Unpredictable quarterfinals

The first round of the 2015-16 quarterfinals is over, and with fantastic games and close results, the second round is all but impossible to predict:

• Atletico Madrid-Barcelona: Barcelona won 2-1 at home after some help from the referee when he threw out an admittedly over-eager Fernando Torres. But the way FC Barcelona have looked in the last two matches, nothing is certain as they go away to Madrid. Atletico Madrid are tactically astute, physically strong and strong enough to get the needed 1-0 home victory. It will be a thrilling encounter
• Benfica-Bayern Munich: The South Germans looked to be opening the floodgates as they went ahead 1-0 in the first minute, but that was in fact the final result of the match. 1-0 at home is never certain before you go to Portugal, and be reminded that another Portuguese team, Porto, defeated Bayern 3-1 in Portugal in last year's quarterfinal. Bayern Munich then went on to win 6-1 at home, but that option is no longer available. 
• Manchester City-Paris Saint Germain: 2-2 was a great result to get home from Paris for Manchester City after a match where both teams made awful defensive errors. Both teams have great striking power as well, so that combination is sure to be impossible to predict before the next match in Manchester. It will be a drama and fantastic match.
• Real Madrid-Wolfsburg: As Spanish teams so often do, they underestimate the Germans, and are punished for it. Wolfsburg shocked an arrogant and uncharming Real Madrid side (where Marcelo is a disgrace for his blatant kicking, headbutting and acting, all in one play) by winning 2-0 at home. Real Madrid are thus against the wall as they play at home, and will have to attack with everything they have, which is bound to be interesting. At the same time, they must not underestimate a Wolfsburg side that is so strong on counter-attack.

I am already counting down for next weeks matches, and every minute moves as slow as the last five minutes of a final you are winning 1-0....

Millionaire transfers!

By the amounts some of the Premier League clubs have been spending in this transfer window one would never guess that there is an economic crisis going on! One year ago, the clubs spent 29 Mio pounds in the transfer window, something that couldn't even pay for what Chelsea paid for Fernando Torres! All in all, Premier League clubs have spent more than 200 Mio Pounds!
Chelsea, who seems to be living off Mr. Abramovich' billions to get out of its current slump, beat all Premier League record by the signing of Fernando Torres, who seemed to be in need of a transfer from Liverpool. Still, I personally do not think Mr. Torres is worth such amounts! Sunday's Chelsea-Liverpool match in the Premier League, where Torres is set to get his debut!
Liverpool has also been out spending money on two very interesting signings who will arrive at the struggling Anfield side with great expectations: Ajax' outstanding (and some places infamous) Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, and the hugely talented and controversial young Newcastle striker Andy Carroll. What Liverpool paid for Mr. Carrol makes him the most expensive English player ever, thus sealing another record.
Amid Liverpool's and Chelsea's spending, many people may have overlooked one of the most interesting transfers, namely Manchester City's signing of Wolfsburg's outstanding Bosnian player Edin Dzeko. Dzeko was surely one of the best players in the world during his time in Wolfsburg, perhaps overlooked by him being from a small country and in an overlooked cup. Still, he was part of one of the most goal-scoring teams in the Bundesliga and was instrumental in leading them to their first Bundesliga title in 2009. Dzeko will be hugely interesting to follow under Roberto Mancini in Manchester City!

Impressive

Last night's Champions League last round of the group stages saw some very impressive performances (for good and for bad):
1) Bayern Munich had their back against the wall in what would normally seem a very difficult away game against Juventus, where the Germans needed a victory. Initially, they went down 1-0 on a goal by David Trezeguet, and it all seemed lost; but Bayern Munich never gives up, and on an impressive comeback they scored 4 goals by goalkeeper Butt, Ivica Olic, Mario Gomes and Tymoschuk, to give Juventus a historic ass-kicking. Any team should be nervous about drawing Bayern Munich in the next round.
2) I have always been a Michael Owen fan since his 1998 World Cup, and was happy and impressed to play overwhelmingly well and score three goals in Manchester United's away victory 3-1 against Wolfsburg.
3) Cristiano Ronaldo had an off-day in the Spanish league last weekend, getting a red card and missing a penalty. He certainly showed them today against Olympique Marseille, where Real Madrid got a difficult away victory of 3-1, and Cristiano Ronaldo was man of the match and scored on an incredible free kick.
4) Atlético Madrid has had a lousy CL season, and although they had no chance at home against FC Porto, their 0-3 defeat at home was still pathetic, and although Atlético Madrid is to play the Europa League, one has the feeling that they will be easy prey there as well.

