Indholdsfortegnelse for Jun-2018 i World Soccer

As this issue of World Soccer went to press, the Spanish federation took the bold decision, on the eve of the World Cup, to sack coach Julen Lopetegui following the announcement of his appointment as the next coach of Real Madrid. As we look back on an eventful European club season, the story of the month should have been the decision by Zinedine Zidane to quit after leading Madrid to a remarkable third successive European Cup, their 13th in all. Instead, the European champions – and their president Florentino Perez in particular – find themselves under fire for the “arrogance” of giving the Spanish federation just five minutes notice before announcing Lopetegui’s appointment to the world – and then presenting their new man at a press conference shortly after the…

“I would like to reaffirm the determination of my country to continue to work for football and realise one day our dream to host the World Cup in Morocco”Morocco Football Federation president Fouzi lekjaa “I didn’t feel ambushed at all, it’s polite. He’s the president of the country”David Gill, the English FIFA vice-president, on shaking hands with Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the Congress in Moscow Three years ago it looked bleak for FIFA. The vengeance of the United States had been visited on the House of Blatter and an entire corrupted edifice was collapsing around the ears of its acquiescent president. Now, with events at the Baur au Lac on May 27, 2015, still fresh in the mind, the Zurich vista has spun on its axis. FIFA Congress in Moscow,…

“We couldn’t ignore this. We can’t find out about this five minutes before a press release”Spanish federation president luis rubiales (left) defends the eve-of-tournament sacking of coach Julen lopetegui “It’s like being at the airport check-in counter en route to Moscow and you are not allowed to board the plane”Germany’s Joachim Low (right) reflects on his decision to cut Leroy Sane and three others from his final 23-man squad • SPAIN In an unprecedented move two days before the World Cup finals kicked off, Spain sacked coach Julen Lopetegui after it was announced that he will take over at Real Madrid next season. Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales, who weeks earlier had agreed a twoyear contract extension with Lopetegui, revealed that he had only discovered the coach’s intentions five minutes…

Arguably the most positive story of the entire Italian season concerned the return to Serie A of Parma Calcio 1913, the club that earned itself many international fans as it won the European Cup-winners Cup in 1993 and then two UEFA Cups, in 1995 and 1999. What’s more, Parma staged their comeback the hard way, winning three promotions in a row: from the semiamateur Serie D to Lega Pro to Serie B and now, this spring, to Serie A. It was only three years ago that, in the wake of financial collapse with debts of €22.6million, Parma were born again in the fourth tier of Italian football thanks to the investment of two groups: Nuovo Inizio (“new beginnings”), who were made up of seven local businessmen, and Parma Partecipazioni Calcistiche…

Anderlecht are in chaos, having gone through three coaches, two presidents and finishing with no silverware Roger Vanden Stock was feeling confident last summer. His coach, Rene Weiler, had won the Belgian title in his first campaign in charge of Anderlecht and, as president, he believed that the next one was in the bag too. Not only was he wrong on that score, the season also saw the end of a hal-fcentury of the Vanden Stock family’s rule. The campaign started promisingly enough. Long-tern sporting director Herman Van Holsbeeck signed keeper Matz Sels on loan from Newcastle United, midfielder Sven Kums arrived from Watford via Udinese, and Nigerian striker Henry Onyekuru, who had been the league’s leading scorer the term before, joined on loan from Everton. Van Holsbeeck talked about…

If the Scottish Tourist Board is looking for someone to persuade people to visit, they could do a lot worse than ask Steve Clarke. While the former Chelsea defender is an unlikely poster boy, he has become an excellent advocate for Scottish football since returning after 30 years in England. Looking to restore his reputation after being sacked by West Bromwich Albion and then Reading, Clarke has certainly done that since joining Killie last October, taking the team from bottom of the table to a fifth-place finish and their best-ever top-flight total of 59 points. That work, on a meagre budget, earned Clarke the Manager of the Year award from Scottish football writers – which is a huge honour given the success of Brendan Rodgers in leading Celtic to a…

Following seven seasons of total domination in the Greek Superleague, Olympiakos finally had their bubble of omnipotence pricked. Complacent, error-prone and arguably lucky to finish third, they ended up no fewer than 13 points adrift of new champions AEK and seven behind runners-up PAOK. It was the classic fall from grace, a campaign in which everything went horribly wrong in every possible way. There were countless new signings who flopped, notably ex-Partizan striker Uros Djurdjevic, Nigerian front-man Emmanuel Emenike and Belgian midfielder Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe; the dressing room was disjointed and passive; they were docked three points after fans rioted during a defeat at home to AEK in February; and last, but not least, there was the chronic instability in the coaching department, with four bosses – Besnik Hasi, Takis Lemonis,…

