchester City were left chasing shadows when they played Ajax in Europe this season, and with another years experience (and a more favourable group) de Boer could revive the 1995 Champions League winners in European competition.

Christian Poulsen (yes Liverpool fans, that one) anchors the midfield and allows Christian Eriksen and Siem De Jong to pull the strings in midfield, with the likely full-backs of the Dutch national team for the next ten years, Daley Blind and Ricardo van Rhijn creating passing channels. Swedish winger Tobias Sana was the star last season, but Denmark’s Viktor Fischer has had a phenomenal breakthrough this year. 

The 18-year-old scored five goals in his first 10 appearances for the club; a better return than Marco Van Basten or Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He made his Champions League debut against City and in the space of three months has established himself as an integral part of the Ajax starting XI. 

Feyenoord are level on points with PSV in third place as Ronald Koeman looks to steer them to their first title since 1999. The goals of Italian target-man, Graziano Pelle, have fired Feyenoord to this heady position, but the young trio of Bruno Martins Indi, Stefan de Vrij and midfielder Jordy Clasie have grabbed equal headlines. 

All three have been capped by van Gaal in his most recent squads, with de Vrij expected to become a mainstay of the defence for years to come. The 21-year-old captains his club and has already been scouted by Brendan Rodgers. Clasie has gathered interest from around Europe, with Fiorentina known to have submitted an official bid, and the diminutive midfielder has been compared to Xavi and compatriots like Wesley Sneijder. 

One man has grabbed the headlines for Vitesse this season and the Ivory Coast look to have found a new talismanic striker in Wilfried Bony, who has grabbed 26 goals in 24 Eredivise games. Prolific goal-scorers in the Dutch league should always be treated with caution: think Mateja Kezman or Alfonso Alves, but likewise there are also Robin Van Persie's or Ruud Van Nistelrooy's ready to test themselves in a more competitive league. 

After flirting with administration in 2003, Vitesse are now owned by Georgian businessman, Merab Jordania, making them the first foreign-owned team in the Netherlands. The purchase attracted a lot of controversy in Holland at the time, but the traditional minnows are competing with the established clubs this season. Alongside Bony, Marco van Ginkel was called up to the latest Dutch squad, a sign that the investment in youth at Vitesse is reaching fruition.

The Dutch have been going about it quietly, and they will continue to slip further down the UEFA coefficient, but the Eredivisie has been slowly been assembling a pool of talented youngsters. How long these clubs will be able to hang on to these players remains to be seen, but the league and its fans are enjoying the spectacle while it can.

Best league in the world?

There was a time, four years ago, when you could argue that the Premier League was the most competitive league in football.

England supplied three Champions League semi-finalists in 2007/2008, with Arsenal also competing in the quarter finals before an all English final in Moscow was settled by penalties in favour of Manchester United.

Fast forward to 2012 and the much fabled 'best league in the world' only has two representatives in the last 16 of the Champions League. Manchester United and Arsenal scraped through their respective groups, despite few convincing performances in Europe and in the coming years England's second coefficient spot could come under threat from the financially regulated might of the Bundesliga.

Whilst third place still allows four sides to compete in the Champions League, of greater concern are the performances English sides have produced when faced with foreign opposition. I can't recall any games from this campaign where a Premier League side has convincingly dominated and won a game.

Arsenal were extremely fortunate to take one point from Schalke, who topped the group, and faced some nervous moments against Montpellier, who have just six wins this season and Olympiakos, who finished just a point behind Arsenal.

Manchester United were handed one of the 'Europa League groups' that Jose Mourinho complained off, in comparison to his own teams group of death, and topped the group despite playing very poorly. United conceded first in five of their group games and generally defending terribly, but the combined fire-power of Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez disguised these wobbly performances.

Even the most jingoistic football fans would not suggest that English sides have a divine right to top their group, but it is the ease with which Premier League sides have been unable to match other teams in terms of ball retention and tactical acumen, which is the real indicator.

The Premier League is technically deficient compared to Serie A and La Liga, there is no question of that. Even the Bundesliga, which is the closest in terms of style of play, has several teams which are far more proficient with the ball. All three German sides topped their Champions League groups, and with Hannover, Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Monchengladbach progressing in the Europa League, the Bundesliga has an impressive seven representatives in the latter stages of European football.

