Tag: Borussia Dortmund

The Premier League’s European Resurgence

by sddsimmons, posted in Simmo Says

Tonight’s game between England’s two most exhilarating attacking teams offers the opportunity for one to move a step closer to the semi-final. Manchester City and Liverpool have lit up Europe’s premier football competition over the last six months, but now they must face each other in the biggest game of their respective seasons. Simmo looks at how English teams have enjoyed a European renaissance in this seasons Champions League. 

English success in the Champions League has not been too common in recent years. In fact, the last time a Premier League team reached the final was all the way back in 2012. That year it was Chelsea and although they did bring the trophy home, their win merely papered over the cracks of a disastrous domestic season in which they finished in sixth place.

English success in the last five seasons of the Champions League (2013–17) has been so infrequent that only Chelsea and Manchester City have reached the semi-final stages, in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Neither ever looked likely to move beyond that stage and their forays in Europe weren’t backed up by significant domestic success either. 

Compare that to the previous five seasons, (2008–12) when five English teams reached finals and two came home with the trophy; Manchester United in 2008 in an all-English classic, and of course Chelsea’s win in 2012. During that same period no fewer than eight English teams reached the semi-finals, including three in both 2008 and 2009.

After years of impasse, we are suddenly seeing English teams thrive on the European stage. But why after half a decade of mediocrity in Europe, are we now seeing a renaissance?

A big factor is the amount of money English are spending. It is well documented that the Premier League is the richest league in the world, but other major clubs also have deep pockets. This season though has seen spending records smashed with almost £1.5 billion spent by the 20 Premier League clubs. All five of the English participants in this seasons Champions League were among the 20 highest spenders in Europe. City spent more than any other club (£220 million) while Chelsea found themselves in fourth place with a spend of over £150 million.

However, spending money is not the only reason Premier League teams are doing well. At the helm of England’s biggest clubs is arguably some of the very best managers in Europe. Guardiola, Klopp, Pochettino, Conte and Mourinho all led their teams into Europe’s most prestigious competition this season.

While some may debate whether Mourinho can still be classified among the elite, there can be little doubt that Guardiola, Klopp and Pochettino have improved their teams’ European performances.

Last season Liverpool did not even qualify, Tottenham finished third in their group, while City got knocked out in the round of 16. Only Leicester progressed to the quarter-finals.

In this season’s competition, Liverpool are the highest scorers with 28 goals from their eight games and Manchester City have kept the ball more than any other team with an average of 63% possession per game. They are also the only team to have completed over 6,000 passes in the competition.

Tottenham also enjoyed brilliant success in the group stages; winning both home and away against Borussia Dortmund as well as drawing with Real Madrid, last season’s winners, at the Bernabéu before comfortably beating them at home. Prior to their unfortunate exit at the hands of Juventus (runners-up the previous season) in the round of 16, they had won more points than any other team in the group stages.

The Premier League is unquestionably the most competitive league in the world. No other league can boast the depth of competition that it offers. However, in recent years, while the Premier League competition has continued to make compelling viewing, no team has been able to convert domestic trophies into major European success.

Now things seem different. Manchester City are the Champions League favourites; England is guaranteed at least one semi-final place as City have been drawn against Liverpool. Given the choice, both teams would almost certainly have preferred to avoid each other at this stage of the competition.

The results this season seem to suggest that the competition in the Premier League is aiding European performances. Collectively, English teams have performed considerably better. The acid test will be if English teams can maintain consistent performances in Europe over the next three or four years.

Nevertheless, there can be little doubt that English clubs are on the rise again, and the rest of Europe will be concerned.  

Six European transfers you might have missed

by MikeFranchetti, posted in The Six Pointer

Mike on six European signings he’s excited to see in action

Forget Hummels, Higuain and Pogba. Let’s take a closer look at the European transfer market. Who’s gone where and for how much?

1. Gianluca Lapadula (Pescara to AC Milan, €9million)
Van Basten. Shevchenko. Ibrahimović. And now… Gianluca Lapadula? You could argue that Milan’s signing of Pescara’s Lapadula says everything you need to know about their fall in the pecking order of both European and Italian football. He’s 26, never scored a goal in Serie A, and will be expected to offer something lacking in the game of Carlos Bacca. In other ways it’s a fantastic signing – or at the very least fantastically Italian. Lapadula was the top goalscorer in Serie B last year with 27 goals. It’s a bit like if Arsenal signed Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to ignite their attack back in 2009. Or if Manchester United sought Jordan Rhodes in the summer of 2015. Lapadula has played in many of Italy’s threadbare lower leagues and his story provides an element of intrigue to the new season. Despite his free scoring last campaign he is comfortable coming deeper to collect the ball and is an asset anywhere across the final third. At 26 he should be approaching his peak – but he’s Italian so he’ll probably peak in around six years’ time. The signing is just crazy enough to work out. Pescara has played developmental host to some fine international footballers in the last decade including Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile and Marco Verratti.

