New Managers in Real Madrid and Brazil

It was a change foretold: Xabi Alonso, the former Real Sociedad, Liverpool and Real Madrid successful manager of Bayer Leverkusen was going to manage Real Madrid one day. After Carlo Ancelotti's meager season that appears to end with no titles, Xabi Alonso will now try to bring the unlikely success he brought to Leverkusen (giving them their first Bundesliga title ever), to Real Madrid.

Despite the poor season Carlo Ancelotti leaves Madrid with three Champions League titles in his two stints as Real Madrid manager, as well as two league titles, a Copa del Rey and a Club World Cup title since his second stint started in 2021. 

While Ancelotti is surely one of the most successful managers in the world, he is taking on a huge challenge, perhaps the biggest in world football: he will be the new manager of Brazil!And the first non-Brazilian ever to manage Brazil, so all eyes will be on him as Brazil tries to get up again from Dorival Junior's disastrous stint and humiliating defeat to Argentina in the World Cup qualifiers. 

All eyes will surely be on Ancelotti, much more than on Xabi Alonso!

Atalanta Super Champions

I had expected Bayer Leverkusen to do better. I think everyone had expected Leverkusen, undefeated for 51 matches, to take their first European title, and to continue the crowning of a super season. 

Maybe Xabi Alonso and his team took victory for granted; underestimated the fact that they were up against a Super Atalanta side under Gianpiero Gasperini, who had exactly read how to play the Leverkusen of records.

Because there was only really one team on the pitch. Despite Leverkusen having the ball more, they were unnerved by Atalanta's constant high pressure that forced constant mistakes and lost them the midfield to a splendid midfield where Ederson was just one of the Atalanta players who fought with heart and played a marvelous match.

But the man of the match was undoubtedly the English-Nigerian Ademola Lookman. With three goals he was a constant headache for Leverkusen. In particular his second goal was a splendid strike in between the defenders, and his third a classic and well-executed counter-attack goal (when Leverkusen was feebly trying to go forward). 

Atalanta are fully deserved champions and one must congratulate them for a fantastic match when they seemed to be against the odds.

Bayer Leverkusen can still take a double when the face 1.Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final. But Atalanta has shown that the record-bearing Laverkusen are not unbeatable...

Leverkusen!

The German Bundesliga have new champions for the first time in 11 seasons, all of which have been won by Bayern Munchen. Bayer Leverkusen won their first title ever in style. with seven matches to go they are 16 points clear of Bayern Munchen and have in fact not lost a single match the entire season, something that could cement this incredible victory under Manager Xabi Alonso, who is already touted as one of the new great managers of the world, and may have offers from many of the clubs he played for as a player, such as Bayern Munchen, Real Madrid and Liverpool. 

That said he appears to want to stay in North Rhine-Westphalia with a club that had only been runners-up (and a memorable Champions League final in 2002). And more may be in store for Leverkusen this season, as they are on their way to the semifinals of the Europa League, after defeating West Ham 2-0, a tournament they are so far also undefeated at.

I think Leverkusen's victory is great for German football, as Bayern's dominance is broken by a team that plays good football and has managed to put together a solid side of players from all over the world, as well as many young players, but without any overshadowing superstar. Leverkusen are above all a team!

