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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
EUROPEAN S360 SPOTLIGHT AWARDS 2021 SOCCER 360 AWARDS
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PLAYER OF THE YEAR – ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI, BAYERN MUNICH & POLAND Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? How about neither? It may be easy to copy the results of the Ballon D’or and simply pick Messi, but we think there are several other contenders. Liverpool’s Mo Salah is in the frame, Erling Haaland is no slouch either and worthy of a mention, as is Atletico Madrid shot stopper Jan Oblak. Instead, there’s a repeat of last year here – there was no Ballon d’Or in 2020 but Robert Lewandowski would have won it if there was, and got Soccer360’s Player of the Year as a consolation. Well, with a goal every 66 minutes for Bayern Munich, he’s got another one for 2021 – having somehow missed out on the Ballon d’Or again.
ABOVE: Robert Lewandowski controversially missed out on the Ballon d’Or but is Soccer360’s Player of the Year
LEFT: The European Super League was one of the biggest blunders of 2021
BOTTOM: Luiz Diaz Chelsea winning their second Champions League, Inter taking the Serie A title away from Juventus and Palmeiras making it back-to-back Copa Libertadores are all special and notable. However, in a break from the obvious, our Team of the Year is a side that have come from seemingly nowhere to become a European powerhouse, reaching the latter stages of the Champions League, finishing runners-up in the Coppa Italia and finishing third for a third straight season in Serie A. Le Dea of Atalanta are a prime example of teamwork proving almost anything is possible.
GOAL OF THE YEAR – LUIS DIAZ, COLOMBIA VS. BRAZIL Once again, 2021 has served up a treat in front of goal with any number of worthy nominations. However, one piece of acrobatic skill and power was mesmerizing in its execution. Colombia was taking on Brazil in a group game during the summer’s Copa
America and in the tenth minute a miracle happened. Colombia’s Luis Diaz was in the right place in the tenth minute as he spectacularly powered home a bicycle kick to put his side 1-0 up. It was not just the skill, but the power that caught the eye. Unfortunately for Diaz, his side would go on to controversially lose the game 2-1, but he netted a goal well worth looking up on YouTube.
RANT OF THE YEAR – ‘BARCELONA…A HISTORIC FAILURE’ ‘Resignation from the football elite’. Barcelona is a club in crisis both financially and on the pitch. This became even more apparent when Bayern Munich beat the Catalan giants 3-0 to knock Barca out of the Champions League in the group stage. The Catalan press went to town, with that aforementioned quote just one example. However, one journalist went ballistic at the state of the club claiming: ‘The Camp Nou can be rented out on Tuesdays and Thursdays,’ and that ‘This has been a historic failure’. It certainly will take some getting used to watching Barcelona playing on a Thursday night in the Europa League.
TWEET OF THE YEAR – BRENT ON THE SUPER LEAGUE The proposed European Super League caused huge controversy but also plenty of ammunition for Twitter opportunists to wade in with a witty jibe or two. After the ESL plan went sour, clubs started to back track on their initial intention to become a part of the league. One of those clubs was Manchester United, who felt the wrath of comedy boss David Brent from the O ce with a short but sweet tweet perfectly encapsulating the general feeling whilst tastefully sticking the knife in. If David Brent is getting laughs at your expense, it must be bad. COACH OF THE YEAR – ROBERTO MANCINI, ITALY When Roberto Mancini took over the Italy national team in 2018 he inherited nothing short of a mess. Having missed out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup it looked like the former world and European champions were light years away from being competitive again. However, with Mancini in charge, the change was dramatic. Cue a run of 37-games unbeaten which culminated in Mancini guiding Italy to the European Championship title this summer. In 2021, the former Manchester City boss also become the fastest coach to reach 30 victories for the Azzurri having been in the dugout for just 44 games. Italy’s failure to qualify automatically for World Cup 2022 shouldn’t count against him when the year is considered as a whole.
FANS OF THE YEAR – FOOTBALL FANS EVERYWHERE Like all sports, football has had its restrictions throughout the year leaving stadiums empty at the beginning of the year. However, when fans were allowed back, they came back with a bang. At risk of being accused of sitting on the fence, this award goes out to you, the fan. No matter who you support, what league they play in, this one is for the patience, dedication, and passion shown when being in the ground was not possible. After all, football is everyone’s game.
