The fool and the superstar

Robert Lewandowski is a superstar. Rodrigo de Paul is not. The Argentine is, on the other hand, a good but highly overrated footballer. He is so immersed in his own insecurity that he completely lacks the respect that should be intrinsic in any sport. More than anything, it is just sad that manners and mutual respect are missing elements in this modern world, also in football.

The clasico in the desert

 The Spanish Super Cup final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid took place in the country that will host the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia, and thus, everyone should stop complaining, because Saudi Arabia is already host to a lot of sports-events, whether we like it or not.

Money talks, specially as these two sides faced one another, and the confrontation happened in the midst of the controversy of Dani Olmo being allowed to play for Barcelona despite some apparently creative financial juggling from FC Barcelona that many Spanish clubs are complaining about. That said, we have always known that there are other rules for these two sides who, despite all the controversy, are always good for some entertainment.

And the final was entertaining indeed. Barcelona was far far superior, but Real Madrid had Kylian Mbappe, who with his speed and quality was basically the only threat that Real Madrid had, and he proved it early on when he brought Real Madrid ahead. But that was virtually everything Real Madrid had to offer, and in particular defenders like Lucas Vasquez, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy were played around with by Barcelona's quick and excellent technicians. Young Lamine Yamal equalized for Barcelona with a brilliant strike, while Robert Lewandoski scored on a penalty committed by another poor Real Madrid player Eduardo Camavinga. By halftime the score was 4-1 for Barcelona with additional goals by Raphinha and Alejandro Balde, and when Raphinha made it 5-1 early in the second half against a Real Madrid side where Ancelotti had decided to make no changes, one thought that this could be a historical victory for Barcelona.

However, Mbappe's speed gave Real Madrid a bit of breathing space as he was taken down by the substitute Polish Barcelona goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, who was correctly shown a red card (the referee did forgive red cards for Vinicius Jr. and Camavinga nevertheless), and in the subsequent free kick Rodrygo made it 2-5.

Barcelona pulled back, and that was the end result as Real Madrid showed zero threats against a Barcelona side that dominated throughout the match. And if anyone still questions the Balon d'Or: while Vinicius Jr. was invisible throughout the match, Pedri completely dominated the midfield alongside Gavi and Pau Casado to a degree that was humiliating for Real Madrid.

I don't really care that Barcelona won, but it was entertaining to see them play so well, but one has to wonder about Real Madrid: I have always considered Carlo Ancelotti one of the best managers in the world, but in this match he seemed to have missed everything. Tchouameni and Lucas Vasquez were simply not up to the task, and he had no answers to Barcelona's midfield control. It was one of the worst displays of Real Madrid in that desert afternoon in Saudi Arabia.

Cruz Azul and other things

Yesterday was a special day, as I moved into my new apartment that will hopefully be my home in Mexico for years ahead.

Shortly after receiving the keys I went to a nearby bar that was showing the classic match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. I must admit that it has been some years since this match has excited me, but this one was special: it was 0-0 at halftime, but I expected that Barcelona’s forward defensive line would succumb to the quick Real Madrid strikers, as there were indeed close calls in the first half. But Barcelona were simply extraordinary in the second half: two goals by Robert Lewandowski, a splendid strike by Lamine Yamal (sadly marred by racist chants amid Real Madrid fans) and a great lob from Rafinha made it 0-4 and a demonstration by a resurrected Barcelona under Hansi Flick. They also destroyed Borussia Dortmund 1-4 in the Champions League and if they keep it up they are a team to beat.

Later that day I went to the Olympic University Stadium in Mexico City. The legendary stadium of the 1968 Olympics, where Bob Beamon made the second longest jump in history. Today the beautiful stadium is home ground to Pumas de UNAM, and they were facing Cruz Azul a home derby in the Mexican league. I got the tickets through Cruz Azul, so was sitting amid hardcore Cruz Azul fans behind one of the goals surrounded by copious (but largely unnecessary) riot police.

