Club football in Europe has gone for a complete overhaul this year.
With managers retiring, some making sensational returns to their former clubs as well as a few high profile appointments, bookmakers are having second thoughts as to who they will be backing for the upcoming season.
Add the fact that this transfer window promises to be one of the most exciting ones with several top players switching their loyalties and major deals being struck. It’s the beginning of an all-new chapter in European football.
The best players from across the globe ply their trade in Europe today. Hence, it’s not a surprise that the UEFA Champions League is considered to be the most competitive tournament by many, with the best clubs and the best players locking their horns against each other in mouth-watering contests.
Xavi, Messi and Neymar combining to play against Robben, Schweinsteiger and Ribery is a prospect that only the Champions League can offer us. Thus, with so much activity happening right now, we all but wonder at what’s coming our way this season. The air of predictability suddenly seems to have vanished.
The biggest change probably concerns Manchester United with their long-serving manager Sir Alex Ferguson calling it quits at the end of last season after 26 years in charge.
The Scot who led United to three Champions League finals in four years, winning one in that famous penalty shoot-out against Chelsea in Moscow 2008, while losing to Barcelona in Rome in 2009 and Wembley in 2011 will be sorely missed.
David Moyes, his successor, faces a tough task of trying to match up to the standards of his predecessor. But with United hierarchy backing him all the way, it’s going to be interesting to see which players he brings in and what brand of football he decides to offer the Old Trafford faithful.
Not too far away at Stamford Bridge, rivals Chelsea, who have just welcomed back Jose Mourinho as manager, are gearing up for the campaign, and with Roman Abramovich never shy of spending, they look to get big names like Edinson Cavani, De Rossi, Hulk and several more to sign on the dotted line for them.
The “Special One” seems determined to build on his legacy at the London club and make them Champions of Europe again.
United’s noisy neighbours, Manchester City, too, have had a change at the helm with Manuel Pellegrini replacing Roberto Mancini after he failed to retain the Premier League title and another dismal outing in Europe, getting knocked out of both the Champions League and the Europa League. With deals for Fernandinho and Jesus Navas already wrapped up and the Abu Dhabi group willing to provide more cash, expect City to do better this season.
Bayern Munich will be looking to start off their new era under Pep Guardiola, who has replaced Jupp Heynckes, right from where they ended the 2012-13 season.
The Champions of Europe have a very strong squad and with Mario Goetze coming in from rivals Dortmund and several other deals in the pipeline, they do not seem to relinquish their title easily.
Money is not a problem for Bayern as they are on firm ground financially, something which the Bundesliga in general can boast about in general. Just exactly how the Bavarians play under Guardiola will be something to watch out for. Don’t expect a German version of the “tiki-taka” to make an appearance though. Interesting times at the Allianz Arena.
Over in Spain, Real Madrid have a new manager as well with Carlo Ancellotti taking over from Jose Mourinho. Real already have a very talented squad and with club President Perez willing to spend big to add more to the list of Galacticos, Madrid look to remain as one of the favourites again for their ‘decima’.
Rivals Barcelona are not to be left behind as they have already signalled their intentions with the signing of Neymar from Santos. If the Confederations Cup display is anything to go by, the Messi-Neymar combination might just be too much for opposition defences this season.
One cannot forget the Ligue One duo this term since they have snapped up some pretty big names in the past two years.
With Monaco signing players like Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez and being linked with a few more, and PSG not willing to be outdone after the departure of Ancelotti to Madrid, French football has suddenly grabbed the limelight.
Clubs like Juventus, AC Milan, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, too, are striving to keep pace with the others as they look to build on their existing squads.
With several players like Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulinho already switching clubs and many more like Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale, Robert Lewandowski, David Villa, Luiz Suarez, Thiago Alcantara , Hulk and Cristiano Ronaldo yet to decide on their future, the permutations and combinations seem to be endless at the moment.
One thing though is for certain, the quest for European dominance has just got tougher.
nordster
Guest
Well i guess so many long off seasons locally has me looking for a meatier alternative, Fuss. And they embrace a less regulated form of competition over there. :) I've been largely hal focused for most of its time, just not holding my full attention any more. And the late weekend games work well with my late work hours during week, plus there is IQ for the morning replays and live 4am Champs league that are past my pre sunrise bedtime.
Debjyoti Banerjee
Roar Rookie
@nordster-lewandowski is most likely to see out his contract...goetze certainly was a good purchase!
