With Christmas just over a fortnight away, clubs and leagues across Europe are starting to take stock of the first four months in the race for title dominance. The title fight at the top of domestic leagues are emerging as closer then ever before and the January transfer window offers club managers the opportunity to fortify their squads and gear up for the 2011 title race. Across Europe, domestic leagues are growing increasingly more competitive. Only a few points separate the leaders in the Spanish La Liga and English Premier League from second place and third place.
Real Madrid took a battering in the first El Clasico of the season at the Nou Camp and a 4-0 victory for Barcelona ensured they went top of their league with 34 points in 13 games. Real Madrid trail the Catalan side by 2 points and Villarreal are third with 27 points. With Espanyol beating Athletico Madrid over the weekend, it’s clear that November is the month for the Catalan teams.
At the time of writing, the Italian league is emerging as the most closely contested league in Europe. AC Milan and Lazio at 30 points are tied for first spot in the Serie A, while Milan have a game in hand. Juventus and Napoli are tied for third and fourth place with 24 points while Palermo and Inter Milan follow at 23 points and Roma at 22. Eight points separate the top seven teams in Italy.
Manchester United top the English Premier League by a mere 2 points after Dimitar Berbatov’s single-handed demolition of Blackburn over the weekend. Chelsea take second place with 29 points because of goal difference, despite being tied with Arsenal on points. The surprising performance in the 2010-2011 season has been newly promoted and consistently mid-table placed Newcastle, who have already won against Arsenal at the Emirates in November.
In Eredivisie League, PSV Eindhoven lead the league on goal difference over FC Twente, and both team are tied at 34 points. FC Gronigen are in third place while Ajax trail in fourth place by a point. The Dutch league was given a much-needed boost after the Netherlands finished as runners up at the FIFA World Cup. Despite many of their players playing in leagues outside of Holland, the Dutch league
The Bundesliga is the only league in Europe at the moment where the front-runners for the title have a clear advantage over their closest competitors. Borussia Dortmund is leading with 37 points and FZ Mainz is in second place with 30 points. Bayern Munich is in fifth place in the German league with 23 points, a surprisingly dismal performance from a side that were Champions League semi-finalists last season.
While trying to understand the trend this season, the one distinct factor in 2010 that stands out when compared with the last three years was the World Cup in South Africa. A World Cup or European Champion has an impact for all team managers, a summer where all the best players from all the best clubs and leagues across the world are handed extra weeks of football and training. From the point of view of club management, this takes a far greater toll on the more successful clubs. Players injured in international duty rarely recover in time for league kickoffs in August. A successful club has far more quality in their squad and it usually these players who make it to their national teams. A victory at the World Club and the ensuing boost in confidence aside, still may have dire implications for teams in their domestic leagues. Just ask Pepe Guardiola and his Barcelona side, after all, it was the Catalan side (or rather seven of their players) that won the World Cup for Spain in South Africa. Boost of confidence and the El Clasico result aside, Barcelona is just about leading the La Liga. Germany were semi-finalists and over half the national side were Bayern Munich teammates. As they trail their league by over 14 points, it will be interesting to see whether national glory has helped this domestic side
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