Atletico Madrid won their sixth European trophy far more easily than the two-goal scoreline suggested. And the underlying issue from the Europa League Final in Lyon was how the widening of football’s class gap is not only about the “Big Five” and the rest but even within the TV-rich leagues of western Europe. Last year, Paris Saint-Germain splashed €222million on Neymar who, apart from the financial flattery, was also misleadingly entranced by the idea that Qatari investment had raised PSG to the level of Barcelona and Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. It took around half a season, even before PSG fell to Real Madrid in the Champions League, for Neymar to understand his misjudgement of the standard of Ligue 1. The evidence was laid out in stark clarity…

Lille had big expectations but results were disastrous and they escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth After last season’s thrilling run to the title from Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco, it was business as usual in Ligue 1. Unai Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain reasserted their domestic dominance and cruised to a fifth league title in six years. The team’s 93 points from their 38 games gave them an impressive 13-point lead over second-placed Monaco – and the capital club’s winning margin could have been even more emphatic had it not been for a so-so run-in once the trophy had been claimed in mid-April. PSG dropped nine points in their last four games to end all hopes of breaking the 100-point barrier. Should Emery feel bitter at the club refusing to renew…

“We were stunned,” said Levante winger Jose Luis Morales. They all were; not just at the Ciutat de Valencia but right the way across Spain. As the news came in, people started tuning in to a match that many hadn’t planned to watch. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. It was the penultimate weekend of the campaign and Levante were on course to do something that no one else had managed all season long in the league, going back 36 games and beyond. It was early in the second half and Levante were leading Barcelona 5-1. Nine times Barcelona had trailed last term before coming back in all of them. And it looked as though it might be 10 when they scored three times to make it 5-4 with…

FIRST DIVISION A HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON At the end of the regular season, Club Brugge (▸) led Anderlecht by 12 points, but Ivan Leko’s men got the jitters and lost more games in the play-offs than they had in the season proper. However, they held on from a rejuvenated Standard Liege to take the title in Leko’s first season. CUP WINNERS This year’s Final was regarded as one of the worst in the competition’s history. Standard Liege took the trophy for an eighth time with an extra-time goal against Racing Genk and the win kick-started their season; they reached the play-offs and eventually finished runners-up. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Club Brugge qualified for the Champions League group stage, with Standard Liege entering the third qualifying round. Thirdplaced Anderlecht…

FIRST LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON In 2016-17, Rijeka caught everyone by surprise and broke Dinamo Zagreb’s run of 11 successive league championships. And they also managed to keep the latest title race an even contest until the very last stages, in which Dinamo took top spot by three points for their 19th crown CUP WINNERS Having missed out on silverware the previous season, Dinamo justified a big summer investment by winning a third double in four years. They beat fierce rivals Hajduk Split 1-0 in the Final with a goal from Mario Gavranovic confirming their domination of Croatian football WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Starting in the second qualifying round, Dinamo will try to get back in to the Champions League group stage, while Rijeka and Hajduk have the…

SUPERLIGA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Looking like champions for most of the campaign, a late collapse from Brondby opened the door for Midtjylland (▸). The key game came in the penultimate round when defender Bubacarr Sanneh scored the only goal as Midtjylland won 1-0 at Brondby to take the title CUP WINNERS At least Brondby had the consolation of winning the Danish Cup for the first time in 11 seasons. Alexander Zorninger’s side knocked out Copenhagen and Midtjylland on their way to the Final, where they beat Silkeborg 3-1 thanks to two goals from Kamil Wilczek. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Midtjylland will start the Champions League in the second qualifying round. Brondby are joined in the preliminary round of the Europa League by Nordsjaelland, who finished third in the…

NEMZETI BAJNOKSAGI HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Having had the upper hand over Ferencvaros in the league for most of the season, Videoton secured the championship with a game to spare with a 2-0 victory over Honved. It was a third title for the team from Szekesfehervar, to go with their successes in 2011 and 2015. CUP WINNERS Bidding for their first major trophy, Puskas Akademia took Ujpest to penalties with a 2-2 draw. The shoot-out was also neck and neck until Ujpest’s Serbian keeper Filip Pajovic saved from 21-year-old defender Janos Hegedus to claim a 10th Hungarian Cup for his side. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Videoton will start in the Champions League first qualifying round, while Ferencvaros will take little consolation for their Europa League slot after chasing them…

FIRST LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Shkendija claimed their second national title with a massive 35-points gap to runners-up Vardar. With a record haul of 91 points, they won 29 of their 36 league games and also became the first side to score over 100 goals, ending with amazing goal difference of 101-27. CUP WINNERS Despite a poor league campaign, cup holders Pelister reached the Final once again. However, this time Shkendija gained revenge for last year’s penalty shoot-out defeat with a 3-0 victory. Visar Musliu, with two, and Besart Ibraimi were the goalscorers. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Shkendija start next term’s continental adventure in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Vardar, Rabotnicki and Shkupi go into the first qualifying round of the Europa League, while Sileks…

