| Europe: Heartache for McClaren, but great prizes beckon for Wolfsburg and Bordeaux |
| Written by Darren Douglas |
| Monday, 18 May 2009 20:20 |
 This past weekend certainly had a lot of storylines across the major European leagues, and so I thought it would be most appropriate to give a general review of how things are panning out for some of our continental neighbours. In Germany and France there has been no absolutely dominant force, meaning that the excitement has built as their domestic leagues are taken to the wire.Netherlands Firstly a look at Steve McClaren and his team FC Twente for the final time this season. After what has been a very positive and successful first year in the Netherlands. Unfortunately for McClaren his first season in the Eredivisie came agonisingly short of a fully triumphant riposte to his critics. On Sunday night FC Twente eventually lost the KNVB Beker (Dutch Cup) 5-4 on penalties, after a 2-2 draw with Heerenveen. Crucially FC Twente lost two players to injury within the opening twenty minutes of the cup final, Marko Arnautović and the veteran Peter Wisgerhof. Both players have been instrumental to driving the team onwards to their eventual runners-up spot in the Eredivisie. Arnautović has been increasingly monitored by the more powerful clubs in Europe after the twenty year-old has contributed twelve league goals this season. After twenty-seven minutes Heerenveen capitalised on FC Twente's misfortune and scored the first goal through Goran Popov's close effort. Eljero Elia equalised shortly after the re-start and it remained that way until the ninety minutes were up, despite McClaren's team having the bit between their teeth and seeing several winning opportunities go by. As it seemed that extra-time was petering out Heerenveen re-took the lead with eight minutes left, via the well-named Bonaventure Kalou. FC Twente managed to steady and with time running out they equalised once again, this time thanks to a Youssouf Hersi header. It was then left to the lottery of penalties, and sadly for Hersi his joy at equalising turned into despair, he missed the only penalty of the shoot-out and Heerenveen had won their first ever KNVB Beker. So, whilst McClaren missed silverware by the narrowest of margins, his disappointment should subside to immense pride at how he has improved on FC Twente's recent history. Rumours continue that Ajax may seek him to replace Marco van Basten, hopefully they will remain just rumours because McClaren must surely be enthused by the potential at his club. His team will be considered as a genuine title challenger for next season, especially if they can keep their best players and develop the nucleus within the squad. He will have the challenge of the Champions League as a reward to savour, but perhaps even better he can now start to put his England debacle behind him. Germany As reported last week, the Bundesliga has continually twisted and turned in the last few months. Several teams have led the league this season and whilst things have settled down since the winter break, there has continued to be a plethora of would-be champions. Last weekend may have been a decisive turn of events. Wolfsburg the current champions-elect were dominant until a recent little wobble. Most probably stemming from a combination of nerves in chasing their first ever Bundesliga title, and their manager's announcement that he will be leaving the club in the summer. Even so Wolfsburg have now emphatically re-asserted themselves, on Saturday they travelled to Hannover and embarrassed them by cruising to a 5-0 win. Unsurprisingly their goals were shared out between their incredible strike team of Edin Dzeko (hat-trick) and Grafite (brace), the two players have now collated 51 goals! Meanwhile their nearest challengers were managing to mess up their own chances of grabbing the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich were equal on points with Wolfsburg going into Saturdays penultimate round of fixtures, but they failed to defeat TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at home. The "Herbstmeister" have started to find their touch again and they deservedly held Bayern to a 2-2 draw, which may ruin their hopes of retaining the title. Hertha Berlin suffered similar frustration, a 0-0 draw at home with Shalke 04 has all but buried their dreams of a first Bundesliga since 1931. The expectancy had been great but a dour game means that Hertha require such a miracle to win the title that it isn't worth explaining. All I'll say is that they are three points behind Wolfsburg with one game left. VfB Stuttgart were the only other title chaser to win last weekend, doing a professional job of seeing off Energie Cottbus 2-0. In their final