Aguero de Saviour and Messi's record

Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi are friends, and today they stole the attention in this round of the Champions League.
Aguero has before been the last minute saviour for Manchester City, and tonight, against mighty Bayern Munich, he was the saviour throughout. The first warning of his fast runs towards goal came when Mehdi Benatia brought him down in the area as the Argentine was getting through. Benatia was shown a red card and Aguero scored on the penalty.
But Bayern are Bayern: Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski brought Bayern ahead 1-2, and it did look good until "Kun" Aguero was given two gifts: first Xabi Alonso gave Aguero a free run towards goal, and in the last minute of the match a hapless Jerome Boateng lost the ball to Aguero who made it 3-2 to Manchester City. Manchester City will now face Roma in a final decisive match about who follows Bayern Munich to the next round.
I do not know if they like Aguero in Manchester City. But they should.
In the meantime Sergio Aguero's compatriot Lionel Messi scored three goals in FC Barcelona's 0-4 victory against Apoel Nicosia (Luis Suarez scored the last goal. His first for Barcelona). Lionel Messi is apparently in a "crisis", but still averages more than a goal per game (I guess you have to be Messi to call that average a crisis) and with these three goals he beat legendary Raul to become the most scoring player in Champions League history with 74 goals.
And I think it is a safe bet that he will score more.

Not so surprising

The most annoying thing about today's friendly match between Venezuela and the world champions of Spain in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, was its lousy hour: at 4 o'clock in the afternoon most people, including myself, are still in the office, and I had to walk out to see the second half of the first half. Very annoying for the first match ever with the "Vinotinto" where I would support my current residential-country unconditionally against the mighty Spaniards!

It was not a surprising match in the sense that the Spaniards dominated with a lot of possession in the first half, where they were leading 3-0. They had not played extraordinarily, but while the Venezuelans had not been bad either, they had made some beginners-mistakes that always cost when you are playing world class players. Two of the Spanish goals, by David Villa and Xabi Alonso, were on free kicks where the defensive wall and the goalkeeper Vega, were simply lousy - these are mistakes that could prove fatal for Venezuela in the coming Copa America!
In the second half the Spaniards made many changes and seemed both relaxed and tired in the humid heat of Puerto La Cruz, and this opened the match for Venezuela, whose play seemed to flow better with the entrance of Getafe's Miku and the veteran from Borussian Monchengladbach, Juan Arango. Particularly towards the end of the match the "Vinotinto" had some good chances, that a better team would have capitalized on, and which they deserved to have scored a consolation goal on!
Not a bad match for Venezuela. They are not the best team in the world, but surely has talent and good moments. However, they will have a difficult time if they make the mistakes that costs them today - basically that is what today differentiates great teams from good or just average teams. Brazil or Argentina would not forgive them either. In that sense, I hope the match today was a lesson for Venezuela!

The European champions in Copenhagen

Yesterday there were friendly matches all over the world, and Denmark was honoured of hosting the winners of Euro 2008, Spain, in Copenhagen, for the first match the Spanish are playing as holders of the title, as well as with their new coach, Vicente del Bosque.

The match was played in the shadow of the plane-tragedy in Madrid earlier in the day, and much celebration that was to take place was cancelled.

But at least for the Danes, there was not much to celebrate: going into the World Cup 2010 qualifiers in just a couple of weeks, the Danes have to admit that they were completely overrun by a far superior Spanish side. Spain played like champions, yes, but Denmark made it all too easy for them: I have not seen such dominance, away, for a long time, and it must worry the Danes, in spite of it being "only" a friendly match.

Spain won 3-0, on two goals by Xabi Alonso and one by Xavi Hernandez.

Great Liverpool victory

I have never been much of an Arsenal fan, in spite of the great team and wonderful players they have displayed in the last years. Still I have enjoyed watching them. However, watching them against Liverpool yesterday, they were as much a disappointment as Liverpool was great! After watching a defensive Liverpool in the CL against Monaco, I did not have big expectations, but Mr. Benitez seems to be getting the act together, now that a great Steven Gerrard is back to lead the way.

All goals were great in Liverpool's 2-1 victory: Xabi Alonso's beautiful hammer from Steven Gerrard's great pass, and also the beautiful passing by Robert Pires to Patrick Vieira for the Arsenal equalizer.

But the best, and here any Liverpool fan might agree, was young Neil Mellor's wonderful first goal in the dying seconds. An amazing strike, and he could not have chosen a better moment!

Arsenal is now five points behind Chelsea in the Premier League. Although too early to say, it seems there is a new champion on the way...