Amidst all the excitement of Liverpool’s Champions League exertions against Arsenal the other week, it was easy to overlook an even more dramatic encounter unfolding in the UEFA Cup, that poor relative of the money-spinning Champions’ League.
I speak of that cracking quarter final tie between German giants Bayern Munich and Spanish “minnows” Getafe. On paper, this looked like a straight forward affair – the moneyed, star-studded German side expected to run, rough shod over the provincial upstarts. Instead we got two exciting, drama-packed matches only settled in the very last minute of extra time in the second leg. If you think the Liverpool v Arsenal ending – with 3 goals in the last 6 minutes - was pure drama, well, this one was on a different level.
The excitement started in Munich when, with Bayern sitting on a one-goal first half lead, Getafe took the game to the hosts till late in the game, persistently pounding on the door until substitute Cosmin Contra beat Oliver Kahn and two defenders on the goal line with the most delicate of chips in the 90th minute.
Then came the second leg in Spain. Getafe were reduced to 10 men after 7 minutes, losing star defender De La Red to a straight red card. Then, Nigerian striker Uche, limped off with a pulled hamstring after 20 minutes. Yet Contra scored again, this time to give Getafe the lead just before half time, and they seemed all set for a giant killing……only for Bayern to tie it all up, again in the 90th minute, and send the game to extra time. Two quick Getafe goals swung the tie back in the Spaniards favour as they now led 4-2 on aggregate with five minutes to play. Then came the climax to beat all climaxes.
In the 116th minute - four minutes to safety - Getafe ‘keeper Abbondanzieri dropped a harmless-looking long punt into the box, gifting Luca Toni the easiest of tap-ins. Now, Bayern needed just one more goal to get through on away goals. Well, they got it right on the dot of time, Toni again nodding in to bring a dramatic end to an exciting affair.
Just goes to show that great football can still be found outside of the super-hyped Champions League. Bayern were expected to stroll through the UEFA Cup field this season, and they remain favourites to take the cup. But Getafe, with no household names on the books, showed what good teamwork, organization and attacking football can achieve, while once again highlighting the quality of the Spanish La Liga. English clubs may dominate the latter stages of the Champions League, but it’s always the same English clubs. Getafe’s achievement and performance would be akin to a club like Birmingham or Reading reaching the UEFA Cup quarter finals – and stretching a giant like Bayern. Can you imagine that happening? I can’t. I don’t even see those teams qualifying for the UEFA Cup especially with stronger, under-performing clubs like Portsmouth, Tottenham and Newcastle – all packed with well paid international – seating ahead of them in the Premiership.
I suppose my point is this: the Premiership’s top four are as good as it gets in Europe today, but that doesn’t make the Premiership the best league. It’s exciting to watch, no doubt, it has several of the best players in the world – as Serie A did in the early 1990s – and it’s certainly well-marketed, but I’d pick La Liga over the Premiership for competitive depth. Real Madrid and Barcelona may be the standard bearers but Valencia have reached two Champions League finals and won the UEFA Cup all in the last 8 years; Sevilla won the last two UEFA Cups and beat Espanyol in the last final, and “little” Villareall were Champions League semi-finalists two years ago.
I really wasn’t planning to get into this “war of the leagues” when I started this piece, so I think I’ll give it a rest now. More to the point keep an eye out for Getafe’s manager, a certain Michael Laudrup, the former Denmark striker. He’s certainly done a fine job in his first year at the club and I wouldn’t be surprised if his name begins to come up in association with the bigger clubs.
As a former star player with both Barcelona and Real Madrid, I have little doubt that he will one day end up at the helm of one of those two clubs. Getafe, of course, has already proved a sound stepping stone to the big job: Laudrup took over from current Real boss Bernd Schuster.
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