fixture they will clash with Bayern Munich, both teams have to win to overturn Wolfsburg, whilst Felix Magath's team just need a home draw or better to clinch the Bundesliga. They will face Werder Bremen who will be heavily distracted by their upcoming Uefa and DFB Pokal (German cup) finals. As for the bottom of the table, Cottbus' loss to Stuttgart leaves them facing relegation, although they may still jump into the relegation play-off. They will not survive outright unless they somehow win by several goals against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia M'gladbach lose, hence overturning a -7 goal difference. Technically Karlsruher SC can also now survive via the play-off if they win their final game. They have been rooted at the Bundesliga foot for most of the season, but two wins and a draw in their last five have given them a whisker of hope. On the weekend they overcame Werder Bremen 3-1, but their final fixture is likely to see sterner resistance from Hertha Berlin in their vain attempt to win the title. France In Ligue 1 there has been a similar tight tussle for the championship, only between two clubs rather than four. Prior to last weekend Olympique Marseille and Bordeaux were neck and neck on 71 points at the Ligue 1 summit. Unfortunately for Marseille their hopes were dealt a serious blow, by the long-time and outgoing champions Lyon. The pressure was on as Bordeaux had recorded a vital 3-2 win over Le Mans on Saturday, their ninth league victory in a row. Le Mans fought like a team looking over their shoulder at relegation and certainly threatened Bordeaux's overall authority, particularly Anthony Le Tallec who grabbed a brace. The Ligue 1 challengers overcame any nerves of their own though to secure the three point gap on Marseilles, defender Marc Planus got the winner. So to Marseille who hosted Lyon in what may be the titles turning point. Lyon are understandably a little irked to finally lose their seven year grasp on Ligue 1, but not wanting to be too selfish they have now made a huge impact on who their successors will be. Karim Benzema scored both of Lyons goals in the first half to establish a 2-0 lead, the chase was on for Marseille and to their credit they reacted well. Alas they were unable to capitalise on several chances, especially as the first half drew to a close. It wasn't until the 81st minute that they finally made their breakthrough via Sylvain Wiltord. As Marseille desperately pushed on for a coveted equalising goal they naturally left themselves open to Lyon on the counter attack. In the final moments they gave away a free kick and up stepped Lyons veteran specialist Juninho, he promptly scored to make it 3-1 the final score. Two fixtures remain in Ligue 1 for Marseille to snatch back the initiative that they once held. Unfortunately for them the odds are no longer in their favour, nonetheless this title race certainly isn't dead and there may be another twist, however ominous Bordeaux's recent form has been. As for the wrong end of Ligue 1, Caen stormed to an absolutely vital 2-0 win over their fellow strugglers Sochaux. That result meant that Caen leap-frogged Sochaux out of the relegation places, whilst pushing the latter team into the mire. Two wins in their last three matches have given Caen cause for celebration, but it may still turn very pear-shaped as in their final two Ligue 1 fixtures they will face Lyon and then Bordeaux! Sochaux meanwhile face another massive 'six-pointer' next weekend. They will face Nantes who are desperately battling to avoid a first ever relegation from the top flight. Nantes almost gave themselves the perfect tonic by winning on Sunday, for what would have only been the fourth time since the New Year! They failed to see out a 1-0 lead at home to Stade Rennes though, Moussa Sow stole in for the equaliser which leaves Nantes perilously close to the drop. And the rest Lastly congratulations must go to Inter Milan, Barcelona and Manchester United for finally wrapping up their respective league titles. All three have long been favourites to win their domestic title this season and have on the whole been deserving of such. Still, they all had to wait until their penultimate games or thereabouts to secure victory. I hope and expect that Manchester United and Inter Milan will face even tougher challengers for their crowns next season. Sadly for Claudio Ranieri he won't be one of those to try, his tenure at Juventus came to an abrupt end today. It may not be too bad for the 'tinker man', if he looks at AZ Alkmaar in the Eredevisie and Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga both require new managers soon. Of course after their seasons, the only way would be down- it's a tough business! |