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I shall begin in the Bundesliga: Amazing season, book maker´s predictions have been torn to shreds. Mainz first led the race blasting all before them for their first 7 matches, then Borussia Dortmund rose like a phoenix stopping all before them and falling only twice. Currently with an 11 point lead heading into the winter break, they will maintain such a gap till March and I see them crowned Bundesliga champions. Bayern Munich look dazed from the World Cup and achievements of last season, Wolfsburg look like England under McClaren, Schalke only realized that the league even started by end of November, while Bremen and Stuggart haven't decided to partake in the season as of yet. Key deciders for Dortmund will be the Ruhr Derby vs Schalke-04, Weder Bremen, Mainz-05, Bayer Leverkusen and, while not forgetting Bayern Munich, maybe Hamburg. Should Dortmund survive all these games they´ve got the Bundesliga.
Standout player so far: (it's a tie): Shinji Kagawa and Nuri Sahin. Dortmund´s scouts deserve an extra bonus. Shingawa is the reason football is the world´s sport. Honestly, what more can you say about someone who was playing in the Japanese second division and is now dominating the Bundesliga?
In Italy it's been a disappointing season for the all conquering Internazionale Milano of last season. After replacing Mourinho (who moved to Madrid) with Benitez (wrong move I must say), failing to make any noticeable signings and depending on a very old squad lacking any motivation, they seemed to be telling their rivals, ¨Hey we don't want the title do you? And their rivals said YES!!¨ The rossoneri lead the pack. They have a fearsome attack (with the addition of Cassano it just got better), but the same problems as of last season (their defense) still exists. With a resurgent Roma, Juventus, Lazio, Napoli and Inter which woke up late, it should make for a most exciting second half of the season. Can Milan march straight on to their first Serie A title in almost 7 years? I think whoever wins it will be the coach willing to go beyond the safety zone. I have never been a fan of Juventus but something tells me that they are going to play a huge role in deciding Serie A.
Standout player so far: I am tempted to name Samuel Etoó or Javier Pastore as standout performers, but I think I'll give it to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. On his return to Serie A he showed that it was just Pep Guardiola that didn't like him (quite frankly he didn't fit into Barcelona style like David Villa has this season), but he has helped lead Milan to a position many were not sure they'll be able to attain and he is looking at his best once again.
In England it's quite interesting to see the money bags of Man City having the opportunity to be on top and saying, "Well, we would rather just finish in the top four." Chelsea started very strongly, and like I said earlier on, they are their own biggest weakness. The excuse that they trying to cut costs and bring in their youngsters is crap. They have a squad at their peak and you let players like Ballack, Belleti, Deco go (with no cover), throwing in Kakuta, MacEachran into the heat of battle and if they don't deliver, what do you get? Six weeks with no wins. I think Mother Nature did Chelsea a huge favor and they'll be back to battle for the crown. At the beginning I had Chelsea and Man Utd. as the main title contenders, and I still say it's between both teams. No disrespect intended at Arsenal, Spurs, Man City but you guys do not have the consistency to land the title. Right now Man Utd is my number one favorite to win the EPL. Why, because while they haven't hit the sort of form or a good patch like the Man Utd. of old, they are still unbeaten. Since their rivals have decided not to up their games, it's now up to Manchester United to lose the race. Will they? I don't know, but what I do know is that if by end of March, Man Utd. is still topping the table, then they'll be on their way to another league trophy. Man City and Spurs will play kingmakers and may both finish in the top four. One good thing for Man Utd. is that they are undefeated against both teams. Maybe that's a sign?
Standout player so far: It would have gone to Florent Malouda, but considering Chelsea's loss of form, I won't give it to him. Samir Nasri is also having his best season with Arsenal but does not show up in the biggest games (or does for one half, isn't that typical Arsenal?) so he can't get it. Andy Carroll gets it. In his first season in the Premiership he has announced himself on the big stage and looks a better version of Crouch. Berbatov also deserves some praise.
Finally we come to the Land of the World Champions and of the next Champions League winners ( ha ha ha, don't hate). One Name says it all FC Barcelona. They have dominated everyone, except for the likes of Hercules, Mallorca, Copenhagen (in the UCL), but their performance against Real Madrid and Espanyol would have made other teams give up and say the league is over right? No. This is La Liga. It's only two points that separate second from first and just ten that separate second from third. (Yes, I said just ten because I believe that will be reduced, too). The league is nowhere near it's end.
The Special One has brought a tremendous improvement to Real Madrid this season and apart from the thrashing at Nou Camp, the Magnificent Whites have continued to grown in strength. The likes of Ozil, Di Maria and Carvalho have all turned out to be impressive signings, and with the return of Kaka and Higuain, adding to the rebirth of Benzema and the already magnificent Cristiano Ronaldo, los blancos can only push FC Barcelona to the end. I believe the title decider may not just be the El Classico at the Santiago Bernabau, but games against Villareal, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Mallorca will be the games that will decide who lifts the La Liga crown come May. Valencia scored the same amount of goals as Real Madrid did in Europe, and despite losing their major stars, have proved they have what it takes to go far. Villarreal has the wonderful combination of Nilmar and Rossi who can't stop banging in goals, and while Atletico Madrid´s Diego Forlan has had a very bad hangover from the World Cup, hopefully he should be back for the second half of La Liga. Also watch out for Getafe and Malaga. They might earn huge results against some of the power houses.
All said and done, FC Barcelona are the number one favorites for the title. They have been unstoppable in last few rounds of games and with Xavi playing his best football, Messi, Villa, Pedro still scoring and Iniesta on the prowl, you can hardly find any weakness in this team, but that's were the weakness lie. They simply are their own weakness. Will they get complacent?
Standout player so far: In a league where newcomers such as Ozil and Di Maria are delivering consistently, David Villa is doing great for Barca, Xavi is the number one central midfielder in the world, and every attacking player is under the shadows of Lionel Messi and CR7 (isn't everyone in the World?), I'll instead name Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao as that star performer. There is no striker like him in La Liga. He is big, but he has good feet, and has taken his goal scoring to the national team. He won't be with Bilbao for too long but while he is, he deserves that standing Ovation.
So there you have it, a lot of you may not be happy with where I put your teams, but well someone had too, besides my team wasn't named number one to win the League by me right? Wish you all the best of the Holiday Season, stay safe and thank you for your support.
by Raphael Harry, for Forzafutbol.com
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