PREMIERSHIP HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON A nail-biting campaign saw Crusaders, who were pipped at the post by Linfield in 2017, regain top spot after a long battle with Coleraine, who lost only one league game all season. Crues finished two points clear, securing the title on the last day with a 2-1 win at Ballymena. CUP WINNERS Coleraine gained some consolation for their runners-up spot in the league as they defeated Cliftonville 3-1 to win the Irish Cup for the first time since 2003 in front of a crowd of 12,000. The previous season, Linfield had beaten Coleraine 3-0 in the Final. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE The Champions League spot went to Crusaders, while Coleraine, along with third-placed Glenavon, and fifth-placed Cliftonville – with a dramatic 3-2 play-off win…

LIGA 1 HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Having overcame the financial difficulties that almost saw them go bust two years ago, CFR Cluj won the title on the last day of the play-offs, finishing ahead of FCSB – formerly known as Steaua – for their first championship in six years. However, coach Dan Petrescu looks set to leave CUP WINNERS CS U Craiova won their first trophy in 25 years, beating second-tier Hermannstadt 2-0 in the Final. Under former Italy under-21 coach Devis Mangia, they played a fast, attacking style of football, which even won them plaudits from rival supporters and club officials. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Next season Romania will only have one club competing for Champions League qualification, with CFR Cluj starting in the second qualifying round. FCSB…

SUPERLIGA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Dominant from start to finish, Red Star Belgrade won their 28th league title playing a far better brand of football than in previous years. They suffered only one defeat and finished a massive 17 points ahead of title-holders and arch-rivals Partizan Belgrade, who finished as runners-up. CUP WINNERS A 2-1 win over Mladost Lucani in the Final saw Partizan lift the cup for a third season in a row and 15th time in total. But they were on the verge of going out in the semis, losing the away leg 4-2 to Cukaricki before winning the return 2-0 with a last-minute goal by veteran Sasa Ilic. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Red Star will play in the Champions League first qualifying round next season, while…

SUPER LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Young Boys (▸) won the championship for the first time since 1986 and in the process ended Basle’s run of eight successive titles. They went top with a 3-0 win over Lugano in their seventh game and never looked back, eventually finishing 15 points clear of the defending champions. CUP WINNERS Zurich beat Young Boys 2-1 to deny YB the double. Michael Frey gave Zurich an early lead and, despite having Pape Sarr sent off, Antonio Marchesano added a second. Miralem Sulejmani pulled one back for Young Boys who had also lost on their previous three Final appearances. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Young Boys qualified for the Champions League play-off round while runners-up Basle head into the second qualifying round. Cup winners Zurich…

PREMIER LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON As expected, The New Saints claimed a seventh successive title, with striker Greg Draper picking up the golden boot with 22 goals. They finished 14 points clear of runners-up Bangor City, who have failed to get a domestic licence for next season. CUP WINNERS Connah’s Quay Nomads lifted the Welsh Cup for the first time in their history, coming from a goal down to beat Aberystwyth Town 4-1. Nomads’ only previous appearance in the Final of the competition was in 1998, when they lost on penalties to Bangor WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE TNS will enter the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Bangor’s failure to secure a licence means they are barred from Europe, so Connah’s Quay and Bala Town go into…

“Here is something for you, for shopping”A reporter offers Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi a cash gift in an undercover sting operation The Ghanian government dissolved the country’s Football Association after the FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi and other officials were caught up in one of African football’s biggest corruption scandals. Nyantakyi resigned as FA president and was banned by FIFA for 90 days from all football activity after he was filmed apparently accepting a “cash gift” of $65,000 (£48,000) from an undercover reporter pretending to be a businessman. Nyantakyi is the second most powerful official in African football, as the first vice-president of CAF, and is also a member of the FIFA Council. He did not attend the FIFA Congress in Moscow, where Ghana were excluded from voting on the…

“She’s phenomenal. I always say to people that I think Lucy could play in the men’s game”England women’s manager Phil Neville on his right-back, Lucy Bronze 1 RILEY MCGREE Newcastle Jets v Melbourne City Scores with a “scorpion kick” in the A-League play-off semi-finals. 2 SAMUEL ARMENTEROS Portland Timbers v Colorado Rapids Receives a pass and dummies his marker before curling a left-footed shot into the far corner. 3 GARETH BALE Real Madrid v Liverpool Overhead kick beats goalkeeper Loris Karius in the Champions League Final. 4 KIERAN SADLIER Cork City v St Patrick’s Athletic When the St Pat’s keeper comes up for a corner, Cork clear and, from inside his own area, Sadlier’s looping shot trickles over the line. 5 ILSINHO Philadelphia Union v Chicago Fire. Shows great footwork…

