"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. . . . "
These famous lines which open Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities probably best sum up the states of German and Spanish football after the first leg of the Champions League Semi-Final. The Spanish teams, which contained no less than ten members of the FIFPro World XI for 2012 were undoubtedly the hot favorites to reach the final. Their mindsets pre-kickoff would have been that of supreme confidence and above all, belief, that reaching the final was inevitable. It was the best of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the epoch of belief, it was the season of Light, it was the spring of hope, we had everything before us.
Fast forward ninety minutes. The result, total annihilation. Both Barcelona and Madrid, did not know what had hit them. It was the worst of times, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Darkness, it was the winter of despair, we had nothing before us. The players and fans could not help but hang their heads in shame, given what grim reading the final scoreline was. Take nothing away from Borussia and Bayern though. They were tactically astute, took nothing for granted and were totally deserving of their victories.
It all began in Munich on Tuesday night. Before kick off, there were no big surprises in the Barca lineup. Lionel Messi returning to the starting eleven after a hamstring injury was always going to be and touch and go, but wasn't unexpected. The only surprise with the Bayern Munich lineup was the inclusion of Jerome Boateng ahead of Holger Badstuber at the heart of the defense.
The match began rather well for Barcelona, who saw quite a lot of the ball, in the opening 10-15 minutes. Bayern to their credit, were defensively well organized and managed to see off this spell without much ado. This was largely down to their excellent pressing and sense of positional play off the ball. They simply denied Barca the time and space to play that incisive final ball into Messi. The first goal was definitely against the run of play and displayed some critical flaws in Barcelona's defending: firstly, their inability to cope with set-pieces and secondly, the lack of a strong physical presence in the box. A seemingly unthreatening corner was somehow bundled home by Thomas Muller on 25 minutes.
The rest of the game was more of the same really, Barcelona dominating the possession, but unable to find a way through the resolute Munich defense. The unsung hero of the night had to be Javi Martinez. He was in the team for one reason, and one reason only, to break up the play and deny Barcelona any sense of cohesion. Although he is an extremely adroit and efficient passer of the ball, his role did not require him to showcase his distribution skills. In fact, no fewer than 20 players made more passes than him, and no one committed as many fouls. He shadowed Andres Iniesta the whole game, preventing the diminutive playmaker from dribbling or moving the ball as well as he usually can. His midfield colleague Bastian Schweinsteiger once again put in a fine display at the heart of the midfield through his workhorse ethic. Rather uncharacteristically, Franck Ribery's defensive contributions were crucial at times, and typified the team spirit Bayern showed. Even Thomas Muller, and Mario Gomez dropped deep to receive the ball when in attack, and pressed Sergio Busquets and Xavi into making hasty, and inaccurate passes in the midfield area, when in defense.
The main talking points from a refereeing standpoint will obviously be the Gomez goal on 49 minutes and the Arjen Robben goal on 73 minutes, both of which should have been disallowed. The former for a clear offside, and the latter for a blatant foul by Thomas Muller on Jordi Alba in the box, allowing Robben to smartly tuck away with panache. Bayern will however argue that they were due some luck following two separate handball incidents involving Gerard Pique. In all fairness, Barcelona were responsible for their own downfall in the latter stages. As they continued to push further and further forward, they were always bound to be left exposed to the pace of Ribery and Robben on the counter.
A major criticism of Barcelona will be that when the intricate pass and move style of play breaks down, they seem to be wanting when it comes to evolving a plan B. Tito Vilanova's tactics will certainly come under the scanner, and so will his complacency for not changing things on time. The first change was made after the game was already beyond them. Messi was obviously not 100% fit and it became clear, quite early on, that he was nowhere near the top of his game. In fact, he was nowhere at all. This internet meme probably summed up his contribution:
In the end, it was a well deserved victory for a technically brilliant Bayern team, who will be eager to wrap things up at the Camp Nou and make it two finals in a row. Whether Messi and Co. will turn up for the second leg, is a question that will soon be answered.
As if the result at the Allianz Arena wasn't enough encouragement, the news of Mario Gotze's shock decision to sign for archrivals, and potentially opponents in the final at Wembley, Bayern next season, seemingly spurred Borussia Dortmund on to a spirited team effort at the Westfalonstadion.
The team selection by both managers seemed fairly well balanced, if not a touch on the conservative side by Jose Mourinho. Luka Modric was preferred to Angel di Maria in a 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 formation. He played in a much deeper role than he is generally accustomed to, allowing Mesut Ozil to push up. Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira slotted in ahead of the backline as usual. Dortmund fielded a fairly strong attacking lineup with Jakub Blaszczykowski, Marco Reus, and Mario Gotze leading a tri-pronged attack behind star striker Robert Lewandowski. The game was all about tempo, and from start to finish, Borussia controlled it. Their forward transitions were swift, and their off the ball movement was exemplary. Defensively, very similar to Bayern Munich in the way they allowed Ronaldo and Real absolutely no cohesion at all. This forced Alonso and Khedira to spray aimlessly at a totally isolated Gonzalo Higuain.
In stark contrast to his opposite number, Robert Lewandowski was the complete center forward and showed off his predatory instincts and natural eye for goal on his way to becoming the first player to score a hat-trick against Real in the Champions League. All four goals were out of the top drawer and just reaffirms his status as one of Europe's most in-demand players. Much the same way Javi Martinez was the silent guardian for Bayern Munich, Ilkay Gundogan performed the dual role of breaking up the play as well as launching attack after attack. He was rather unfortunate not to be rewarded with a goal for his efforts following a terrific 25 yard run and shot.
Real Madrid will at least have some hopes to cling onto after managing an away goal, courtesy Cristiano Ronaldo. If Borussia play with the same sense of fearlessness and diligence, then, in totally unexpected circumstances, we will have an all German final on the 25th of May.
Though many things were similar between the two games, one thing stands out. The home support. The atmosphere was electric, both at the Allianz Arena and at Signal Iduna Park. The Dortmund fans in particular, making the match extra special as always, with their tremendous support. A sea of black and yellow, a sea of buzzing, lively souls, that truly are the team 12th man.
In the space of two days, it seems, the balance of power in world football has shifted, from Spain to Germany. If the performances of Bayern and Borussia say anything at all, its that team spirit, persistence, being clinical are of paramount importance. German efficiency is something the world has tried to replicate for so long, with varying degrees of success. Whether these performances will be another of those things that are going to be tried to be replicated, is uncertain. What is certain, however, is that German football is definitely on the up, and Spanish football, though by no means in decline, seems to have lost its sheen.
To conclude, we have one hell of an ending to this years Champions League to look forward too!
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