And perhaps for the best, as Cruz Azul, current leaders of the league, were by far better. It took only 27 seconds for them to go ahead on a goal by veteran striker Angel Sepúlveda, and barely 12 minutes later Uruguayan Ignacio Rivero made it 0-2. Cruz Azul then relaxed and really Pumas represented no threat in a match that all in all appeared too easy for Cruz Azul, and it ended 0-2, and I may be on the way to becoming a Cruz Azul fan, whose mascot is a piece of cement,

The mascot of Pumas is supposedly a puma, but it looks more like a cross between the lion king, Beverly Hills chihuahua and Robert Procineski. And the mascot sang karaoke love songs at half time: “nunca voy a olvidarte” (I will never forget you) seemed totally out of place as I would have wanted to forget the Puma defense after that first half….

But respect to the Goya, Pumas fanbase, who despite their team, were never silenced.

Good time with beer and chants, but I look forward to going to a match at Cruz Azul’s home ground in Mexico DF.

Lazy Sunday matches

Despite it being a lazy Sunday at home I watched too great matches. The first was the FA Cup quarterfinal between Manchester United and Liverpool. 

Liverpool have ambitious goals now in Klopp's farewell season, while Manchester United is continuing its unstable ride under Erik ten Haag. It was nevertheless United who looked the strongest as the match got going and only ten minutes into the match it was the Scotsman, Scott McTominay who scored for United. Liverpool appeared uninspired but managed to put some pressure towards the end of the first half and it was Alexis McAllister who equalised, while Mohammed Salah brought Liverpool ahead just before halftime.

It was not fully deserved for Liverpool, but they showed some spine and appeared more confidence.

But confidence does not always translate into results: Liverpool pressured but they lacked concentration, both in attack and in defense, and they slowly let United into the match; three minutes before time Antony equalised for United after a clumsy Liverpool loss in midfield, and the match had to go into an exciting extra time (not that us neutrals cared). And just as the first half of extra time was ending Harvey Elliot brought Liverpool ahead 2-3, and they seemed to be in the semifinals, but again they lost concentration: Marcus Rashford equalised and in the last minute of extra time the young Ivorian Amad Diallo scored the winner for Manchester United after a quick counterattack following a Liverpool corner; a situation that seemed unnecessary (stupidly, Diallo got a second yellow card for taking his shirt off, and will miss the semifinal, showing him as a player that needs to grow...).

Manchester United will face one of the other victors this weekend: Manchester City, Chelsea, and every neutral's favourite, Coventry City, some the Championship!

The other match I enjoyed watching was La Liga match between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona. Atletico Madrid have the best home record in the league, but today FC Barcelona played perhaps their best match of the season, and one has to wonder if Xavi's resignation at the end of the season is in place.

FC Barcelona were completely dominant the entire match, and the few chances that the Madrileans had were taken care off by a strong Marc-Andre ter-Stegen. It was the former Atletico player Joao Felix who scored the first Barcelona goal after an elegant pass from Robert Lewandowski (Joao Felix used to plat for Atletico, and I found it unfair that the fans were after him throughout the match. He did show himself as the bigger man by not celebrating his goal though).

All in all, Lewandoski showed that he still has incredible skills, and his 2-0 goal in the second half was a typical center-forward goal, but the goal in the low corner from a difficult angle. It was the young Barcelona player Fermin Lopez who scored the third for Barcelona, who seemed to be enjoying the match as they have not done lately. 

This was the Barcelona we know...

With Girona losing to Getafe, Barcelona now takes second spot int he table behind Real Madrid. That said, with an 8-point difference it seems unlikely that Barcelona can overtake Real Madrid. That said, this result is a warning regarding their coming matches, in particular against PSG in the Champions League.

