Pitchside Europe
  • European Team of the Season

    As the dust slowly begins to settle on a momentous 2011-12 campaign, Pitchside Europe selects a team of the season composed of players who ply their trade outside the Premier League.

    (Formation: 4-1-3-2)

    Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

    After making only 16 appearances due to injury in the previous campaign, Buffon rediscovered his best form to provide the foundation upon which Juventus built their Serie A success. There was one high-profile blunder, in the 1-1 draw with Lecce that allowed Milan back into the title race, but in the main he was outstanding, conceding just 16 goals in 35

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  • Ten games that defined the season

    With the exception of France's Ligue 1, which concludes on Sunday, all of Europe's major leagues have now wrapped up for the season. Pitchside Europe looks at 10 matches that shaped the outcomes of the leading championships outside the Premier League.

    October 2: Juventus 2-0 Milan (Serie A)
    Juventus began the season with wins over Parma and Siena, followed by a pair of 1-1 draws against Bologna and Catania. The brand new Juventus Stadium had only witnessed two league matches when reigning champions Milan came to town in early October, but a late brace from local hero Claudio Marchisio secured

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  • Borussia Dortmund have already beaten Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title with a record points tally and now Juergen Klopp's side have the chance to do the double over their rivals in Saturday's DFB Pokal final.

    Dortmund's stylish young side finished a full eight points ahead of Bayern to secure their second consecutive league title and a victory at Berlin's Olympiastadion will see the team from the Ruhr win their first cup since 1989, and a domestic double for the first time in their history.

    However, Bayern are a formidable barrier to their aspirations. Jupp Heynckes’s side are in the

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  • All of Europe’s winners and losers

    The state of play in Europe's major leagues as the 2011-12 season draws to a close (permutations accurate as of midday on Monday 7 May):

    BELGIUM
    Champions: Anderlecht
    Champions League: Anderlecht and either Club Brugge, Gent or Genk
    Europa League: Lokeren and two from Club Brugge, Gent, Genk, Standard Liège, Kortrijk, Cercle Brugge and Mons
    Relegation play-off: Westerlo
    Relegated: Sint-Truiden

    ENGLAND
    Champions: Manchester City or Manchester United
    Champions League: Manchester City, Manchester United and two from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Chelsea
    Europa League: Chelsea

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  • European Match of the Weekend: FA Cup final

    Either Fernando Torres of Chelsea or Andy Carroll of Liverpool, who have both hugely under-achieved since their record-breaking transfers last year, will claim one of football's biggest prizes when their teams meet in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

    Torres, at least, has recently shown glimpses of why Chelsea paid £50 million to Liverpool for him in January last year - a record fee between British clubs.

    The Spaniard has scored four goals in his last three games, including last week's solo effort at Barcelona which sealed Chelsea's place in the Champions League final on May 19.

    He also scored

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  • How the title races stand

    With the confrontation between Manchester City and Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Monday evening likely to determine the destination of this season's Premier League crown, Pitchside Europe looks at how the title races are shaping up in Europe's other major leagues.

    Belgium
    In Belgium's complicated championship play-off system, Anderlecht lead Club Brugge by seven points with four matches to play in the six-team round-robin tournament and could be crowned champions as early as Wednesday if results go their way.

    France
    Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 defeat at defending champions Lille on

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  • European Match of the Weekend: Lyon v Quevilly

    Third-tier Quevilly are looking to go one better than their losing appearance in the 2010 finalUntil this season, the greatest sporting son of the small Normandy town of Le Petit-Quevilly was decathlete Alain Blondel, who was crowned European champion in 1994.

    Whatever the result of Saturday's Coupe de France final in Paris, it now looks like Blondel's achievement will be eclipsed in the eyes of the town's 22,000-odd residents.

    That is because their local team, Quevilly, will face French giants Lyon at the Stade de France on Saturday - and are potentially just 90 minutes away from lifting the trophy.