Roy Hodgson and his side were outplayed by every team at Euro 2012, a 30 minute spell in the Sweden game aside, and the physical and speed focused aspects of the Premier League are starting to seriously hamper it's chances internationally.

English football has produced some incredible results over the last 12 months: United winning 8-2 over Arsenal, City scoring six at Old Trafford, Chelsea losing 5-3 to Arsenal and commentators are right to label this brand of football exciting. But exciting does not translate as effective and European sides are increasingly able to take advantage of the defensive errors that were incumbent in the previously mentioned goal-fests.

The Premier League tops the big five leagues, in terms of goals conceded as a result of individual errors, which suggests that teams are tactically stronger in La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and the Ligue 1 as individuals are not exposed as frequently. This stat can be found here, via whoscored.com, and is further indication that the Premier League is far from the strongest. Fans want to see well construed goals, not defensive errors which lead to efforts.

Italy occupy fourth place in the UEFA coefficients, but I would argue that the strength of their league is greater than the Premier League. A hypothetical top six of Juventus, Inter, Milan, Roma, Fiorentina and Napoli would beat a supposed top six of United, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle from England

The tactical dominance of Serie A was displayed in Turin three weeks ago, as Juventus romped to a 3-0 scoreline, which flattered Chelsea in truth. Roberto Di Matteo was sacked the next day, but there was very little any side could have done to stop Juventus that evening. Their fluid 3-5-2 saw the Old Lady dominate all areas of the pitch, with numerical superiority in defence and midfield.

Manchester United emerged as 3-2 winners in the hectic Manchester derby this afternoon but the 4-2 between Roma and Fiorentina in Italy on the same weekend featured the better football, from teams that are likely to fight it out for fourth place.

The Roy of the Rovers style of the Premier League may be exciting to some, but football purists and fans will appreciate the technical dominance exercised by the rest of Europe and hope that theses teams won't escape further into the distance before the English game tries to catch up.

Some Totti genius.

Busquets bashing

The Champions League is back this week and with it comes one of the games most divisive players; Sergio Busquets.

Ridiculed in the UK and vilified by Internazionale fans after exaggerating contact from Thiago Motta to get the midfielder sent off, the 23-year-olds ability is often lazily dismissed and his contribution to Barcelona and Spain's success are quickly overlooked.

Busquets was not developed in La Masia, and came to the Catalans relatively late in 2005 from Unio Jabac aged 16. He was a mainstay of Pep Guardiola’s B team in the 2007-2008 season and after helping the team win promotion he followed Guardiola in being promoted to the full squad for 2008.

Guardiola’s first season in charge was a revelation; the Catalans won the first ever treble in Spanish history, which included a stunning 2-0 win over Manchester United in the Champions League final. Prima-donna players like Deco and Ronaldinho were moved on and in came a midfield three of Xavi, Andreas Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, one of the first names on the team sheet at 19 years of age.

The tika-taka style which Rijkaard had implemented was refined by Guardiola and with the repositioning of Lionel Messi as a ‘false number 9’, rather than out wide, Barcelona soon became the most impressive club team in football. Busquets was an integral part of the side and his tactical intelligence and constant availability meant Xavi and Iniesta could impose their game higher up the pitch.

In winning the Champions League in his breakthrough season, Busquets also joined an exclusive club of father and son combinations to have both won the Champions League with the same team (the Maldini’s at Milan and Manuel Sanchez Hontiyuelo and Manuel Sanchez Martinez of Real Madrid are the other two). Carles Busquets kept goal for Barcelona in the 90s and was backup during the 1992 European Final at Wembley.

The younger Busquets has gone on to average 48.5 games a season since stepping up to the full squad, more appearances than Iniesta and Pique for instance, but yet he is rarely appreciated as a player outside of Barcelona. He might have exaggerated contact to get Thiago Motta a second yellow card, but in a game of professionals if the other team is reduced to ten men then your side have gained an advantage. It was not Busquets fault that Motta was already on a booking for instance.

