Best teams of 2013

I am a bit late due to my Christmas vacation, but here comes my (very personal) top-ten list of my favourite teams of the year:

10. Atletico Mineiro: The Brazilian side won its first ever Copa Libertadores, but with their defeat to Raja Casablanca in the FIFA Club World Cup, they "only" get a 10th place in the list
9. Tahiti: Perhaps the proof that you do not need to be a winner to win fans. Tahiti fought bravely in the Confederations Cup, and the reason they are on this list is perhaps because all us average guys have always wondered how it would be to play against the rest in the world, and Tahiti did it!
8. Uruguay: After major problems in their World Cup qualification Uruguay came back with strength at the end of their World Cup campaign with important victories against Colombia, Peru and Argentina, making it to 5th place and destroying Jordan in a play-off match. Uruguay are eager to do as well as they did last time in a World Cup in Brazil...
7. Atletico Madrid: In a league that continues to be a two-team affair between Barcelona and Real Madrid it is truly refreshing that Atletico Madrid has managed to "annoy" the two giants (in the words of their coach Diego Simeone) playing good football, and also doing well in the Champions League.

6. Borussia Dormund: They were in the shadow of Bayern Munich, but made it to the Champions League final defeating many of the greats, and continue alive in the Champions League.

5. Chelsea: In an up-and-down season the London side managed to win the Europa League, and with Jose Mourinho as new coach they are still candidates for the title in a very exciting Premier League.

4. Nigeria U-17: The U-17 World Cup in the UAE was won by Nigeria, defeating Mexico's defending champions in the final 3-0. It was the fourth time they won it, and redeems their defeat to Switzerland in the 2009 final on home soil.

3. Brazil: Brazil was always going to be a candidate to win the world cup at home. However, under Mano Menezes their play had not been convincing, but this has changed under Luis Felipe Scolari, who led the side to a convincing victory in the Confederations Cup. A winner of the Confederations Cup has never won a World Cup, but Brazil may be the one to defeat this record....

2. Nigeria: A great year for Nigeria, who won the U-17 World Cup, but also took a surprising victory in the Africa Cup of Nations, and qualified convincingly to the World Cup. If anything, Nigeria has in 2013 re-taken its rightful position as one of the world's great footballing powers.

1. Bayern Munich: First under Jupp Heynckes and now under Pep Guardiola Bayern Munich has just been getting better and better, and crowned an awesome year, where they won every tournament they played in, with the title of World Champions. At the end of the year they are first in the Bundesliga and continue in the Champions League. There is no doubt that the team to be in 2014 will be Bayern Munich.

Go Tahiti!

The Confederations Cup is on! While it promises to be one of the most interesting Confederations Cup ever, the opening match between Brazil and Japan was a disappointment. Brazil did just what they had to do to defeat a poor Japanese side 3-0. While the Japanese were indeed a huge disappointment one did not have the feeling that Brazil was feeling comfortable. Neymar's first goal was spectacular, and the two other goals were efficient given that Brazil did not create that much. It will be interesting to see them against better sides, because there are surely better sides than Japan today!
Tomorrow there will be two fascinating matches: Mexico will face Italy and Spain take on Uruguay. Mexico will want to improve on their poor goal scoring record, while Italy is finally caring about the Confederations Cup. Spain is also testing some new constellations and should be hungry to win this tournament that eluded them four years ago when they were eliminated by the USA. In the meantime Uruguay will want to continue their resurgence and show they are as good as in South Africa.
But with all these fantastic teams I think and hope that the darling of all neutral football fans will be Tahiti. They will never make it to a World Cup, and their side of amateurs is living the dream of any football player who never dreamed of playing against these teams. I truly hope they do not become the walkover everyone is expecting, but can put up a fight against all these footballing giants!
Go Tahiti!

Best teams of 2012

Here is my personal list of the teams I found to be the best in 2012!

• 10) Tahiti: It was not on the big news much, but in June 2012 Tahiti won the Oceania Nations Cup. It was the first time ever this tournament was not won by Australia or New Zealand, and it will be fascinating to see the unknown Tahitians face some big nations in next year's Confederations Cup. 
• 9) Mexico Olympic team: It was a hyped London Olympic football tournament, where some of the favourites showed little. The great favourite were Brazil, but the South Americans were prevented in the final from winning their first Olympic gold ever by a better Mexican side.
• 8) USA Women's side: It is a pity that Women's football only get attention during the World Cup and Olympics. In the London Olympics the quality and drama of football undoubtedly came from the women, where the USA side ran away with gold after defeating the world champions of Japan in a great final. It was a tournament with some fantastic matches and a great winner.
• 7) Manchester City: Usually the great team in Manchester has been United. But with huge investment by wealthy Arabs Manchester City overtook their neighbours and took their first Premier League title since 1968 in a memorable match against Queens Park Rangers. They were a huge disappointment in the Champions League in the fall, where they fell in the first round, but are still second in the Premier League behind Manchester United.
• 6) Chelsea: One has to admire when Chelsea got out of some difficult months in the spring by taking the FA Cup and the Champions League title. In the fall, when things started to go sour in the Premier League and in the Champions League, they just fired Roberto Di Matteo. Things seem to have improved a little with Rafa Benitez, but it does not take away that Chelsea is as much a soap opera as a football club...
• 5) Juventus: The great Italian side won its first Serie A since 2003, and the team has been doing well in the Champions League where they were instrumental in the the elimination of the defending champions of Chelsea in the fall.
• 4) Atletico Madrid: Over the last years there have only been two clubs in Spain, but now it seems Atletico Madrid, under coach Diego Simeone, may be able to threaten the duopoly. While finishing only 5th in the League, they went on to win the Europa League, and have maintained a second spot in the league throughout the fall.
• 3) Borussia Dortmund: The German side only seems to be getting better and better. In 2012 they won the "Double" in Germany, winning the Bundesliga with most points ever won by a German champion. While they are currently trailing Bayer Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, they topped a great year by winning their Champions League group in style ahead of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax Amsterdam. 
• 2) Corinthians: Winners of the 2012 Copa Libertadores against Boca Juniors in the final, they went on to win the FIFA Club World Cup against Chelsea, the first time in five years it was not won by a  South American side.
• 1) Spain: At the Euro 2012 Spain showed that there is really no threat to their hegemony on the international football stage. This was the third major tournament they won in a row and they won it in awesome style, in spite of the criticisms (including from myself) about their style, where they have too few goals to show for their immense possession.