Ninety minutes from glory

Posted on May 15, 2013 by stuartnoel

Twenty four hours ago I was in a pub in the heart of Bavaria. Munich to be precise, talking football with some die-hard Bayern fans from our German office who were telling me in graphic detail how this current Bayern Munich team were the best club side Europe has ever seen. They could give me plenty reasons to back this up, including a statement around the fact that “Pep”, having broken all records at Barca would only consider joining a club more supreme – and hence why he is coming to Bavaria next season. But my argument was despite romping to the Bundesliga, and being odds-on favourites to take the DFB-Pokal in a few weeks when they meet Stuttgart in Berlin, a failure to beat Borussia Dortmund in the most anticipated Champions League final for decades will mean this season counts for very little.

8514941579_f28981bde5_b After the crushing disappoint of losing out to domestic honours to Borussia Dortmund last season and then losing the Champions League final in their own front garden in Bavaria to Chelsea, this season was seen as a chance for redemption. Their ruthlessness in winning the Bundesliga title has been breathtaking – currently 22 points clear with one game to go of Dortmund, scoring nearly an average of 3 goals a game, conceding less than half a goal a game, dropping just eleven points so far. Two defeats in all competitions is certainly a record-breaker but could they really go on their sunbeds around the pool in the summer with a smug feeling of superiority if Klopp’s team win at Wembley.

It would have taken a brave man to bet against Bayern in any domestic game this season (and that brave man would now be significantly poorer) but in a one-off game on neutral soil I think the game could be a lot closer than people think. An early look at the odds at Unibet shows Bayern are clear favourites to lift the trophy at 1.42 compared to Dortmund’s 2.8. This season both league games ended 1-1 and their meeting in the Allianz Arena in the German Cup saw an Arjen Robben wonderstrike the only difference between the two sides.

The key for me is the form of Dortmund’s occasional false nine, Marco Reus. We saw Reus destroy Eintract Frankfurt earlier in the season in the Westfalenstadion, scoring a fantastic hatrick. When he is on his day he is unstoppable. So unstoppable that the rumours of a move to Bayern have been circulating since he was voted German Player of the Year in 2012. With Lewandowski potentially on his way to Real Madrid in the summer, he will also want to go out on a high.

Unsurprisingly, tickets for the game are like gold dust. As the days tick down to the final we will preview the game more, including a visit to the Champions Park in East London.

Kampf der Titanen

Posted on March 1, 2013 by stuartnoel

Real Madrid v Barcelona? Old skool. PSG v OM? Past its best even with the added “pzzazz of Monsieur Beckham. Celtic v Rangers? Had its day. Lewes v Eastbourne Borough? Getting closer. But none of these currently tick all the boxes as the most anticipated games in recent years. The most talked about domestic game these days in Europe is in Germany. After years of dominance of the Bundesliga, in the past couple of seasons Bayern Munich have had to play second fiddle to Die Schwarzgelben, Borussia Dortmund. The domestic champions for the past two seasons have risen from the financial flames into a majestic young phoenix managed by one of the best young managers in the game, and of course, the biggest average club attendance in Europe.

8481854617_9188ce3131_b Under Jürgen Klopp, Dortmund have become one of the most watchable teams of their generation, with an emphasis on counter-attacking play which saw them cruise to the title over the past two seasons. Last season in front of 75,000 in Berlin, and millions watching across the globe, Borussia Dortmund destroyed Bayern in the DFB Pokal final to take their first domestic double.

That final was a watershed in German football. In fact Ribéry’s goal in the 25th minute of the final was the first that Dortmund had conceded in the whole tournament, and it was a surprise that they only finished with five goals. The King was dead, long live the King. Or were they?

Bayern Munich were a wounded animal, and came out of the blocks firing with aggression. Just one defeat in the league conceding just 8 goals in 23 games (and scoring 60), cruising into the Champions League Quarter Finals and hardly breaking into a sweat in the DFB Pokal. Who could stop them? Well, how about Dortmund again? The draw for the DFB Pokal had paired the two titans in a duel to the death in Munich. Surely Dortmund couldn’t slay the Kraken in its own nest? And to add a little bit more spice to the occasion, it was Bayern’s 113th Birthday. Cake all round I hoped.

So how can the invincibles become even more immortal? How about snapping up the world’s most in demand coach? Pep Guardiola will hopefully be walking into the Allianz Arena dressing room in July to meet a record-breaking team if current form is anything to go by. Bundesliga champions? Almost certainly. European champions? I think only one or two teams may have a say in that. Perhaps they should already have that title. Once again the huge burden of expectation that goes with hosting the final played heavily on the side’s performance last May against Chelsea.

But for all their dominance this season Dortmund have come back at them again and again. Many saw their heavy home defeat to Hamburg earlier this month as a sign than Jürgen Klopp had not taken the opportunity in the January window to strengthen the side. But just seven days later and after an arduous Champions League game in Ukraine they emphatically bounced back with a win against 4th place Eintracht Frankfurt where the 3-0 score line hardly did justice to their attacking domination. Continue reading →

DangeReus

Posted on February 18, 2013 by stuartnoel

Despite having the biggest average home league attendance in the world, Borussia Dortmund surprisingly only generate around £25 million from matchday income each season out of a total of £189 million of total revenue, according to the most recent Football Money League report published annually by Deloitte. Whilst the lead the way in passionate home support, their approach on ticket pricing puts them firmly behind “smaller” clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea where money is no object for the majority of their fans.