As it turned out, the sending off did not swing the tie away from Inter, who defended brilliantly (and rode their luck, Bojan’s goal should have stood) to eliminate Barcelona. Busquets was caught on camera glancing up from his ‘injury’ to the bench and it was this knowing wink that enraged football fans. Didier Drogba has committed far more flagrant dives during his time at Chelsea, yet his reputation is as a bullish goal-scorer rather than a ‘diver’. His reaction in the quarter finals of the Champions League tie versus Napoli (see video below) was appalling, but were largely glossed over by an English media exultant to see an English side progress.

Drogba won the lot during his time at Chelsea and is clearly an excellent striker. By contrast Busquets aged 24 has won the following; thee La Liga’s, two Copa del Rey’s, two Champions League titles, a European Championship  and a World Cup, not bad for what has been a four year career. Busquets deserves at least equal the praise that Drogba earned during his time in England but it seems unlikely that the English media will budge from their lazy stereotype of the Spanish midfielder.

He wasn’t part of the EURO 2008 squad but since coming into the national set-up Spain have dominated the game and I would argue that his presence in midfield is second only to Lionel Messi’s new deployment as the false 9, as the fulcrum behind Barcelona’s form these past four years. It can be no coincidence that since Busquets has come into both sides, they should start to dominate at club and international level and hopefully the rangy midfielder will earn respect from outside of Catalonia. 

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Glory for Chelsea, defeat for purists

Chelsea finally proved that money can buy you everything as they claimed their first ever Champions League after beating Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties.

Roman Abramovich's dream of a European triumph was realised after a 9 year quest, and one of the Russian's first signings , Didier Drogba, made the difference.

At a time when Andy Carroll fetched £35 million, the £24 million to Marseille looks a snip considering his eight years of service. Say what you like about the Ivorian's theatrics, he has decimated the continent this season and has been the best striker in the PL for the last five years.

Chelsea needed their striker to be in superb form as they were on the backseat for the majority of yesterdays final. Their win was also down to no small portion of luck; the Germans created enough chances to win, as did Barcelona and Napoli in the previous rounds.

After some woeful performances under AVB, the foursome of Ashley Cole, Petr Cech, David Luiz and Gary Cahill were all magnificent in Bavaria, as they have been since the exit of the Portuguese manager.

That it took the exit of one of Europes finest young coaches to kickstart their season is troubling, but under Bobby Matteo Chelsea have gone back to basics, and in Europe this proved to be the difference.

Abramovich reportedly has a grand vision of Chelsea playing as 'Barcelona in blue shirts' but yesterdays win was more reminiscent of Stoke in blue shirts, as Chelsea defended for the whole match before scoring with their first corner.

Of course a team of Bayern's stature should be able to defend a set-piece, but Chelsea played to their strengths and it proved effective. AVB tried to change Chelsea's reliance on the direct ball to Drogba and ultimately lost out.

Chelsea clearly rode their luck in Europe. If Barcelona or even Napoli had been less profligate they would have eliminated the blues and Chelsea didn't exactly read the textbook on defending your way to victory.

Mourinho's Inter Milan showed several defensive masterclasses en route to their 2010 win, and with a midfielder of Wesley Sneijder's guile were always a threat, a 3-1 over Barca indicative if their abilities. By contrast, Chelsea showed vulnerability. They gave away two needless penalties (both saved) and it really did seem as if fate would fall their way.

Worse squads have won the Champions League, but the plucky fight of this Chelsea this campaign is remarkable. Despite being outplayed in several games, Di Matteo's side simply took their chances and after eight years practise they finally held their nerve.

Where next for Messi and Barca?

The 'greatest club team on the planet' were dumped out of the Champions League this week with Guardiola also stepping down leaving his tika-taka disciples in the hands of his assistant Tito Vilanova. 

Guardiola revealed in an emotional press conference that he had been having doubts about his role at Barcelona since October and that the la Masia graduate was applauded off the stage by his employers and current players reveals the level of admiration the man will forever enjoy at Barca.

Despite the clubs success over the last four years the head coach role at Barcelona is one of the most pressurised roles in club football. We think football is king in England, but the fervour Barcelona and Real Madrid inspire in Spain surpasses it, the dual club dominance only rackets up the pressure at these two great institutions.

Sadly for football purists Guardiola decided to leave the club, indicating that he found it difficult to keep motivating the players and that he himself had burnt out. The timing of the announcement is puzzling as Barcelona still have the Copa del Rey final to compete for in May, and may have been influenced by the raw exit they suffered mid-week and the Real defeat at the weekend.