 

Barcelona's first title under Xavi

The ex-footballer and Barcelona manager Xavi has taken time to build a competitive side, but being who he is and knowing the club, he has proceeded to build a team that will surely win titles, and today they won their first title in Saudi Arabia: the Spanish Super-Cup. The tournament has become a money-making machine, with the runners-up to the League and Copa del Rey participating in a mini tournament that nevertheless, to the joy of the people putting the money into the tournament, saw Barcelona face the giants of Real Madrid.

Although Real Madrid had some good initial chances, their midfield stars of Modric and Toni Kroos were simply not functioning, while FC Barcelona dominated the match after their initial lead by Gavi.

And it was indeed the 18-year old Gavi who was the star of the match, running around Carvajal in the Real Madrid defense. He made the pass for Lewandowski easily to make it 2-0, while he was also the creator of the third goal by Pedri. Karim Benzema's goal for the Real Madrid in the dying minutes meant nothing as Xavi took his first title, and is also in the lead of the Spanish League.

One of the great things Xavi has done is not only to find the right tactics for difficult matches, but has also empowered young players, not only Gavi, but also Alejandro Balde, who played a great match in defense, alongside the two newcomers Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé. And finallly, players that were rumoured on their way out, such as Ousmane Dembele and Frankie de Jong, have renewed confidence to show their incredible talent.

Xavi's first title appears not to be the last, and under him Barcelona may be on the way to another glorious era.

Down with COVID

 As many players go down with COVID, so did I. Disappointingly, as I feel I have gone to extraordinary lengths to not approach people.

Many games in the English Premier League were cancelled due to players with COVID. Not so Manchester City-Chelsea although both teams had players down with COVID, for Chelsea notably defender Andreas Christensen (who may be on the way to Barcelona). But Manchester City were clearly a better side, despite their narrow 1-0 victory on a magnificent strike by Kevin de Bruyne. After the victory Manchester City are 13 points clear of Chelsea on first place, and look like a very safe bet for English champions.

A team that was not down with COVID, but might as well have been was Ghana. The Black Stars had been poor against Gabon, when they hardly showed any attacking prowess, but against the Comoros the Ghana side also showed poor defending, and despite an almost comeback when being down 0-2, they ended up losing 2-3 and a disgraceful exit for Ghana from the AFCON. But at the same time one must congratulate Comoros who took their first victory in their first Africa Cup of Nations (and may at the time of writing have the option of going through as a best third-placed team).

Someone who does not have COVID is Robert Lewandowski, who just won the FIFA Best Player of the Year award, congratulations to him, although in my view some other players were better. That said, I completely agree that Alexia Putellas and Edouard Mendy were the best female player and goalkeeper respectively.

I will be unable to watch football as I have been asked to completely isolate for 12 days. This means that my TV room is a no-go area, as I imprisoned in just two rooms. This is just another downer of this stupid disease.

 

Top Ten Footballers 2021

It has not been an easy year to choose favourite footballers; there have been many great players, but also quite varying levels in what has been a long year, with many tournaments and that are hard on the physical and psychological aspects for players. This is my personal list of ten players that have caused an impression on me this year.

10) Lionel Messi: I was close to not putting Messi on the list. That said, he ended a dreadful 2020-21 season for Barcelona as the top-scorer in Spain, and a Copa del Rey. The soap opera of his change to PSG is hardly worth writing about, and the team has not yet been impressive. That said, Messi's great achievement is the Copa America title, where he was finally the experienced leader that Argentina has needed, in a team where he is well-integrated and the entire team is benefiting from his incredible skills.

9) Erling Haaland: One has to be careful about hailing new young stars, but Borussia Dortmund's Haaland was surely on fire, in particular in the first half of the year, when he was averaging two goals per match and reached his 20th Champions League in only 14 matches. He has stayed in Dortmund throughout the year, continuing scoring goals (he remains topscorer in the Bundesliga) at the end of the year, despite interest from all the big clubs. With Norway he missed World Cup qualification, but it will be interesting to follow him next year.