FIFA v UEFA: seconds out “I have seen the future and it works”…that is the sentiment emanating from FIFA and UEFA as they compete for space on the international stage over the next decade. If it were only FIFA and UEFA it would be grisly enough, but adding fuel to the growing fires are a string of so-called “stakeholders”: from the European Club Association (not all of them) to the European leagues (not all of them) to the international players’ union, FIFPro. Ahead of committee-room battles to come, the ECA has demanded “a new model which reduces the current burden on players”. This is a joke. What the ECA really wants is less nationalteam football so as to create space for more continent club action. Whatever happens, there will be…

A little can go a long way in football. Just ask the fans of undersized Russian outfit Ufa who, after seeing their team record a best-ever sixth place in the top flight, are now looking forward to a first taste of continental action, in next season’s Europa League. Founded as recently as 2010 and members of the Russian Premier League for just four years, the club from the western republic of Bashkortostan is an extremely small-scale operation. Average attendances at their Neftyanik Stadium are just 6,600 and they survive on a stripped-back annual budget of around €15million – as opposed to, say, Zenit, who spend a whopping €160m per year – while their squad is crammed with free transfers, loanees and bargainbasement outcasts. Ufa is not even especially a football…

For everyone connected with Kaiserslautern, one of the biggest names in German club football, the date of April 27, 2018 will forever be known as the darkest hour in their 118-year history – the moment the once-indomitable Roten Teufel (“red devils”) suffered a first-ever relegation to the third division. Founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963, German league champions on four occasions and twice winners of the domestic cup, Lautern are a sporting and social institution in the south-western Rhineland-Palainate region. They also strike a chord on a national level, revered as small-town overachievers and generally considered a part of the country’s football fabric. Much of their popularity stems from West Germany’s against-the-odds victory over Hungary in the 1954 World Cup Final. Skipper and inside-forward Fritz Walter was one of…

Six years after being declared bankrupt and kicked out of the league following the calamitous administration of Russian businessman Bulaet Chagaev, Neuchatel Xamax are back in the Swiss top flight. Under the presidency of local businessman Christian Binggelli, the team has worked its way up through four tiers of the league in six seasons to regain what local fans feel is their rightful place in the Swiss Super League. It was a happy ending for the club, which counts Roy Hodgson among its former coaches and whose ramshackle Maladiere stadium became an elephants graveyard for top European sides in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “We are not taking any financial risks. We want to remain prudent”Christian Binggeli Chagaev took over the relegationthreatened club in May 2011, saying he wanted…

Zinedine Zidane’s decision to step down after two-and-a-half years of remarkable success on his coaching debut with world and European champions Real Madrid was a surprise – but not that much of a surprise. After all, what was there left for a man who won everything as a player and then as a coach? Especially as the looming prospect was rebuilding a team replete with fading, battered egos and suffering all the unpleasant consequences of inconsistent results larded over with consequent bad temper and impatience among directors, fans and the media. Zidane had a taste of what is to come within minutes of the final whistle of the 3-1 victory over Liverpool in Kiev, with Cristiano Ronaldo and two-goal hero Gareth Bale both talking about what the future might hold.…

City were streets ahead of everybody. They finished on 100 points, 19 ahead of second-placed Manchester United, scoring 106 goals There are two ways in which to assess Manchester City’s 2018 Premier League triumph. One is to marvel at the wonderful football played by Pep Guardiola’s side; the other is to lament the lack of a title race created by their sheer dominance. City were streets ahead of everybody else. They finished on 100 points, 19 ahead of second-placed Manchester United, having scored 106 goals. They remained unbeaten in the league until mid-January and could have confirmed the title in early April at home to rivals United, only to suffer a shock home defeat. Instead, their title was confirmed a week later when United surprisingly lost to West Bromwich Albion.…

“Mental strength and being accustomed to winning certain titles – Juventus have much more of that and it told”Marco Tardelli First things first. The emphatic and determined manner in which Juventus picked up a seventh consecutive title, a 34th in all, leaves little doubt that they are the strongest team in the land. But they were made to battle all the way by a rampant Napoli side who, on the morning of April 23, with only four games to play, trailed Massimiliano Allegri’s side by just one point. The previous evening, Napoli had pulled off one of the results of the season, beating Juventus 1-0 in Turin, with a 90thminute goal from Senegalese central defender Kalidou Koulibaly. In the end, that was as close as Napoli got. The season-long duel…

