Fall from the Grace

On 24th April Real Madrid were blown away like ash by a striker named Robert Lewandowski'. He was lethal, ruthless in front of the goal and scored four goals. But was he the main cause for such a humiliating loss. Yes! But he is not solely responsible for the show.

There are some other tantalizing facts which are to be addressed to the fans. These issues are as follows.

01. 'Pepe problem' - 'Pepe the long serving defender has cost Real Madrid a lot in the match'. He was responsible for most of the goals as he couldn't mark 'Lewandowski' well. Whenever 'Lewandowski' got ball, he was easily beaten by 'Pepe' with ease. In the second leg 'Sergio Ramos' marked him with brutal efficiency and challenged him several times. The result is known to all, he was ineffective for the most part of the game.

02 'Modrić missing' - So much technical attribute and passing skills. Yes! These were missing from the 1^st leg. He was benched but later came which didn't work out. In the second leg from the start he was pulling the strings and controlling the heart of midfield for Real Madrid. Had he been featuring from the start in the first leg, the result could be different. He was intercepting, he was passing, doing all sorts of tricks as well as driving the team forward with his array of passing skill.

03. 'Dortmund Dominance' - Excluding the time of 'Real's dominance', 'Dortmund were brilliant, They press hard, recover the ball well, forward quickly, defend well except the 'Hummels' howler. 'Reus and Götze link well. 'Weidenfeller' was at his best with lots of vital saves. In short, they were the superior team in the first leg.

04. 'Selfish Özil' - He is the leading assist holder in current season and in previous two seasons. Yet he was selfish in the second leg and went for personal glory. It seems he was willing to take down the old rival with his goal but how ill and vital for 'Real's defeat'.

05. ‘Poor Ronaldo'- He has racked up over 50 plus goals in the last two season as well as in the current campaign. But sorrowfully he missed a sitter in the second leg which is astonishment to the fans. May be it was not the day for him but he was needed the most on that night.

06. 'Mistaken Mourinho' - He is the last reason for 'Real's monumental fall from grace'. In the first leg he fielded a team which was incapable of challenging 'Dortmund' in all fronts. His major mistake was to select the beatable 'Pepe' in the heart of defence alongside with an inexperienced 'Varane'. Although he rectified his mistake by selecting 'Ramos' as central defender. But it was too late to revert the result of 4-0 loss. The exclusion of 'Modrić' from the team also speaks highly of his mistaken decisions.

These were the reasons why 'Real Madrid' has lost to 'Dortmund'. They were in pole position for the much coveted 'La Decima', yet they lose for the third year in a row in the semi final stage.

Being optimistic we can hope that they will win the champions league next year but to do so they should be flawless like 'Bayern' or be like resilient force like 'Dortmund'.

Bottom of Form

"German Fire Power Shock the Spanish Empire"

From the time of 'Adolf Hitler' Germans are well known for their ruthlessness. It seems that this instinct is installed almost in every sphere of Germany. Their spirit is found always high as the sky whether it is in war or is in football. I shall not talk about the  war rather I will highlight the astonishing turnaround in footballing world that took place on 23rd & 24th April respectively between FC Bayern Munich Vs FC Barcelona & Real Madrid Vs Borrussia Dortmund. After the 2006 world cup disappointment the Spanish team began to play the best football of their time with the newly invented system of Tiki-Taka ( The main theme Tiki-Taka is "Think Think & Pass Pass"). They emerged as the three consecutive national tournament (1 world cup & 2 European Cup) winner  a feat which is achieved  by only few national teams. This was the sign of dominance in club football as FC Barcelona conquered Europe for "2" times within three years by beating Manchester United twice. This team gone onto win 14 titles out of possible 19 a remarkable achievement. The catalyst behind this history making team was Xavi, Iniesta, Busquests, Puyol, Pique, Valdes, Pedro  & none other than Lionel Messi (Four time Ballon D'or winner). These players also involved in the national fold also accept Messi. These players were guided by the gifted & visionary leader named 'Pep Guardiola' who also played FC Barcelona & Spain. In the national side they are supervised by Vicente Del Bosque a former gifted midfielder.  They set numerous records, broke a number of records also. They raise the bar & set a new standard for playing football. On the other hand Real Madrid had forged their second "Galacticos" with the likes of Cristiono Ronaldo, Kaka Ozil, Modric, Casillias, Ramos & others by spending '300' million euros. No team in the world couldn't stand against them accept FC Bayern Munich & German national team at least from my point of view. The "Die Roten" reached two champions league final in two years. The national team of Germany are the only team to challenge the Spain for the last five or six years although they fail to deliver & succumb to some heart breaking defeats. But this year the story has a twist. Previously Bayern & Germany couldn't find any answers against the brilliance against aforementioned FC Barcelona Real Madrid & Spain. They have risen as the new ruler of football in club & national arena. The reason is this two teams are dismantled by a German giant & a rising force. Barcelona lost to Munich by 4-0 & Real lost to Dortmund 4-1. This two clubs possesses the jewels like Muller, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Gomez, Neurer, Gotze, Kroos, Lewandowski, Reus, Gundogan & others. These players are not only exceptional in technique but they also have the will & power to thrive. In short they have immense talent. They have demolished the public claim that they play power football & they don't know anything outside of it. So in the era of modern football the German teams are playing not only power football but also passing, pressing & attacking football which is hard believe in 5 - 10 years back. These facts are proven by the results of recent matches. What power , ruthlessness, energy, pressing , passing were shown by the Germans !!! They tactically brilliant & their collective effort was superb. They just outclassed the Spanish teams. These two teams are lead by technically brilliant coach named Jupp Heynckes & Jurgen Klopp. The fans were just mesmerized by their displays. Above all their virtuoso display sends out a signal to the national arena also. It is like " Not only we are gonna dominate in the club football by winning champions league but also in the national stage by winning world cup(Brazil 2014)." This can be the metaphor behind the two wins. The current score line of the 1st leg stands for 8-1. So FC Barcelona, Real Madrid & Spain be prepared & stand firm to hold your empire. Germans are coming to conquer you. German football is the future. An example is Pep Guardiola who will grace the shore of German soil by coaching FC Bayern Munich next season. Whatever happens in future the football will win because the Germans & Spanish will excel & bear the lamp of beautiful game.