8) Mohammed Salah: Premier League is the best league in the world, and although Liverpool did not win titles in 2021, their performance has been impressive, and at the end of 2021 they remain contenders for the Premier League title with the great Egyptian as top-scorer with 15 goals, and well on his way to get the title of top-scorer that he lost to Harry Kane in the 2020-21 season. He only scored one goal for Egypt in 2021, but is heading to the Africa Cup of Nations and perhaps the World Cup in 2022.

7) Romelu Lukaku: The great Belgian won the Serie A with Inter Milan with himself as their leading goalscorer (but behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the Serie A). His change to Chelsea for the new season has been more mixed as he reintegrates into the Premier League. With Belgium he was also their main attacking threat, although Belgium disappointed in both the European Championships and the Nations League by not making it (yet again) to their full potential. But Lukaku remains a great players and a gentleman of the game.

6) Marquinhos: A bit of a strange year for Brazil's and PSG's Marquinhos because he did not win many of the titles that seemed at his grasp: with PSG they lost the French league to Lille and lost the Champions League semifinals to Manchester City. With Brazil, Marquinhos lost the Copa America final. That said, throughout the year Marquinhos has been a solid defender who is also a goal-threat with his potential headers.

5) Robert Lewandowski: The great Polish player of Bayern Munich is probably the best striker in the world, and according to Leo Messi himself, when receiving the Balon d'Or, was the rightful winner in 2020. Winning the 2020-21 Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, he scored an incredible 41 goals, the most ever in a season, and beating the record of legendary Gerd Muller. On the Polish national team he remains the leading goalscorer, and although Poland did not impress, he became the first Pole to score in three consecutive European Championships when he scored against Spain in June.

4) Edouard Mendy: There has been a lot of talk about goalkeepers this year; Gianluigi Donnarumma was named best player of the European Championship, and there have been impressive goalkeepers all-round (Emiliano Martinez, Kasper Schmeichel, Keylor Navas), but I think that Edouard Mendy has been the best of them all, being impressive in the European Champions League winners of Chelsea (and the first African goalkeeper in a CL final), and playing a crucial role in both Chelsea's and Senegal's strong defensive record.

3) Ngolo Kante: N'golo Kanté is one of the greatest players in the world, and alongside Jorginho make up an awesome midfield duo at Chelsea, that greatly contributed to the rise of the Londoners throughout the year, and their Champions League title. Kanté runs, tackles and intercepts throughout a match, and was also a key player for France's Nations League winners (despite the disappointment at losing out to Switzerland at the European Championships). Besides his outstanding qualities as a footballer, Kanté also displays one of the rare traits among footballers as being a humble man.

2) Alexia Putellas: I did not know Ms. Putella until this year, when I saw her shine in FC Barcelona's Champions League triumph against Chelsea. She crowned a fantastic season with Barcelona (where she also won the league) with almost-certain qualification for the 2023 World Cup, and is undoubtedly the best female footballer in the world right now, as well as certainly one of the best footballers overall in the world.

1) Jorginho: A fantastic year for a fantastic player who is perhaps the best in the world at the moment (just scoring goals is usually what gets all the credits, but versatile players like Jorginho do all the work on a pitch). He was the ever-working player in the Italian European champions midfield, and was the player who most ran in the tournament, recoveries, passes and interception. Surely having Jorginho on the team was like having an extra player, but also an intelligent player who is able to lead the team. And it was not only for Italy that Jorginho was impressive, but he was also key in Chelsea's Champions League triumph, and as Chelsea continues competing for the Premier and Champions League titles.

Sweden and Spain through

 Sweden without Ibrahimovic is a solid albeit not entertaining team, and they have shown it by winning Group E ahead of Spain, and in the last match against Poland in a dramatic way. Poland had to win to make it through, but went down 0-2 on two goals by Emil Forsberg before making a heroic comeback through two goals by the great Robert Lewandowski and the hope of a victory, but in injury time Viktor Claessen scored the winner for Sweden that put them in the first spot ahead of Spain. 