SUPERLIGA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Skenderbeu picked up their eighth title, having led the league all season. But the celebrations were then overshadowed by a 10-year European competition ban for match fixing. A UEFA report claimed the club “has been fixing football matches like nobody has ever done before”. CUP WINNERS Despite all their off-field troubles, Skenderbeu made history on it as they completed their first-ever league-and-cup double. They beat Laci 1-0 in a closely fought Final, with Sabien Lilaj converting a 68th-minute penalty for the only goal of the game at the Elbasan Arena. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Champions Skenderbeu have appealed to CAS to overturn their ban, but it seems likely that runners-up Kukesi will take their place in the Champions League first qualifying round. Lufetari Gjirokaster…

PREMIER LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON In a tight race, Zrinjski Mostar claimed their third championship in a row, and fourth in five years. The decisive game was at home to Zeljeznicar in March. With the visitors leading 3-0 and set to go five points clear, Zrinjski scored three in three minutes to grab an important draw. CUP WINNERS Runners-up in the league championship, Zeljeznicar had to satisfy themselves with a record-breaking sixth Bosnian Cup. They beat Krupa 6-0 on aggregate at the end of the season, although that was not enough to save coach Asmir Adzem, who was sacked days after the Final. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE While Zrinjski enter the Champions League first qualifying round, league runners-up and cup winners Zeljeznicar join city rivals Sarajevo and Siroki…

FIRST DIVISION HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON APOEL clinched their sixth straight championship, but it was anything but a formality. Early in the season they were sloppy and ended up in a tense to-and-fro battle for top spot with Apollon Limassol. The turning point was APOEL’s 2-1 home victory over Apollon in late April CUP WINNERS AEK Larnaca, who are very much an Iberian team playing on Cypriot soil, came from behind to beat Apollon Limassol 2-1 in the Final. Veteran Spanish midfielder Alcoran slotted home the winner 20 minutes from time after Florian Taulemesse had put AEK level. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE APOEL have to go through the Champions League sifting process, starting in the first preliminary stage. Apollon Limassol and third-place Anorthosis Famagusta have a Europa League date,…

SUPERLEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON AEK won a first title since 1994 to end Olympiakos’ seven seasons of success. Runners-up PAOK were undone by a loss of form and the antics of president Ivan Savvidis, who earned his club a three-point penalty for storming onto the pitch with a gun during March’s game against AEK. CUP WINNERS There was plenty going on in this year’s Final between PAOK and AEK: supporters clashing outside the Athens Olympic Stadium, two goals, one missed penalty and three red cards. The better team on the day, PAOK (▸) won 2-0 with goals from Vierinha and Dimitris Pelkas. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE The third qualifying stage of the Champions League will be AEK’s continental port of entry, while PAOK will start in the same…

PREMIER LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Beaten only once at home all season, that defeat came on the day Hapoel Be’er Sheva clinched the championship – a 1-0 loss to runners-up Maccabi Tel Aviv. They suffered only two post-new year defeats, both of which were to runners-up Maccabi Tel Aviv. CUP WINNERS Hapoel Haifa, taking part in their first State Cup Final for 14 years, had too much showpiece staying power for opponents Beitar Jerusalem, who also finished third in the league. The Sharks won 3-1 after extra-time to claim their first major silverware since 1974. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Hapoel Be’er Sheva (▸) will be in the draw for the first preliminary round of the Champions League. Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem enter the Europa League at…

PREMIER LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Valletta (▸) won the title for a 24th time on a dramatic last day of the season. Long-term leaders Balzan saw their dreams of a first-ever championship disappear as they lost 1-0 at Hibernians, while Valletta beat Gzira United 2-1 to finish three points clear at the top of the table. CUP WINNERS Goals from Kyrian Nwoko and Santiago Malano gave Valletta the domestic double as they beat Birkirkara 2-1 in the FA Trophy. It was the third meeting between the two teams in the Final of a competition that is in its 80th edition, with Valletta having won all three WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE While double winners Valletta will start their Champions League campaign in the first qualifying round, Balzan are the…

EKSTRAKLASA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Legia Warsaw won the title with a three-point margin over Jagiellonia Bialystok in what was described as “a turtle race”. The champions lost 11 games and their season ended with an abandoned game at Lech Poznan when home fans invaded the pitch CUP WINNERS Legia (▸) completed the double with a 2-1 victory over holders Arka Gdynia in the Final. Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Portuguese midfielder Cafu scored for the Warsaw side, with Dawid Soldecki getting a consolation goal for his side in injury time. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Legia will play in qualifiers for the Champions League. Runners-up Jagiellonia, third-place Lech and Gornik Zabrze, who were fourth, enter the Europa League – with the latter returning to European competition after a 23-year absence. RELEGATED/PROMOTED…