Debjyoti Banerjee
Roar Rookie
Yes Bayern have been good with their transfers but the other heavyweights too are bolstering their squads..United to my liking are acting a bit too lazy...hope they get their targets this time.
Debjyoti Banerjee
Roar Rookie
Guardiola would certainly want to sustain that level of success which Bayern have had last season..and as we know..getting to the top is difficult but remaining there is even more difficult..something which will spur Goetze and company on!
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Cant wait for the euro leagues to start tbh. Still the first thing i do on Sunday mornings and Monday mornings, check the results. Saw this w-e that Monaco had recruited Toulalan (most under rated french defensive midfielder imo, should never have left the national team) and Abidal. With Falcao, Moutinho, Ricardo-Carvalho and a few others they have done very well. PSG and Monaco, then Lille, Lyon, Rennes and Marseille behind, maybe Bordeaux. Feels like french clubs might be a bit more competitive in the years to come, finally. (nostalgic of the PSG of the early-mid 90s with Weah, Ginola, Rai, Valdo, Ricardo etc. )
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
same in France, one UCL night was on FTA, one on canal plus (things are changing with beIN sport in think though. Tbh i think it was like that in most euro countries, at least until very recently (I have seen some UCL games on the RAI and TVE in both Italy and Spain, same with Malta). Not sure it's THAT exceptional tbh. But still very happy with the coverage we have in Oz between sbs and espn.
AZ_RBB
Guest
if A League broadcasting pays off for SBS things might go the opposite way. we might see SBS start getting more broadcast rights. the next 12 months will be very telling. i'm fortunate enough to have pay tv at home and the football coverage is incredible. EPL and La Liga coverage is brilliant. as is UCL and EL coverage. i've recently jumped on the Bundesliga bandwagon so would love to see more of that on tv. One HD do a decent job now. hoping to follow EPL, Bundesliga and A League closely this season with a passing interest in La Liga and Serie A. a man can never have enough football :D
Franko
Guest
I know in the UK you always get at least one European match on Tues, Wed and Thurs free to air. Europa league, I'm pretty sure, is all British clubs free to air.
Matthew Skellett
Guest
You mean the CL won't be like the EPL where the same four clubs are the only ones in genuine contention every single year ? good luck with that :-)
Dave
Guest
I often think just how lucky we are in Australia to get the European Champions League live and free on SBS HD. I bet there's not too many countries around the world who get the best football in the world for free, including the European countries involved! Does anyone know how many more years SBS has the rights for? I can't imagine they'll be able to hold onto them next time, as the champs league just continues to get bigger and bigger every year. It will be a sad day indeed (for me at least) when pay tv inevitably snaps up the aussie rights...
Cameron
Roar Guru
Mission Impossible: there is four and a fifth one in production. So you never know. It'd make a great story.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Fuss, Go easy. That'd be like us saying "We're excited for A-league 2013/14 and it looks like it'll be the best, so much movement, new marquees, etc."
Franko
Guest
This article seems to flit between Champions League and leagues in Europe. Guys like Paulinho, Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez (mentioned above) won't be playing champions league. Falcao and Rodriguez won't be playing in Europe at all.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"I'm getting excited about the new euro season for the first time in years." Why the sudden excitement for the new season? Players have been moving freely across Europe and, indeed, across the world for the past 50+yrs. What makes the coming European season any more exciting than previous seasons in the semi-free European football market (it's not completely free since there are restrictions on foreigners)? And, given most games are played between midnight-600 a.m., how many of these exciting games do you reckon you'll watch over 9 months?
Towser
Guest
The European Champions League getting better ,I'd like to see that. If it were a meal it would be a banquet for us football fans. I feel a new form of gout comin on "Football fan Gout" caused by watching too many matches involving Messi,Neymar & the rest mentioned.
nordster
Guest
Im getting excited about the new euro season for the first time in years. Will let straya enjoy their level playing field league in peace, i promise ;) Some interesting movements both playing and coaching wise. Just hope i can find some decent ligue1 coverage this year. The Lewandowski saga...keen to see how that plays out. Am not usually a bayern fan but will be watching them. They have made good signings in recent years, now add Pep, Gotze, another striker.
pete4
Guest
My feeling is Guardiola has signed himself up to mission impossible here. Bayern can hardly be more successful than the treble they took last season. Unless they can take the WCC trophy in Japan on top of everything else
AZ_RBB
Guest
Bayern will continue to turkey slap every opponent they come across. end of story. i pray that my beloved Man Utd don't cross paths with them this season.