They may have suffered disappointment in Europe and in the race for La Liga but that should not prompt a wholesale change of approach. Vilanova's appointment will presumably see as little transition as possible; two defeats in the space of a week do not make this Barcelona squad a bad side and the Spaniard will be hoping he can build on Pep Guardiola's incredible legacy.

Arsene Wenger was one of the first coaches to express his sadness that Guardiola had stepped down, and I find myself agreeing with his own desire to have seen the youngest ever Champions League winner return next year with full trust in his philosophy and fight back.

Wenger posited : "The philosophy of Barcelona has to be bigger than winning or losing a championship. Guardiola is one of the representatives of this philosophy and made this philosophy triumph so I would have loved him, even going through a disappointing year, to stay and come back and insist with his philosophy. That would be interesting."

Guardiola knows the club inside out and would have been one of the best man to helm Barcelona towards further success without radically altering their ideology. The appointment of Vilanova is the next best thing and he has the greatest chance of replicating Guardiola's success. Both graduated at the same time from Barcelona's famed la Masia academy and the assistant has been working with Guardiola for over five years.

However, while Guardiola went on to play for and captain his beloved Barcelona side for almost a decade, Vilanova didn't quite make the grade at the Nou Camp and his playing career reached a nadir at Celta and Mallorca. Guardiola's playing experience on the biggest of stages must have shaped him as a manager and it will be interesting to see how Vilanova interprets the Barcelona ideology with his, by contrast, inferior playing career.

For a club of Barcelona's recent success and domination in Spain and continentally, to finish the season with only one major trophy, looking likely to be the Copa del Rey, is simply a disappointment when compared to their previous three seasons.

Barcelona may have already claimed the the European Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and the World Club Championship but these competitions are not the pinnacle of a footballers career, winning these trophies will hardly go down in history.

In the space of three games Barcelona have gone from playing the best football in Europe to a season in disintegration. This is partly bound up in media hyperbole, but the Barcelona of Tuesday night looked an entirely different proposition to the swaggering unit that put seven past Bayern Leverkusen.

Tiredness can affect players mentally and physically and it looked as if the creativity that we associate with the current Barcelona side had dried up. Barcelona started Tuesday night brightly, Messi should have scored when one-on-one with Cech, before the Catalans stepped up a gear and hit a goal either side of John Terry's ridiculous red card.

However, after Messi's penalty miss the 2011 Champions League holders started to wane in confidence. Passes were sprayed wide to no great success and the Barcelona midfield did not have the confidence or mentality to play through the middle of Chelsea's back nine. Gone were the one-twos that dissected the very best of defences as Guardiola's men grew in insecurity and desperation as the match wore on. There was a real crisis of confidence and Barcelona looked as if they didn't have faith in their own system of play.

Messi seemed determined to make amends for his penalty mistake and although he forced a brilliant save from Petr Cech he failed to play in two well-placed Barcelona players in the second half.

Guardiola took objection to comments before the match that alleged that Messi was on a goal drought, of two whole games, and the 24-year-old drew another blank against Chelsea on Tuesday. Messi is clearly the focal point in the current Barca side and there have been accusations that they are overly reliant on his magic to overcome teams.

His re-positioning to a false number 10 position since Guardiola took the hot seat has coincided with the Argentinian winning three successive Ballon D'Or's and Barcelona's recent trophy surge. He hit a phenomenal 38 goals the season before Pep came in, but since becoming the orchestrator and finisher off the Barcelona brush-strokes he has finished the last three campaigns with 47, 53 and so far this year 63 goals.

Messi is still the best player in the world. His nearest competitor choked in the Champions League again on Wednesday and Messi hasn't become a worse player after three low-key performances. Barcelona simply came up against three defences that put in better performances then the Catalan offensive line and failed to break them down.

The loss of Guardiola will become more quantifiable next season, but to promote from within, from their own academy in effect, is a shrewd move and given time Vilanova may be able to forge his own Barcelona legacy. Barcelona have become more than a club, more an idealistic interpretation of football, and to make any wholesale changes on the back of two defensive master classes and two disappointing performances would be a gross mistake.