PREMIER LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON After taking top spot from Zenit in October, Lokomotiv Moscow (▸) secured the title by beating the team from Saint Petersburg 1-0 at home in the penultimate round. Loko, who won the league for the third time in their history, finished two points ahead of CSKA Moscow. CUP WINNERS Premier League strugglers Tosno, who are based just outside Saint Petersburg, beat second-tier side Avangard Kursk 2-1 in the Final, which was played in Volgograd. Tosno beat Spartak Moscow in the semi-finals, while Avangard put out CSKA in the round of 32. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Lokomotiv, CSKA and Spartak will play in the Champions League. Since Tosno failed to get a licence to compete in European competition, they will be replaced in the…

SUPER LIGA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Despite losing more games than the teams in second and third place, Spartak Trnava won their first national title for 45 years thanks to a Belgrade-born, London-raised coach by the name of El Maestro. A 2-0 win over DAC sealed the title, which they won by five points. CUP WINNERS Cup holders Slovan Bratislava retained the trophy with a 3-1 victory over Ruzomberok in the Final thanks to goals from Andraz Sporar, Vasil Bozhikov and David Holman. The real work had been done in the semifinals, where they beat Trnava on penalties. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE While Spartak Trnava returned to Europe’s elite competition, Slovan and DAC qualified for the Europa League. A 99thminute winner by Philip Azango away at Zilina allowed Trencin…

SUPER LIG HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Brought in late last year for a fourth stint as Galatasaray coach, Fatih Terim led the side to their first Super Lig crown since 2015, doing just enough to stay ahead of Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir. Instrumental were victories over Istanbul Basaksehir and Besitktas in the final month CUP WINNERS Akhisarspor (▸) turned the form book upside down to beat Fenerbahce 3-2 in the Final. Coached by the ex-Galatasaray and Turkey midfielder Okan Buruk, the Aegean side were playing in the fourth tier a decade ago and had never previously won a major honour. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Galatasaray go direct to the Champions League group phase, while championship runners-up Fenerbahce must pre-qualify. Istanbul Basaksehir and Besiktas will do battle in the qualifying…

HEROES JAN VERTONGHEN The Tottenham Hotspur defender became the first Belgian to win 100 caps when he played in the pre-World Cup friendly against Portugal. He was presented with a special award by his mother ahead of the match. EMMANUEL BOATENG Became the first player to score a hat-trick against Barcelona since Diego Forlan 13 years ago, in Levante’s 5-4 win against the Spanish champions. LUIS RUBIALES The Spanish federation president earned praise for standing up to Real Madrid and Florentino Perez over the European champions’ hiring of national coach Julen Lopetegui. SUNIL CHHETRI The veteran forward scored twice on his 100th appearance for India in a 3-0 defeat of Kenya. VILLAINS NIKLAS SULE The Bayern Munich player became only the second player to score three own goals in a…

Learning to love the play-offs Crowning a champion used to be so satisfactory. Take 18 or 20 teams, they all play each other home and away, and whoever gets the most points wins. It is a system that has worked pretty well for decades – but it has always been far from perfect. In particular, those end-of-season games between teams that have nothing to play for and teams fighting to stay up or to get into Europe. That league system has also lacked a crucial element: glamour. We now live in a world where TV and marketing values rule – and those are values that very much like drama and glamorous occasions. Yet how much of that does the current league system give? Consider this past season in Europe. In…

In the absence of any genuine playmaker, it is hard to see this England team springing many surprises in attack Without Jack Wilshere in their side, England lack a genuine playmaker It somewhat surprised me when I read that Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, in a phone call from a sycophantic fan, humorously shrugged off the fact that he had been excluded from the 23-man England squad for the World Cup. The following day, however, the same newspaper printed a fulminating diatribe by Wilshere on his exclusion by Gareth Southgate. I certainly did not blame him; indeed, I thoroughly sympathise with him. As he pointed out, he has played no fewer than 38 matches for Arsenal this season, even if he was obliged to pull out injured from a couple of internationals…

After a gap of 45 years, Spartak Trnava claimed a league title in dramatic circumstances. A 2-0 win over DAC Dunajska Streda in early May saw three red cards in the first 12 minutes and a crucial early penalty, before a near-capacity crowd swarmed onto the pitch at the end. And at the centre of the red-and-black melee, being thrown high into the air by his own fans, was a man named El Maestro. The Belgrade-born 35-year-old, who spent most of his youth in the UK while war raged in Yugoslavia, had engineered a remarkable campaign. Having changed his name from Nestor Jevtic to Nestor El Maestro, he arrived in Trnava last June – with his 24-year-old brother, Nikon, as his assistant coach – to restore success to a club…

The build-up to the Portuguese Cup Final was all about the high-profile meltdown at Sporting. The Lisbon club’s players had been attacked by their own supporters during a training session, the president and the squad were at war, and coach Jorge Jesus was apparently about to be sacked. By the end of the match, however, the story had shifted to the momentous achievement by a team from a town of just 8,000 inhabitants. Two goals by striker Alexandre Guedes, a former youth player at Sporting, earned Clube Desportivo das Aves a thoroughly deserved 2-1 victory and provided an enduring image at the Estadio Nacional as Aves fans, who were packed into a small section of the venue, joyously celebrated with the players in the early evening sunshine in an arena…