Spain had been hoping to take the first spot when cruising over Slovakia by a 5-0 victory. Spain finally managed to show some efficiency in front of goal, although it was against a Slovakian team that showed one of the poorest performances in the tournament, and they deserve to be out.

Sweden will be facing Ukraine in the last-16, while Spain will be going to Copenhagen to face Croatia. Sweden will be big favourites against the Ukranians, who just made it through on a third place, while Spain and Croatia will surely be a clash between two teams that have yet to show their best sides.

Looking forward to a great final!

Olympique Lyon started the match well, and it could indeed have been a fantastic match against Bayern Munich, had it not been for the French side's inefficiency and the German side's efficiency. After Serge Gnabry had made it 0-2 for the Germans, the match was largely over, although one must commend Lyon's continued but feeble attempts at turning it around (Barcelona could learn something). But Bayern Munich were simply way too good, and in the second half appeared to even shift down a gear, even after Lewandowski made it 3-0.
Bayern Munich nevertheless has some weaknesses that Lyon saw in the initial minutes: a forward defense that can be outrun by fast strikers (very fast, as none of the Bayern defenders are particularly slow), which Paris St. Germain certainly has.
Something both Bayern Munich and Paris St. Germain showed in each of their semifinals that they will punish mistakes; this cost dearly to both Leipzig and Lyon, and shows that they both have to be fully concentrated throughout the match.
With these two teams this looks to be one of the most memorable finals of all time in a tournament that given all these COVID-19 circumstances has been and will remain, one of the most memorable Champions League seasons ever. I regret that I will have to watch the final alone, in my house, without even the possibility of finding a good pub to watch it; but I will try to make the best out of it of a final that I have huge expectations about!

Top Ten Best Players of 2016

On this last day of 2016, as we all reflect on the past year and the challenges of the coming, it is nice to dwell on football. It has not been a great year, but despite it all, the world football family sticks together.
The following is a list of my favourite 10 players of 2016. As with the list of best teams, it is a subjective list, but also influenced by what I have seen and read throughout the year.
10) Kevin De Bruyne: For a long time De Bruyne has been a talented player but has become better and better. Manchester City increasingly depends on his great skills, and are clearly weaker when he is injured (which he is too often). He was a bit weaker for Belgium at the Euro 2016, but at his best age he seems destined to better things.
9) Lionel Messi: Messi has already made his mark on a footballing generation, and he has become the undisputed leader of FC Barcelona. That said, the Catalan team is in transition, and if anything, they seem to depend too much on their "Holy Trinity" of Messi, Neymar and Suarez. At the national team level it was another bad year for Messi, who first quit the national team after losing the Copa America final, only to return a couple of months later. A weak Argentina side, who may not make it to the World Cup, depends on Messi at least as much as Barcelona does.
8) Alexis Sanchez: Arsenal is an excellent side that does not exude confidence. And what makes them even better is the fantastic Chilean, who is considered crucial in Arsenals' adventures in the Premier League and Champions League. Also on the Chilean national team he was crucial when the Chileans won their second Copa America title.
7) Antoine Griezmann: 2016 was perhaps a year Griezmann would rather forget as he lost both the Champions League and Euro 2016 final (and even missed a penalty in the Champions League final. But there was no denying that he was crucial in Atletico Madrid's 2015-16 season and their making the Champions League final and became the center of France's attack at the 2016 Euro. 
6) Robert Lewandowski: In another era Lewandowski would probably be considered the best striker in the world. He was the top scorer of an awesome Bayern Munich Bundesliga champion side, among other scoring 5 goals in the space of 9 minutes against Wolfburg. Although he was not as prolific with Poland in the 2016 Euro, his skills are super important for Poland. In October I went to see the Poland-Denmark World Cup qualifier, where a superb Lewandowski was the difference between two mediocre sides.
5) Riyad Mahrez: Already in 2015 Mahrez, who until then had been relatively unknown, became a star in the rising Leicester side. With Leicester's title Mahrez became a super star, also named Premier League Player of the year. He was sought out by many big clubs but stayed in Leicester, where he has been central in the Champions League campaign. Mahrez is also a crucial player in Algeria's national team who must be considered on of the favourites at the coming Africa Cup of Nations.
4) Neymar: Neymar is an important part of FC Barcelona's "Holy Trinity", and must be considered the best Brazilian player in the world, which automatically makes him one of the best in the world. In 2016 he also became crucial in Brazil's revived national team under Tite, underlined by their extraordinary 3-0 victory in a World Cup qualifier over Argentina, where Neymar outshined his teammate Messi. To top it off he was also part of Brazil's Olympic Gold winners.
3) N'golo Kante: Kante is the kind of player that tends to be forgotten, but is crucial for any team. He may not score the goals but works tirelessly. For Leicesters' Premier League winners he was the engine of the midfield, and after changing to Chelsea, he has become the midfield engine of a team that is leading the Premier League at the end of the year. It is not unlikely that Kante will win the Premier League for the second time in a row, and he has been a hugely important player in both teams.
2) Luis Suarez: Luis Suarez has continued growing as a player and in 2016 he has not only been a prolific goalscoring machine for FC Barcelona, but also an important team-player. He continues to be the type of player that gives all he has for his team, and the fact that he is not as temperamental as he used to be has only made him better. In my view the best striker in the world.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo: There is no way around it, as I think that Cristiano Ronaldo has this year really shown himself not just as a great player, but also as a great teammate and leader. His skills are unquestionable, and despite his occasional outbursts of arrogance (most of all in the Euro 2016 when they managed to tie Iceland), he has been a crucial leader in Real Madrid's Champions League winning side, and not least in Portugal's Euro winners where, despite being injured during the final, his sideline leadership was crucial in pushing the team to the title. A true great player in 2016.