TOTAL DISREGARD FOR THE FANS AWARD – EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE Ah, the European Super League. The big story of the year and one that caused a huge divide between clubs and fans. The proposed breakaway league [in which promotion and relegation would be e ectively abolished], chaired by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, turned into a PR disaster for the prospective league’s founding members and proved how out of touch they are with their fan-base. Fortunately, most of the clubs realised the extent of their ga e and came back begging for forgiveness. However, the fact that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, Manchester City, Milan, Inter, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and, of course Real Madrid, even went there in the first place hands them all this unwanted award. YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR – RICARDO PEPI, FC DALLAS AND THE UNITED STATES Away from the talent pool of European football, one player has caught our eye as he has torn MLS apart. 18-year-old FC Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi has had a breakout year to remember after netting 13 MLS goals [a joint record for a teenager in MLS] and contributing three assists. Not only that, at 18 years and 196 days old, the Texan became the youngest ever player in the division to net a hat-trick, at the expense of LA Galaxy. He also made his international debut for the United States and has three goals in six games.
SACKING OF THE YEAR AWARD – STEVE BRUCE, NEWCASTLE UNITED We don’t like to be negative, but sometimes the writing is on the wall for some coaches. Three names appear to have had their heads on the chopping block for some time and all three ended up losing their job. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United and Ronald Koeman at Barcelona spent large portions of their tenures looking over their shoulder. But it is former Newcastle boss Steve Bruce who wins this award. From the moment he walked through the door at St James Park in 2019 it seemed he wasn’t wanted, rather unfairly though after guiding the club to 13th and 12th place in his first two years. However, a Newcastle takeover spelt the inevitable end of this drawn-out managerial saga.
ABOVE: In a year of much remarkable team success, Atalanta’s 2021 deserves recognition
LOWER LEFT: The year ended badly for Roberto Mancini but guiding Italy to victory at Euro 2020 was an outstanding achievement
BOTTOM LEFT: Fans returning to stadiums across the globe as the pandemic eased was one of the highlights of 2021
BOTTOM RIGHT: The writing was on the wall for Steve Bruce at Newcastle long before the club was taken over
EUROPEAN SPOTLIGHT
sweet sixteen
UEFA NEEDED TWO GOES TO GET THE DRAW FOR THE ROUND OF 16 RIGHT BUT, EVENTUALLY, SOME MOUTHWATERING TIES WERE PRODUCED, DAN ROBERTS WRITES…
There used to be criticism of the Champions League that it only ever got interesting at the knockout stages. Thanks to a more competitive group stage in the last few years, that notion has largely disappeared, with this season’s opening phase throwing up a whole load of surprises – none more shocking than Barcelona’s failure to progress for the first time since 2004. But it is still true to say that this is when the heat is really turned up with Europe’s premier club competition. Sixteen sides have now made it through and the draw at UEFA’s headquarters generated a lot of excitement and controversy. A second draw was needed after an initial ‘technical’ error – and now we have eight mouth-watering ties to look forward to in February and March. The initial draw pitted Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo, with Paris Saint-Germain set to play Manchester United. But due to the irregularities, football fans across the world may not get to see that match up now. The French champions are still involved in the most intriguing tie of the round though, as they now face Real Madrid. With the Spanish
Tgiants looking good at the top of La Liga this season, it will be a stern test for Neymar and company as they look to bring the Champions League to the French capital for the first time ever. Manchester United didn’t complain about the first draw – even when they were assigned one of the toughest ties – but will now have to overcome Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid if they are to go any further in the competition. A lot will depend on the result of the first leg in the Wanda Metropolitano. If the Spanish side can take a lead to Old Tra ord, they will be favourites to go through, with United looking inconsistent this season. The other big tie of the round involves another Premier League team, Liverpool, who will be returning to San Siro. Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Milan in the group stage, where they failed to drop a single point. Inter should pose a stronger test than their city rivals, but Liverpool will look to overwhelm the Italian side’s defence with their strong attacking game. With the second leg under the lights at Anfield, the English club will surely be favourites to go through. Pep Guardiola is one head coach that will be pleased with how both
ABOVE: The Champions League Round of 16 draw had to be redone after a ‘technical’ problem saw the wrong teams placed in the wrong pots
LEFT: Chelsea look to repeat as Europe Champions
