December review
Champions League
The group stage has seen shock exits for Man U & Man City. When United were at their peak, teams from the smaller European leagues like Benfica & Basle would have been swept aside by a comfortable margin at Old Trafford. This season, two home draws against those teams cost them. Man City had a much tougher group, & couldn’t get the better of Bayern & Napoli.
Pundits like Keane & Southgate, in a snap reaction after Man U’s exit, talked of a team in transition. I thought it was premature at the time, & so it’s proved, with them now level on points with City at the top of the Prem. It looks like the title race will go all the way, so far United are coping with the injuries to the likes of Vidic & Jones. However, to go from UCL runners-up to a group stage exit in a year, is still a disaster for them.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have underlined their status as favourites again, with a crushing 4-0 win over Santos in the World Club Cup as well as beating Real 3-1 at the Bernabeu in La Liga.
The draw for the Europa League will have given further ammunition to the conspiracy theorists who believe Platini has an anti-English basis. The draws for Man U & City of Ajax & Porto respectively, are the toughest possible ties.
One of the greats of Braziilan football died last month. Socrates played in two world cups; & the 1982 side of Zico, Falcao, Junior, Eder, is widely thought of as one of the best teams not to have the won the World Cup.
Perfomance of the Year
Novak Djokovic. He went on a 41 match win streak this year, & won three of the four Slams, as well as a setting a new record of five Masters titles in a season. Although his season tailed off slightly with a back injury taking its toll (two retirements) & he finished with a 70-6 win loss record, it was still a standout performance.
Honourable mentions for Cadel Evans, Mark Cavendish, the All Blacks & the England cricket team.
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