    Quevilly's sensational run to the final this season has already accounted for

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  • Dortmund show Germany the way

    If Spain's squad at Euro 2012 will be built around a Barcelona core, Germany's current approach is in symbiotic harmony with the philosophy of Borussia Dortmund.

    Bayern Munich may supply more players to the national squad (and Mats Hummels could conceivably be the only Dortmund player to start Germany's opening group match against Portugal on June 9), but in their style, their youthful effervescence, and their commitment to attacking football, Germany have drawn significant inspiration from the Dortmund model.

    Dortmund's relentless pressing and high-octane approach play claimed another scalp

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  • Clasico fever hits town again

    Lionel Messi and Cristiano RonaldoIt is testament to the status of Barcelona and Real Madrid that even the English are making a special effort for this weekend's latest episode of the Clasico series.

    In one of Europe's more myopic football nations, only the more die-hard football fans (not to be confused with die-hard club fans) usually bother with foreign football, but anyone with the slightest interest in the beautiful game gets excited about arguably the biggest club rivalry in the world.

    La Liga does get the most coverage of the offshore leagues, but the circus comes to every town when Real and Barca are involved.

    The 7pm

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  • Ajax’s spring surge brings title into sight

    Theo Janssen celebrates with Siem de Jong

    When Pitchside Europe last looked at Ajax, in mid-February, the Netherlands' most successful club were in crisis. Johan Cruyff had gone to court to block the appointment of Louis van Gaal as chief executive, the supervisory board had agreed to step down en masse, and Ajax were eight points behind Eredivisie leaders PSV in sixth place, having won just one game in five in all competitions since the beginning of the year.

    Two months on, they are six points clear at the top of the table with four matches of the season remaining and their 3-1 victory over De Graafschap on Sunday was their 10th

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Pagination

(68 Stories)

About Pitchside Europe

Pitchside Europe brings you the inside line on Europe"s major leagues. From Lisbon to Berlin, Glasgow to Naples, we look at the teams, players, coaches and fans making an impression across the Old Continent. Be it teenage sensations in La Liga, managerial outbursts in Ligue 1, improbable haircuts in the Bundesliga or innovative tactical trends in Serie A, if it's happening in Europe, you'll find out about it here.

  • Hodgson hamstrung by foreign influx

    Hodgson hamstrung by foreign influx

    Well, we know what Harry Redknapp would have said had he been appointed England manager and been in charge for tomorrow's friendly against Norway: 'We're down to the bare bones.' And Harry would have been right. As rude awakenings go, … Continue reading → More »

    Jim White - Fri, May 25, 2012 13:01 BST
  • Hodgson lowers England expectations

    Hodgson lowers England expectations

    "You don't have to use short passes. Not if you want to use your big man up front." It could be a line ripped straight from the script of 'Mike Bassett: England Manager', that affectionate yet searingly honest deconstruction of … Continue reading → More »

    Early Doors - Fri, May 25, 2012 09:10 BST
  • Over and out for Pep

    Over and out for Pep

    It's a good time to be a Real Madrid fan. Jose Mourinho has signed an extension which will contract him to the Bernabeu until 2016. Sir Alex Ferguson might think about moving on by then.  Having displaced Barca as Spanish … Continue reading → More »

    Andy Mitten - Thu, May 24, 2012 17:46 BST
  • Coaching or TV? Neville must choose

    Coaching or TV? Neville must choose

    Gary Neville's appointment to Roy Hodgson's England coaching staff surprised me, because I'm not sure he can combine the job with his punditry for Sky. If he is working as a link between the squad and the manager, he needs … Continue reading → More »

    Paul Parker - Thu, May 24, 2012 13:02 BST
  • Barton gazes into the abyss

    Barton gazes into the abyss

    Twelve Nietzsche quotes for Joey Barton to ponder during his suspension: 'If there is something to pardon in everything, there is also something to condemn.' 'Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.' 'And if you … Continue reading → More »

    Early Doors - Thu, May 24, 2012 09:01 BST
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