World Soccer - UK (2020-11)

The end of La Liga’s Champions League dominance?

It’s never wise to read too much

into the results of one season, and

particularly not one as unusual as

2019-20. Still, it felt significant that,

for the first time since 2007, there

wasn’t a single La Liga side in the

semi-finals of the Champions League.

Odd things can happen in knockout

football – having provided all four

finalists of the two European

competitions the previous season,

there were no Premier League

semi-finalists either – but what

was striking washowthe Spanish

teams went out.

Manchester City were eliminated

following a surprising and destabilising

tactical switch from manager Pep

Guardiola; Liverpool went out through

a goalkeeping error after a slightly

freakish game; Chelsea cannot

defend against counters and met an

excellent Bayern Munich; Tottenham

had a season when problems came

home to roost leading to a change

of manager. Given the immense

wealth of the Premier League, it’s

reasonable to suggest their clubs

have underperformed in Europe

en masse over the past decade but

it’s difficult to isolate one reason for

their exits in 2019-20.

But look at the four La Liga clubs.

Valencia are Valencia and have their

own sense of perpetual crisis, but

they were bullied by Atalanta in

the last16. Real Madrid seemed

startled by Manchester City’s pressing,

particularly in the first half of the

second leg, and ended up self-

destructing by giving the ball away

repeatedly. Barcelona, as so often

over the past four seasons, looked

laboured in midfield and were swatted

aside by a much more dynamic

Bayern. And most significant of all

were Atletico, who were physically

and tactically outmatched by RB

Leipzig. In all four games, the Spanish

side looked slower and less powerful

than their opponents – and that

constitutes a worrying trend.

Since 2009, La Liga has been

the dominant force in the Champions

League by some margin. Barcelona’s

first triumph under Pep Guardiola

was the beginning of a run of seven

titles in a decade for Spanish sides.

In part that was the result of two

great individuals in Lionel Messi

and Cristiano Ronaldo, and in part

because of the tactical innovation and

THEWORLD THIS MONTH

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

Jonathan

WILSON

excellence of Guardiola. His Barca

redrew the parameters of what was

considered possible in football, and

led to teams more generally taking a

far more possession-based approach.

While Real Madrid never took

on the philosophy wholesale and

remained far more driven by big stars

with big personalities who reliably

performed in crunch games, in the

technical excellence of Luka Modric

and Toni Kroos and the way they, at

their best, could control a midfield,

there was at least a reflection of

the same method. At Atletico, of

course, Diego Simeone was doing

something very different, but he

too was influenced by Barca, if only

because he had to devise a way to

play against opponents who had

taken on those passing ideals.

But football has moved on. The

Spanish model has been replaced by

the German one. It’s no coincidence

that three of the coaches in the

Champions League semi-finals

were German. Regaining the ball

has become more important than

retaining it. Possession football

Shackled...Atletico

Madrid’sJoao Felix

In all four games, the Spanish side looked

slower and less powerful than their opponents

Barca humiliation...

Goalkeeper Marc-

Andre ter Stegen