Others who I almost got into this list: Dimitri Payet, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang, Gareth Bale, Paul Pogba, Pepe and Diego Godin.

Let me wish everyone Happy New Year!

Poland-Denmark

I was in Warsaw and went to watch the 2018 World Cup qualifier between Poland and Denmark. Second match for both teams, where Denmark had opened with a 1-0 victory over Armenia and Poland had played 2-2 at home against Kasakhstan.

The atmosphere was great at the beautiful stadium in Warsaw (where they played the 2012 Euro final) and Polish fans were really behind their team. And in the first half they swept Denmark aside, leading 2-0 on goals by the fantastic Robert Lewandowski. Early in the second half Lewandowski made it 3-0 before Denmark scored two silly goals as Poland drew back, and let the Danes into the match, it became unnecessarily tense for the home side.

In the end Poland and Lewandowski prevailed to give them their first victory in the World Cup qualifiers, and us consolation hugs from Polish fans!

That said, if these are supposed to be the two top teams in the group, they have to do much better. Denmark lacks fantasy amid a lot of possession and Poland lack a defense that will not make you nervous. In the meantime Montenegro and Romania have become the teams to be beaten in this group (they both won 5-0 against Armenia and Kasakhstan respectively, teams Denmark and Poland struggled against).

Epic

The Champions League last-16 match between Bayern Munich and Juventus was epic. Both teams showed that the Champions League will be much poorer without one of them, and that both teams, besides superior technical and tactical skills, have stamina and will.
Juventus were splendid as they went ahead 0-2 (just as Bayern had done in Turin, before Juventus equalized), and particularly the second goal, with Morata's run and Cuadrado's cool finish, was fantastic.
But 0-2 down, Bayern Munich are still never beaten, and it took two headers by Lewandowski and Muller, in the last minute of the match, to take the match into extra time.
While cruel indeed to the Italians, it remained an admirable comeback by the Germans.
In extra time the changes of Pep Guardiola made the difference, Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman (who is on loan from Juventus) made it 4-2 and put Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
It was the kind of matches that made my day; made my week in my boring life!

