The Uefa Champions league final in Milan marked the end of
the 2015/2016 European club football season, and what a season it turned out to
be, from pulsating title races to dramatic cup finals to nerve-racking
relegation battles, the 2015/2016 season provided all we wanted and more. We’ll
be looking at some of the elements from the major European leagues that made
this season so memorable.
ENGLISH PREMIER
LEAGUE
CHAMPIONS – LEICESTER CITY
To say Leicester City’s ascent to the apex of English club
football was miraculous is a grave understatement. The Foxes, who only managed
to avoid the drop and finish 14th on the table in the 2014/2015
season, shocked the football world with their unexpected triumph under the guidance
of Italian manager Claudio Ranieri. It would be wrong to attribute the Foxes success
to just one player, as the whole team performed very well as a unit, but the
performances of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez stood out from the rest. Vardy
scored 24 goals and made 6 assists while Mahrez scored 17 goals and assisted 11.
FLOP OF THE SEASON – CHELSEA
This season will definitely be one to forget for the Chelsea
faithful, as they gave the worst title defense in modern day premier league
history. Chelsea only managed to win three of their first 12 premier league
fixtures, adding salt to their wound was the infamous Jose Mourinho bust-up
with team doctor Eva Carneiro. People would argue that things improved under
Dutch manager Guus Hiddink, but it was still a disastrous season for Chelsea as
they finished 9th on the table.
2016/2017?
With the revelation of at least four highly reputable managers
taking charge of teams in the premier league (Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho,
Antonio Conte and Walter Mazzarri) and the prospect of the existing ones (Jurgen
Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, Arsene Wenger, Claudio Ranieri, Slaven Bilic and
Ronald Koeman) strengthening their squads for a reasonable title challenge, it
is safe to say that we are in for a “LIT” 2016/2017 season.
SPANISH LA LIGA
CHAMPIONS – BARCELONA
Barcelona added another La liga title to increase their
recent trophy haul under manager Luis Enrique to 7. Barcelona started their
title defense in convincing fashion and at some point in the title race they
had a ten point lead and were sure of retaining their title, until a disastrous
patch of form in April saw them lose the ten point lead and blow the title race
wide open, allowing bitter rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid a chance to
steal their crown, but it wasn’t to be, as Barcelona held their nerve and won
their remaining matches to clinch their 24th La liga title. Lionel
Messi played a pivotal role as usual but it was Uruguayan Luis Suarez who was
their main talisman, he scored 40 goals in the league campaign to take home the
pichichi.
2016/2017?
Next season looks like another three horse race between the usual
suspects will be inevitable, it will be interesting to see how Zidane will fare
in his first full season in charge of Real Madrid. There are also doubts
concerning Diego Simeone’s future at Atletico Madrid following his Champions
league final post-match comments.
ITALIAN SERIE A
CHAMPIONS – JUVENTUS
Juventus were runaway winners once again, as Massimiliano
Allegri’s men were head and shoulders above their main title rivals Napoli.
Napoli led at the beginning of the season with a very bright start to their season
while Juventus had one of their worst starts to a Serie A campaign in their
illustrious history, the decisive moment came when Juve defeated Napoli 1-0
thanks to a Simone Zaza goal, since then Juventus did not turn back and they kept
their excellent form to seal their 5th consecutive scudetto.
2016/2017?
I can’t look past Juventus for the Scudetto next season,
their squad is on another level compared to their rivals, and with the news
that Dani Alves and Miralem Pjanic are joining their ranks during the transfer window;
it’s safe to say that I’m not making a wrong prediction. Although a 6th
consecutive Scudetto won’t be an easy task, Allegri has more than enough talent
at their disposal to achieve it.
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
CHAMPIONS - BAYERN MUNICH
Bayern Munich said goodbye to Pep Guardiola German style as
the Spanish manager was bathed in beer to celebrate his 3rd and Bayern’s
4th consecutive Bundesliga title. Bayern faced little to no
resistance from their competitors as only rivals Borussia Dortmund came close
to challenging them for the title, although Dortmund had an impressive season
they ultimately fell short to Bayern Munich in the League and domestic cup (DFB-Pokal).
Bayern were buoyed by their talisman and Bundesliga top scorer Polish striker Robert
Lewandowski, who netted 30 goals.
2016/2017?
Bayern Munich seem to have a monopoly going on in the Bundesliga
and I can’t see Borussia Dortmund usurping Die Bayern from the throne of German
football, especially since they sold Mats Hummels to their rivals; if that doesn’t
show you the level of monopoly and influence that Bayern have over the Bundesliga,
I don’t know what will. First it was Gotze and then Lewandowski and now its
Hummels, how can Dortmund compete with a Bayern Munich that can buy their local
rivals most influential players at will? And with Carlo Ancelotti coming in we
can expect more success for the Bavarian outfit. Bayern will most likely make
it 5 Bundesliga wins in a row.
FRENCH LIGUE 1
CHAMPIONS – PSG
Saying PSG were runaway winners is a bit of an understatement
seeing as they had clinched the league title with EIGHT GAMES to spare,
unbelievable. They had a stunning 31 point gap lead over 2nd position
Lyon, scored 102 goals and conceded only 19, it truly was a memorable season
for PSG, however, they will undoubtedly feel incomplete after failing to accomplish
their true goal of winning the Uefa Champions League. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who
is PSG’s all time leading scorer has said farewell to the club leaving big
shoes to fill at Parc des Prince, the Swedish striker scored 38 goals this campaign
making him the top goal scorer in Ligue 1.
2016/2017?
PSG’s story can be likened to that of a big fish
swimming in a little pond, the quality and array of talent as well as transfer
funds available to PSG cannot be matched by any other team in France, period,
thus making Ligue 1 somewhat redundant as we already know PSG will most likely
win. Pundits and analysts alike have attributed PSG’s underachievement in the
Champions League to the difference in the quality of opponents they face in Ligue
1 in relation to those they face in the Champions League, maybe they are right.
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