European travels

I have been travelling around in Europe for a month, and although with the break, there wasn't much football on my busy programme, I did nevertheless notice some things:
-I was in Barcelona when R.D. Espanyol inaugurated their new stadium by winning a 3-0 victory against Liverpool. I have always felt some sympathy for Español for being the "little guys" in Barcelona, and was happy to see them play well. But it was nevertheless truly sad to hear, barely a week later, that Español's captain, Dani Jarque, passed away due to heart failure during a training session in Italy.
-R.I.P.
-While in Barcelona, I also watched FC Barcelona's trianing match against L.A. Galaxy. Barcelona was far superior, presaging a strong next season, although the victory of 2-1 was arguably too small.
-Great free-kick goal by Beckham! Good that he will be back among the stars in Europe, where he belongs!
-And the Ibrahimovic fever has set in in Barcelona, although the Swedish striker has yet to play a match; his shirt can already be purchased everywhere in the Catalonian city. It will indeed be interesting to see how he unfolds in Barcelona!
-I was also in Austria, a country whose football history I still know very little about. I was only in Vienna, and seeing signs of the two city clubs, Austria and Rapid Vienna, I had to find out about their status, only to find out that Red Bull Salzburg won the league last season. While there, Salzburg in fact qualified to the final qualification round of the Champions League after defeating Dynamo Zagreb 1-2, while Austria Vienna continued to the next round of the Europe League qualification, after defeating Vojdovina 4-2.
-Salzburg is up against Maccabi Haifa FC in the next round.
-I was in Berlin as the Bundesliga season 2009-2010 got underway. The locals of Hertha Berlin, who are still hoping to bring a title to the capital, defeated Hannover 1-0 in the season debut, while defending champions of Wolfburg defeated Stuttgart 2-0.

It was a great trip, but now I am also looking forward to all leagues getting underway for the next season!

Wolfburg champions

This weekend Wolfburg won their first ever Bundesliga title after an impressive 5-1 victory against the UEFA Cup finalists from Werder Bremen. Under Felix Magath, the team has grown, and it is a pity that he will be leaving for Schalke 04 for the next season. It will be interesting to see how Wolfburg will do without Mr. Magath, but also how they will do in next seasons' Champions League, where German teams have not done well lately.
In any case, until then, congratulations to all Wolfburg fans!

The bundesliga

I follow the German Bundesliga superficially; I always have. This season the Bundesliga is more exciting than ever; differenly from all other European leagues, that seem pretty set or just a petty fight between two, or max three, teams, the German league is a contest where many teams have a shot at the title with only three matches left!
This season's sensation, Vfl Wolfburg is still top of the league with 60 points, and may still win their first title ever under Felix Magath. However, the defending champions, the southern German giants of Bayern Munich, in spite of a poor season (where coach Jurgen Klinsmann was recently fired), are second, with 60 points as well, and looking to put pressure on Wolfburg. And putting pressure on these two teams, are Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart, on third and fourth place, with 59 and 58 points respectively, and thus with a good chance of taking the title as well. For Hertha Berlin, the major team from the capital, it would be great to take the German title they have never taken since the 1930s. VfB Stuttgart won the title in 2007, and is eager to win it again.
Finally, Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV have 55 point each, and also a chance of taking the title (although I must add, that as I write this, HSV has one match less, and thus, potentially 58 points. HSV is playing against Werder Bremen, and will surely want revenge after being denied the UEFA cup final spot last weekend when losing 2-3 at home!).
There are some exciting matches in the last three rounds: Wolfsburg-Dortmund and Bayern Munich-VfB Stuttgart. The two top teams are the ones with two home matches, while Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart has two away matches, while Hamburger SV also has two (on paper easy) matches at home, and one away.

In any case, the Bundesliga is currently the most exciting league in Europe, and is probably only going to be decided in the last round, and be sure that all the teams will do their utmost to get the title!