Top 10 Best Players of 2015

This is my top 10 list of my favourite players of 2015. While making the list I was increasingly annoyed that these lists are getting too similar as best players play in the best clubs, reinforcing that the impression of players being better and better. The best example of this is undoubtedly the amazing trio of Barcelona, Messi-Suarez-Neymar, who not only are incredible to look at as they take apart defenses, but also make a strong Barcelona side stronger. So I am not going to hide that this list is subjective:

10) Cristiano Ronaldo: Surely an amazing football player; speed, skills, technique. The problem that I do not rate him as highly as other lists may do, is that he in my view continues to be less a team player than he should be. It all circles around him, and when it does in a weaker side, like the Portuguese national team, he does not carry the team on his shoulders. That said, an incredible player.
9) Zlatan Ibrahimovic: a top player and an individualist that also expects the team to play for him. He has been strong in Paris St. Germain, but more so in carrying, almost single-handedly, his native Sweden to the European Championships.
8) David Alaba: Although he was injured part of the year, he continues to amaze as one of the strongest all-round players in the world. He has been used in almost every position in Bayern Munich under Guardiola, playing normally defender, but showing his immense quality. The fact that he captains an Austrian national team that sailed its way to the European Championship.
7) Paul Pogba: He has only grown as a player this year both for Juventus and for the French national team (although automatically qualified for the European Championships, the French have not been overly under pressure).
6) Luka Modric: Although Real Madrid has struggled towards the end of the year, the absence of Luka Modric due to injury showed that they were missing one of their most important players for part of the year. Modric is not also core of the Real Madrid team, but also of the Croatian national team.
5) Thomas Muller: for a long time he has been one of the best, if not the best, in the world. Surely he is one the best all-round players with both creative, defensive and scoring abilities, both on the Bayern Munich side as well as on the German World Champions. Both teams continue to be among the best in the world, with Muller as one of the pillars.
4) Neymar: Has really grown as a footballer in 2015 as part of Barcelona's terrific attacking force, where he has also shown himself as a good team players, notwithstanding his amazing technique. It continues to be very annoying that he has too much temper, as he showed in the Copa America, and also dives and cries too much whenever someone touches him.

3) Robert Lewandovski: The Polish striker has been amazing this season. Who can forget his five goals against Wolfburg? But not only that, he has scored goals in the Bundesliga and Champions League for Bayern Munich, as well as for Poland, leading them to the European Championships.
2) Lionel Messi: Undoubtedly the Argentine continues to be amazing despite a period of injury where the Barcelona side did great anyway. That said, he continues to be unable to shine as brightly on the Argentine national team that only made it to the final of the Copa America, and has started World Cup qualifiers with terible results.
1) Ivan Rakitic: Rakitic is more often than not overseen on a team with Messi, Neymar and Suarez. But among these superstars anyone should be able to see that Rakitic is the one putting up the hard all-round work that keeps the team glued together. He is perhaps the best example of a modern all round player in 2015, both on Barcelona and on the Croatian national team.

Not an easy list! Other players I considered for the list: Andres Iniesta, Sergio Aguero, Manuel Neuer, Alexis Sanchez, Claudio Bravo, Arjen Robben, Diego Godin, Arturo Vidal, Angel DiMaria, Tibaut Courtois, Carly Lloyd and Luis Suarez.

Bundesliga-La Liga 8-1

Many people have been hoping for a Real Madrid-Barcelona CL final, but it seems that they will be wishing again. Last night Bayern Munich destroyed FC Barcelona, and today Borussia Dortmund was again superior to Real Madrid (they defeated them in the first round of this very same tournament) winning a resounding 4-1 victory against the Spaniards on a night when Robert Lewandowski became the first player ever to score four goals against Real Madrid in a European match. At times it seemed Dortmund could have made more goals, and Real Madrid was only saved by goalkeeper Diego Lopez and a huge defensive mistake by Mats Hummels that gave Cristiano Ronaldo a free chance to score.
Otherwise, it was a complete debacle for Real Madrid, and it would seem that the final in Wembley could be a Bundesliga final!
And that would be fantastic!