2. Ganso (Sao Paolo to Sevilla, €9.1 million)
No, this isn’t our list of ‘Six Football Manager signings who never fulfilled their potential’ – Paulo ‘Ganso’ Henrique really has arrived in Europe.  Ganso to some, Paolo Henrique to others, the Brazilian playmaker was the one you plucked from Santos on Football Manager 2011 that wasn’t Neymar. Last month Sevilla completed a €9.1 million signing from Sao Paolo and, in a window of dizzying headlines, this transfer borders on shrewd business. Whilst Neymar quickly became the archetypal Brazilian poster-boy, Ganso struggled with media attention and his form dipped soon after. This lead to a number of mediocre seasons and, ultimately, a far more low-key move to Europe than anybody would have previously expected. It’s not all doom and gloom however; Sevilla could be the perfect club for Ganso to make his mark. The club sit behind Spain’s ‘big three’ in almost every department but are proven winners in European football and have a crisp, balanced style. Ganso may find himself sitting deeper than his previous ‘number 10’ role, asked to dictate play rather than produce his trademark final balls. A new look midfield includes Palermo’s Franco Vazquez and the on loan Luciano Vietto.

3. Denis Suarez (Villarreal to Barcelona, €3.5 million)
In a ‘homecoming’ nowhere near as ridiculous as Paul Pogba’s return to Manchester, Barcelona opted to take advantage of their buy back clause and bring 22-year old Denis Suarez back to the Nou Camp. The Spaniard’s had a solid few years since leaving Manchester City with just a handful of cup appearances. He was an integral part of Villarreal’s Europa League semi-final run last season and possesses all the traits of a typical Barcelona winger. Whilst donning the Catalan red and blue can represent the pinnacle of Spanish football, Suarez will face serious competition to even get a game. Lionel Messi and Neymar are certain starters, as is his namesake Luis Suarez. There’s not much room to breathe beneath that trio’s talent but the new man could end up in the role once filled by Chelsea’s Pedro. He’ll have fewer opportunities to make his mark than at Villarreal but could still fit seamlessly into the hierarchy of the La Liga champions.

4. Nicola Sansone (Sassuolo to Villarreal, €13 million)
Denis Suarez out, Nicola Sansone in. Last season Sassuolo built on their previous campaign by upsetting the Serie A apple cart and taking the final Europa League spot. Their success was built on great performances all through the squad but two men – Sansone and Domenico Berardi – stood out as regular scorers and the providers of spark. Sassuolo are no strangers to losing star players and whilst they fought hard to keep Berardi, Sansone left for Spain for €13 million. The Italian’s 24 years old, capped once, and nets goals from wide positions. He should fit nicely into the La Liga ethos and could be upgrading Europa League football for the Champions League should Villarreal progress through their group stage qualifier.  Villarreal have been busy this window recruiting fellow Italian Roberto Soriano and the enigma that is Alexander Pato.

5. Andre Schurrle (Wolfsburg to Borussia Dortmund, €30 million)
For the first time in a while, Bayern Munich may find Dortmund a serious league threat. They’ve always had handfuls of top talent to go with their excellent set-up and wonderful fans but this year they’ve responded to Munich’s movements by flexing some of their own financial muscle. Mario Gotze returns, Raphael Guerreiro and Marc Bartra have been brought into the defence and teenager Ousmane Dembele chose Signal Iduna Park as his new home. On top of these they’ve brought in Andre Schurrle for €30 million. This almost feels like a luxury signing – but it’s about time Dortmund treated themselves. Schurrle is well known in Germany following spells with Leverkusen and Wolfsburg and offers very few surprises. The flip side is that he guarantees a level of performance and can fit into a number of systems. Describing the World Cup winner as a utility forward doesn’t do him justice. He might not bag you twenty goals but Schurrle will combine a boyish eagerness with years of Bundesliga experience. He strikes me as the perfect guy to have on the pitch when you’re trying to upset the giants of Munich.

6. Jeremy Menez (AC Milan to Bordeaux, undisclosed)
When will Jeremy Menez have that one big season? He got close in 2014-15 when scoring 16 goals in a fruitless Milan campaign – but he reversed any progression with a scrappy and injury hit final season. The skilful Frenchman has a succession of good goals – including this one vs. Parma – but exists awkwardly between a central striker and natural winger and his career has never really taken off. A perpetual frustration in his home country, he now finds himself back there having signed for Bordeaux. His glimpses of class remain too good to dismiss and he’ll once again start the season with a weight of expectation. Finishing 11th last time around, Bordeaux need a nudge up the league and a forward to score more than ten league goals – in an ideal world, Menez provides both. The early signs are not good but in no way Menez’s fault; he lost the top of his ear after being accidentally struck by the boot of Lorient’s Didier Ndong. Bordeaux will have to wait before seeing a return on their undisclosed fee.