5 Things we learned in Europe this Week

By: Jan | March 7th, 2008

1. It’s the knockout rounds, stupid.
Going by league and group stage performances, Tim Wiese clearly looks the better keeper than Manuel Neuer. Blunders against Valencia and Chelsea in the group stages and a couple more in the Bundesliga had taken Neuer from Jogi Löw’s shortlist for the Euro 2008. Tim Wiese isn’t on it either, but there are at least some (Wiese for Germany), who would love to see a good penalty killer guard the German goal.

Yet, while a keeper can cost a team points in league and group stage games, it’s the knockout rounds who make or break a great keeper (in public opinion). Two howlers by Wiese against Glasgow Rangers (2-0), might have cost Bremen their UEFA Cup quarter final ticket, but they more than anything instantly reminded people of Wiese’s other famous blunder against Juventus, which cost Bremen a Champions League quarter final appearance. See: The Offside and 101 Great Goals. Meanwhile, Manuel Neuer’s heroics that first kept Schalke in the tie and then won it for them, immediately earned him a link with FC Barcelona.

2. It’s the economy, stupid.
Schalke’s president Josef Schnusenberg has given plenty of interviews lately. When he wasn’t dreaming about a new coach, he liked to talk about Schalke’s riches. All of which lie in a future, where the club has paid back the debt for the stadium and training facilities and the debt, the club had to make, because it couldn’t handle the debt for the stadium and training facilities. It’s also a future, where the club plays in the Champions League to earn the money to pay back the debt. Because Schalke are in danger of not reaching the Champions League next season, Mirko Slomka will most probably be replaced in the summer. Because Mirko Slomka somehow got Schalke a very profitable place in the Champions League quarter final, Schalke will be able to do without a season of Champions League riches. That’s why he can keep his job until the summer.

3. It’s Bayern, stupid.
Since nobody over at the UEFA Cup Offside bought into my “but it was 11 against 10″ argument, I’ll bow down in front of Bayern’s 5-0 away victory over Anderlecht as well. It wasn’t even their first choice XI on the pitch.

4. It’s not the Bundesliga, stupid.
The all-Bundesliga tie between Hamburg and Leverkusen promised to be a potentially great game, based on the match they played in the Bundesliga a few weeks ago. Instead it was 45 minutes of nothing, followed by 45 minutes, where both teams decided to look for a goal to take to the second leg. Leverkusen got it. What I learned from this experience: a two-legged knockout round with away goals rule is a very different format from your regular three points per win league format. It’s obvious I know, but having two teams from different leagues contest it, often brushes over this simple fact for me. It’s something a team can get very good at, and I’m beginning to understand why some teams do well in this sort of format while struggling in their domestic leagues.

5. There is no 5, stupid.