The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 24 May 2013 04:47 PM PDT MAY 25 ― As the English Premier League came to an end last Sunday, the Spurs fan in me simply couldn't help but feel disappointed at missing out on a Champions League place for next season. We did our part by beating Sunderland 1-0, thanks to another brilliant goal by multiple player of the year award winner Gareth Bale, but our rival for fourth place, Arsenal also did their part by winning against Newcastle. And since Champions League qualification is no longer in our hands, credit must go to Arsenal for taking their chance and securing a Champions League place next season. Having been a Spurs fan since I was in primary school, sometimes I forget how rarely this feeling of "success" and increased expectations occur in the life of a Spurs fan. I forget that it's only in the last five seasons or so that we've somehow managed to be consistently there or thereabouts in the Europa League and Champions League places, thereby creating this increased expectation of nowadays wanting to finish in the top four every season. I forget that before five years ago, before our adventures in Europe against giants like Inter Milan and Real Madrid, the best that we could hope for is an extended run in one of the cups to compensate for the non-excitement of being a mediocre mid-table side. Our glory days in the 1960s were long gone, and as a Spurs fan who's not yet a senior citizen, those glory days weren't even a memory for me. It's okay to have increased expectations though, because that just means that we've started to acquire (or re-acquire) that winning mentality as a result of our club and team steadily progressing to become better and better as the years roll on. But sometimes it's good to have a little perspective. I know there are many Spurs fans out there who regard finishing fifth this season as some sort of "failure", but I think that's only the case if we think in terms of "what-ifs" or "what could have been." In reality, I think this season is quite a success, considering the things we had to deal with. First and foremost, most people forget that this is a season of transition for Spurs, as we had to acclimatise to a new manager in Andre Villas-Boas, which also means that the players will have to learn and adapt to new systems of play and training. We may have finished fourth last season, but a new manager (especially one so young, modern and tactical like Villas-Boas) means a fresh new start, and we all know how bad that can turn out in some cases (like it did with Villas-Boas and Chelsea in his last job). Secondly, we sold not one, but two creative midfield forces in the team in Luka Modric and Rafael Van Der Vaart, and to be honest, we didn't even come close to replacing them with like-minded players. We may have brought in three central midfielders, but Moussa Dembele is more of a box-to-box midfield powerhouse instead of a playmaker and both Clint Dempsey and Gylfi Sigurdsson are goal-poaching attacking midfielders instead of the much needed playmaker. It just shows how tactically sound Villas-Boas is that even when having to make do without a playmaker (which is the way we've played in the last five years), he's come up with the rather nifty idea of having two box-to-box midfield powerhouses bossing the midfield (in the form of Sandro and Dembele), breaking up play and quickly launching attacks when possession is won. Our quite brilliant form in the first half of the season, with Sandro and Dembele sweeping all before them (even winning away against champions Manchester United at Old Trafford) is living proof of the effectiveness of this tactical mutation, which was however cruelly cut short as Sandro got injured and had to miss the rest of the season and we simply had no back-up for the kind of energy he provides on our bench. A fading Scott Parker, who's also just recovering from injury, was simply no substitute. And it's on the bench that even a larger perspective is needed as we evaluate our season. We may have a first team that can beat anyone on their day, but as the loss of Sandro proved, and later on the loss of Aaron Lennon and Benoit Assou Ekotto to injury later illustrates, we're quite obviously lacking in quality cover for many positions. And when you factor in the fact that we're also taking the Europa League seriously, the increased number of games and the light bench is not an ideal position to be in, especially when we've let out on loan such impressive young talents like Andros Townsend (one of the few bright lights of the latter part of Queens Park Rangers' season) and Danny Rose. The issue of not having enough first-class strikers is another. Complaining about our failure to sign a striker during the January transfer window, when the horribly off-form Emmanuel Adebayor was away for the African Nations Cup leaving only the regularly injured and inconsistent Jermaine Defoe as our only senior striker, was foolish indeed. Wherever the blame might lay for making these less than conducive decisions (or letting them happen), the fact is that we've finished the season with our highest points total ever in the Premier League era, which would've been enough to finish third or fourth in previous seasons. To do so in a season of transition and with all the aforementioned handicaps, I think we did more than good. And judging from the players' faces and body language at the end of the final match of the season, and despite the disappointment of having missed out on Champions League football next season, I think they think so too. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist | |
| Bayern, Borussia could provide classic Posted: 24 May 2013 04:42 PM PDT
MAY 25 ― I don't want to set expectations too high, but tonight's Champions League Final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich could be a real classic. Cup finals are often disappointing affairs, with teams frequently primarily focussed on avoiding mistakes and trying to ensure they don't lose rather than being positive and looking for goals. Considering the nature of the tonight's two teams, however, I don't see that happening on this occasion. A common cause of negativity comes when the inferior team decides their chances will be maximised if they adopt a defensive approach, handing the initiative to their supposed superiors and restricting their goal-getting ambitions to the occasional counter-attack ― the 2010 World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands was a classic example. The underdogs tonight, however, are Borussia Dortmund, and a negative approach just isn't part of their make-up. Under the management of the irrepressibly exuberant Jurgen Klopp ― surely one of the most likeable men in football ― Dortmund are a whirlwind of controlled energy, always looking to dictate the flow of the game and always on the attack. I just cannot envisage a team managed by Klopp sitting back and playing for 0-0 or 1-0. Dortmund's positive mentality was illustrated in their semi-final second leg against Real Madrid. Even though they held a 4-1 advantage from the first game, they still demonstrated plenty of attacking intent at the Bernabeu and created a number of good chances which should have allowed them to make the tie a lot more comfortable than it eventually was. I expect them to take the game to Bayern as much as possible. The big team news ahead of tonight's game is the absence of Dortmund's gifted playmaker Mario Gotze due to the hamstring injury he suffered at the Bernabeu. In one sense, it's a great shame that Klopp's team will be without their most influential creative force. However, it's an unusually complex situation because Gotze has agreed to join Bayern, of all teams, in the summer, meaning that if he played he would be attempting to deny his future employers the most important trophy they can compete for. In that scenario, I think it's for the best that Gotze is not playing. If he had, and Bayern won, there would always been the suspicion ― however unfair ― that Gotze had eased up and played within himself in order to give his new club an advantage over the team he is leaving. His absence makes the game much "cleaner". Dortmund have good enough players to overcome the loss of Gotze. Ilkay Gundogan is a wonderfully composed talent in midfield, and winger Marco Reus ― who may take over Gotze's playmaking duties in a more central position ― has more than a touch of genius, while the hard-working style of captain Jakub Blaszczykowski provides excellent balance on the right wing. Their key player, however, is Robert Lewandowski, another man who is reportedly close to joining Bayern. The Polish striker has scored 22 goals since the start of the calendar year and produced one of the best centre forward performances you could ever see by firing home four in the semi-final first leg against Madrid. But even though Dortmund are a magnificent team, they are rightly considered underdogs because Bayern are phenomenally strong. I was fortunate enough to be at the Nou Camp for the second leg of their semi-final 7-0 thrashing of Barcelona and they were mightily impressive. Jupp Heynckes' team don't have any easily discernible weaknesses: they perform as a coherent unit all over the pitch, are strong in defence, creative in midfield and fast in attack. Bayern's most important attacking players are the wingers, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, who provide an abundance of trickery, pace and penetration. The hold-up play of Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic is exceptional, and Thomas Muller, who plays in the space behind Mandzukic, is a real dynamo, with endless energy but also plenty of quality on the ball. Perhaps the key area for deciding the outcome, however, will be in the trenches of the centre of midfield, and here Bayern have a distinct advantage thanks to the formidable pairing of Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Against Barcelona that duo completely dominated the central areas, with a combination of astute, simple passing, disciplined positional play, determined pressing of their opponents and dogged tackling. They complement each other perfectly, and if they can establish control over the centre of the pitch it could give Bayern the springboard for success. Another factor in Bayern's favour is their awesome strength in depth. If things are going against them, Heynckes can turn to a dazzling array of talent to turn the direction of the game, including Mario Gomez, Xherdan Shaqiri and Luiz Gustavo. Dortmund just don't have the same options from the bench. I expect Bayern to win, but I wouldn't be surprised if Dortmund shock them. Either way, they are both excellent and admirable teams, so football should be the winner. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist |
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