Another league title, another failure to qualify for the Champions League group stage and still as unpopular as ever among neutrals – it seemed like just another typical season in the recent history of Red Bull Salzburg. But last term there was an added extra with a run to the Europa League semi-finals. A marathon season began on July 11 with a Champions League second round qualifier away to Maltese champions Hibernian and ended 62 matches later on May 27 with their final league match against Austria Vienna. It started in familiar fashion, with key players leaving, a new coach and a 10th successive failure to make it through the Champions League qualifiers. Left-back Wanderson departed for Krasnodar and midfielder Konrad Leimer went to RB Leipzig for a combined €15million.…

GARETH BALE (Real Madrid) “On the biggest stage in world football to score a goal like that is a dream come true. I’ve never scored a bicycle-kick goal before and it’s something I’ve always wanted. I saw Marcelo clipping the ball in at the right height and thought: ‘Why not give it a go?’ and it was great to see it flying in the back of the net. “I was very disappointed at being a substitute. I felt I’d been playing well but I know, as a professional, that the team isn’t about 11 players it’s about the squad, and when you have a chance you have to try to make an impact so that’s what I did. “But I feel I need to be playing every week and if…

Even though his Bayern Munich side spluttered to a halt in the final few weeks of the season – unlucky to lose to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals and unexpectedly beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Cup Final – don’t let it be said that veteran coach Jupp Heynckes did a sub-standard job in his seven-month stint as Allianz-Arena caretaker. When Heynckes, who recently turned 73, was lured out of retirement in October to take over from the sacked Carlo Ancelotti, the air was thick with red-alert warnings. There were a number of key players – among them Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery – in open revolt against Ancelotti. The team had a marked lack of shape, sharpness and focus. They suffered a…

The big beasts are stirring. Manchester United have formed a women’s team to follow Manchester City; Chelsea invested to overtake Arsenal; Juventus won a debut title; Barcelona and Bayern Munich raised their standards. These grand clubs will soon provide Europe’s best. But, for now, Lyon reign supreme. The French club won a record fifth Champions League crown in Kiev – their third in succession – blowing away a Wolfsburg side that ran out of puff. French champions for the 12th successive year, the achievements of OL’s multi-national squad are testament to the desire of club president Jean-Michel Aulas to create a team to raise the women’s game to new levels. Lyon won 4-1 after two hours’ football in Ukraine, but the key action was condensed into an extraordinary 10-minute period…

BUNDESLIGA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Red Bull Salzburg won the title for a ninth time in the last 12 seasons and the fifth in a row. Sturm Graz briefly threatened to make a fight of it when they went top for two weeks in January but relinquished the lead with a defeat at Mattersburg and Salzburg never looked back. CUP WINNERS Sturm Graz beat Red Bull Salzburg 1-0 after extratime with a goal by Stefan Hierlander. There were eight yellow cards during the Final, two of which were shown to Salzburg’s Andre Ramalho who was sent off in the second half for two bookable offences in quick succession. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Salzburg enter the third qualifying round of the Champions League, with Sturm Graz starting in the second…

FIRST PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Ludogorets Razgrad won their seventh consecutive title to close in on CSKA Sofia’s record nine in a row. Crowned champions four rounds before the end, the key game was at home to eventual runners-up CSKA when they came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in the closing minutes. CUP WINNERS More than 30,000 Levski Sofia fans turned up to the Bulgarian Cup Final in the hope of seeing their side win a first trophy for nine years. But after Jordi Gomez missed a 12thminute penalty, Slavia Sofia held out for 120 minutes to claim a goalless draw and then win on spot-kicks WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Ludogorets will play in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Slavia as cup…

FIRST LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON After winning their first 14 games, Viktoria Plzen went into the winter break with a 14-point lead over Slavia Prague. They struggled in the spring, allowing Slavia to move to within five points by April, but ultimately clinched their fifth title in eight seasons with a game to spare CUP WINNERS Stanislav Tecl scored twice as Slavia Prague beat Jablonec 3-1 in the Final at Mlada Boleslav’s 5,000-capacity stadium. Plans to hold the game at Sparta Prague’s Generali Arena stadium were changed after Jablonec complained that a Prague venue favoured their opponents WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Viktoria Plzen go straight into the Champions League group stage, with Slavia Prague in the third qualifying round. Jablonec will be in the Europa League group stage,…

