In our continuing coverage leading up to the World Cup, it's time to move from England and our EPL recap to the continent and what happened this season and the Big 4 Leagues in Spain, Italy, Germany, and France. Then, coming later this week we will look ahead to the Champions League Final between German champs Bayern Munich and Italian champs Inter Milan. Away we go!
Champions - Barcelona
Champions League Qualifiers -
2nd - Real Madrid
3rd - Valencia
4th - Sevilla
Best Player - Lionel Messi
-A ridiculously easy choice. Messi equaled Ronaldo's modern era total of 47 goals in all competitions. Here's the required Youtube tribute video. Enjoy!
Biggest Surprise - Mallorca
-Mallorca continued a strong run from the last two seasons that saw them finish in the top half of the table. This year, they narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification. It's a team with few stars that finished only a point behind Sevilla in 4th. With the Top 4's power broken in England and Italy, maybe next year it will happen in Spain.
Biggest Disappointment - Kaka
-Kaka and Ronaldo were supposed to change the face of La Liga and world soccer with their hundreds of millions of dollars. Ronaldo produced 33 goals compared to only 9 by Kaka in La Liga/CL games. It was a largely disappointing campaign from the man once considered the world's best.
Biggest Story - The Galacticos 2.0 Still Can't Beat Barca
-The defining moment of the season came on April 10, with the league lead on the line and Barcelona playing at Real Madrid. Barca won at the Bernebeau for the 2nd straight season and shut out Madrid's potent lineup. Until Real can beat Barca head to head, they won't be able to reclaim the La Liga title. With Barcelona already signing David Villa from Valencia and eyeing Cesc Fabregas, one has to wonder how Real will respond. Barcelona only lost one game and totaled a record 99 points this year and appear unstoppable in Spain, no matter how much $$$ Madrid spend.
Italy
Champions - Inter Milan
Champions League Qualifiers -
2nd - Roma
3rd - AC Milan
4th - Sampdoria
Best Player - Javier Zanetti
-The Inter defender, at 36 years old, has remained a bedrock in the defense of the Italian champions since 1995. And, like fine Italian wine, he only gets better with age. He's been with Inter for 5 straight Serie A titles and will look to lift the Champions League trophy Saturday. This season, the Inter captain started 49 games in Serie A and the Champions League out of a possible 50. Somehow, Diego Maradona has left him out of the Argentine squad for the World Cup, and he's not the only one out in the cold (more in a sec).
Biggest Surprise - Sampdoria
-This was the season for the Cinderella Champions League story. From out of nowhere (actually 13th last season), Sampdoria passed more fancied teams like Juventus and Fiorentina to finish 4th in Serie A. Giampaolo Pazzini (expected to be a summer transfer target) and Antonio Cassano form one of the best strike partnerships in Italy. Unfortunately, manager Gigi Del Neri preferred to take Juventus from the ashes instead of coach Sampdoria in next year's Champions League, speaking of...
Biggest Disappointment - Juventus
-Juventus spent money this summer on what appeared to be wise signings - Diego and Felipe Melo. But, they only managed to score 55 goals while allowing 56 and finishing an incredibly disappointing 7th. Much like Liverpool, this is a big club that suffered through a very poor season, marked by their shocking 4-1 loss at Fulham in the Europa League. They will need much more from Trezeguet, Amauri, and Iaquinta up front next season.
Biggest Story - Inter Goes After European Glory
-Inter held off a spirited challenge from Roma to win their 5th straight Serie A title, but with Jose Mourinho on board we all know that the Champions League is the true prized possession. On Saturday, Inter will try and become the first Italian team to win the league, cup, and European treble as they chase the Champions League trophy. Their era atop Italian soccer may reach its climax this weekend.
Germany
Champions - Bayern Munich
Champions League Qualifiers -
2nd - Schalke 04
3rd - Werder Bremen
Best Player - Arjen Robben
-The mercurial Dutchman has always had a wealth of talent, but he finally seems to be putting it together at Bayern Munich. In his time at Chelsea and Real Madrid, he always had moments of brilliance and woeful periods of inconsistency. This year, he was 1 of 2 Bundesliga players to finish in the Top 5 in goals and Top 10 in assists (Kevin Kuranyi the other). What puts Robben over the top is his performances lifting Bayern to the Champions League Final including one of the goals of the season at Man United...
Biggest Surprise - Werder Bremen
-Bremen is a successful club and has a history of success, but after finishing 10th last year and selling Diego, getting back to Champions League play was a major surprise. This is especially true considering the depth at the top of the Bundesliga where there are 8-10 teams that can beat each other on any given day. They scored 71 goals on the season, and may challenge Bayern next year.
Biggest Disappointment - Hertha Berlin
-What a fall. Hertha finished last this season in the Bundesliga after challenging for the title and finishing 4th last season. They only scored 34 goals in 34 games, wow, they couldn't have missed Andiry Voronin that much could they? Nahhh. Imagine Tottenham next season plummeting to the bottom of the EPL, it was stunning.
Biggest Story - The Most Entertaining League In Europe
-Unfortunately, the Bundesliga doesn't get a lot of press with the focus on the EPL, Spain, and Serie A. But, the German league provides the most attractive brand of soccer, the most competitive games, and the highest number of quality teams. Take this year for instance where defending champ Wolfsburg finished 8th and last year's title contender finished in dead last. Did you know that the Bundesliga has now led the major European leagues in goals per game for 20 consecutive seasons? So next year, go grab some brats and beer and watch the Bundesliga!
France
Champions - Marseille
Champions League Qualifiers -
2nd - Lyon
3rd - Auxerre
Best Player - Lisandro Lopez
-The Lyon striker bought from FC Porto was one of the top scorers in Ligue 1 this season and also starred in the Champions League. His fellow ex-Porto mate Lucho Gonzalez was also a key player in Marseille's rise back to the top of Ligue 1. But, it's Lisandro that gets the edge here as he was able to help carry Lyon back to respectability after a poor campaign last season and was named player of the year by his peers. So... it makes you scratch your head that Lisandro was not even selected by Diego Maradona for Argentina's World Cup squad! Seriously... what is Maradona thinking? At least he doesn't look like this anymore...
Biggest Surprise - Raymond Domenech Is Still Coaching The National Team?
-France's national team appears to be the the major European power in the most trouble approaching this year's World Cup. With news coming that Bordeaux's Laurent Blanc will take over after South Africa, one has to wonder... what took so long? Under Domenech, the French have gone from the 2006 WC Final to finishing last in their Euro 2008 group and limping towards WC Qualification while playing ugly soccer. Don't be surprised to see them get bounced early in June.
Biggest Disappointment - Bordeaux
-The defending champs slumped out of Champions League or Europa League play and all the way to 6th on the table. When you combine that with a loss to Lyon in this year's CL quarterfinals, it was not a good year for Bordeaux. With Marouane Chamakh looking to join Arsenal and Laurent Blanc in line to coach the national side, it looks like Bordeaux's stay at the top may have been brief.
Biggest Story - Henry's Handball
-The apparent next star of MLS carried France to the World Cup with the most infamous handball since the aforementioned Maradona. France beat Ireland in a playoff to advance. With France going to the WC and all of the talk of injustice and replays behind us, let's take a walk down memory lane. Hide your eyes if you're Irish!
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