The German footballing philosophy of football for the masses is all well and good in getting ticks in the boxes for affordability, but in terms of the one true global measure of how big a club is, it is a contentious issue. Matchday revenues make up nearly a third of the income sources for Manchester United, and around 40% for Arsenal. If Borussia Dortmund wanted to be mentioned in the same breath as Real Madrid, Barcelona and dare I say it in these parts, Bayern Munich, an increase in ticket prices would need to be put in place. But that’s not how clubs roll here in Germany. For those who have experienced a Bundesliga game or two will know, the fans actually mean more to a club than just a walking €50 note.

8482530926_5289ec981f_b You get the feeling that even if Dortmund increased ticket prices by 20-30% then the fans would still flock to the Signal Iduna Park week in, week out. Even such a Greek Debt-busting inflation hike would still make ticket prices cheaper than all but a few Premier League sides. The demand for tickets from visitors and Dortmund virgins far outstrips supply. However, thanks to the contacts of Danny Last, we had four tickets for the game in the bag as our train from Münster eased into the Signal Iduna Park station and a wall of yellow and black hit us as we alighted from the train.

On paper this was a banker home win, with some of the shortest odds I had seen for awhile. Eintracht Frankfurt on the other hand were a tasty 7.25. Similar odds would have been on offer for the visit of Hamburg last weekend but in a coupon-busting result, the ‘Rothosen’ ran out 4-1 winners. With joint Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski serving a suspension, surely Dortmund would have enough quality to see off the visitors – lightning wouldn’t strike twice in a week, would it? Continue reading →

The Champions League road ends for Ajax

Posted on November 22, 2012 by stuartnoel

Being a man of many talents, our regular reporter for The Ball is Oval, Michael Miles headed over the North Sea to Holland for the Champions League game between Ajax and Borussia Dortmund last week.

The man in front of me in the queue at the ticket office was very, very upset. He had a ticket for the match but because it was not in the German section he and his friends had been refused entry by the stewards. In excellent English he was demanding of the harassed clerk that she not only refund the cost of his ticket but his airfare and his hotel.

I never did find out how things panned out with him as she waved her hand at me and I thrust my confirmation letter in front of her. She had regained her composure sufficiently to ask if I too were German. I reminded her that the e-mail in front of her had my London address on it. She pushed two tickets, our 10-euro Arena card and two game scarves in our direction and we were away to leave her to her new German friend.

Buying tickets through the Ajax web site had been easy enough. I had forked out 273 euros and that included a mysterious 15 euro handling fee. A year previously I had watched a league game at the same stadium and paid half that sum. Such is the inflationary value of the Champions League.

On the packed metro to the Amsterdam Arena were a group of West Ham fans. I am a Hammers supporter, so good to meet some like-minded souls among all the Ajax fans thought I. But they were already into a two-days drinking binge and weren’t interested in me. My Chelsea-supporting friend had just found the courage to put his Chelsea cap on, something which seemed to vastly amuse the West Ham gang who entertained themselves trying to snatch it from his head. They weren’t even going to the game, but to a Status Quo concert.

Such are the joys of foreign football travel.

The Champions League is the ideal place for Ajax’s youngsters to gain some much needed experience on the continental stage, although they would probably have wanted a slightly easier group. Nevertheless they had taken four points off Manchester City, and had only lost 0-1 in Madrid. The Dutch champions, with an average age of about 23, have the competition’s youngest squad.

Winners of the last two Bundesliga titles, Dortmund probably don’t need reminding that the last time they claimed two consecutive domestic crowns (1995 and 1996) they wet on to become European champions the following season. Last season they came bottom of their group with only one win, but this time around Jurgen Klopp’s young side have started impressively. Manchester City were very lucky to emerge with a point from the game at the Ethiad when the German side were the much superior side, and impressed many people with the fluency of their football.

Ajax 1 Borussia Dortmund 4 – Amsterdam ArenA – Wednesday 21st November 2012
On the pitch tonight, 20-year old Mario Gotze inspired Borussia Dottmund as they produced a ruthlessly efficient performance to win 4-1 in the Amsterdam Arena.3-0 up at half time they progressed to the last 16 as Group D winners, with one game to go-home to a foundering Manchester City.Gotze had a hand in each of his teams goals, scoring the second himself and setting up two for Robert Lewandowski, as Dortmund looked capable of scoring every time they broke.

Substitute Daniel Hoesen’s late goal for Ajax was little consolation for the home team and did little to dampen the spirits of the jubilant away support, proud to have witnessed such a superb display from their side. I only hope the fan in front of me at the ticket office got in to see it.

Frank de Boer, the Ajax coach, commented “We got a lesion in efficiency from Dortmund but I am also very angry about the way we defended.” He had every right to be.