EREDIVISIE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON PSV (▸) clinched their 24th title on matchday 31 with a 3-0 victory over their closest challengers Ajax. To many observers, the Eindhoven club’s way of playing hardly sparkled, but Phillip Cocu’s team were simply the side that made the fewest mistakes throughout the campaign CUP WINNERS Resigning champions Feyenoord, who had a mediocre season, beat AZ 3-0 in the Final. Once again the Alkmaar club, who also lost the Final last year, weren’t able to beat Holland’s traditional top three this season. Feyenoord played all six cup ties at home. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE PSV enter the fourth preliminary round of the Champions League, while runners-up Ajax play in the second round. Third-place AZ and play-off winners Vitesse join the Europa League’s second…

NATIONAL DIVISION HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON All-powerful southern outfit F91 Dudelange clinched their third consecutive league championship and their eighth Grand Duchy crown in the last decade. Beaten only twice all season, they were particularly strong on home soil, picking up 37 points from a possible 39. CUP WINNERS After a goalless 120 minutes, Racing edged out Hostert in a penalty shoot-out at Stade Josy Barthelin Luxembourg City. It was very much a backs-against-the-wall triumph for coach Patrick Grettnich’s gritty side, who had two players sent off in normal time. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Dudelange will take part in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Their closest challengers and eventual runners-up Progres Niederkorn, and Fola Esch who finished third, have to pre-qualify for the Europa League group…

FIRST LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Champions for a third time, Sutjeska Niksic finished 22 points ahead of Buducnost Podgorica and wrapped up the league six games before the end of the campaign. En route to the title, goalkeeper Vladan Giljen set a new record by not conceding a goal for 1,019 minutes. CUP WINNERS Admir Adrovic scored both goals as Mladost Podgorica beat second-tier Igalo 2-0 in the Final. It is a third Montenegrin Cup triumph for a side who first won the trophy in 2015. Sixth-place Rudar were delighted by the Final result as it secured them a place in Europe. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Sutjeska will play in Champions League qualifiers, while Buducnost (▸), cup winners Mladost and Rudar go into the Europa League qualifiers. Fourth-place…

PRIMEIRA LIGA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Porto played with a verve and aggressiveness not seen for many a campaign to end four years without a trophy. Leading for most of the season, they dropped to second, behind Benfica, at Easter but regained top spot with a dramatic lastgasp win away to their great rivals. CUP WINNERS In one of the biggest Portuguese Cup Final upsets, Desportivo das Aves beat Lisbon giants Sporting 2-1 to claim their first piece of silverware. Alexandre Guedes, a former Sporting youth striker, scored both goals while 42-year-old keeper Quim played a blinder. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Porto go into the group phase of the Champions League while Benfica will have to negotiate the qualifiers to join them. Sporting and Braga will play in the…

PREMIERSHIP HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Celtic went unbeaten for the first 17 games of the campaign – until a 4-0 loss at Hearts in December ended a 69-match run under Brendan Rodgers’ tenure. Victories included a 3-2 win away to Rangers with 10 men, and a 5-0 thrashing of their Glasgow rivals at Celtic Park CUP WINNERS A 3-0 win over Motherwell saw Celtic write themselves into the history books as the first club to complete back-to-back trebles, by defeating Motherwell 2-0 with a stunning volley from Callum McGregor and a goal from Olivier Ntcham. Motherwell also lost in the League Cup Final to Celtic WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Celtic will enter the Champions League at the first qualifying stage, with runners-up Aberdeen in the second qualifying round of…

PRVALIGA HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON A pitch invasion by their own fans on the final day of the season, following a late equaliser from the penalty spot at Domzale, sparked wild scenes among visiting supporters and gave Olimpija Ljubljana their second title in three years, pipping Maribor on headto-head away goals scored CUP WINNERS Aluminij made the Final thanks to a stoppage-time penalty by Croatian journeyman Josip Zeba. That win over Gorica set the Kidricevo side up for a one-sided showdown with recently crowned league champions Olimpija, who steamrollered the provincial outfit 6-1. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Olimpija are in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, while Maribor enter the first qualifying round of the Europa League, along with third-place Domzale and Rudar, who took fourth place…

PREMIER LEAGUE HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Shakhtar Donetsk won their seventh Ukrainian title, finishing two points ahead of runners-up Dynamo Kiev – who were docked three points after club president Igor Surkis refused to give his team permission to travel to Mariupol in August due to security issues CUP WINNERS Double winners Shakhtar beat Dynamo Kiev 2-0 in the Cup Final, with second-half goals from Argentinian striker Facundo Ferreira and central defender Yaroslav Rakytskyy, to surpass their opponents record of 11 wins as the most successful club in the tournament. WHO QUALIFIED FOR EUROPE Shakhtar go directly to the Champions League group stage, with Dynamo Kiev starting from the third qualifying phase. Vorskla Poltava go into the Europa League group stage Zorya Luhansk and Mariupol will start their Europa…