The 2009-2010 season is drawing to a close in all of Europe's top soccer leagues. It's getting to be pretty close in some leagues which is sure to lead to some really nice stretches as we head into the final games. It's actually getting pretty exciting because there are no sure fire champions pulling away in many of the big leagues. It's rare to see in a sport that is usually typified by one dominant force.
In particular the Premier League is a close three way dance between Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United. Liverpool are, sadly, only fighting for 4th and a Champions League appearance next season. I expected a lot more out of Liverpool this season but a few preseason players leaving seemingly dealt a major hit to the team which has been sitting in the upper midtable for most of the season. They are, however, still in the running for the Europa League which I will discuss below. At the top I'm really hoping for Man Utd to stumble here at the end of the season as are many. Chelsea are ahead by two as I write this, Man Utd is in second and Arsenal are a point behind them. I really would love to see Arsenal string together a run of wins and overtake the other two. I suspect it will be Chelsea in the end. Liverpool are likely not to end up in fourth. Tottenham are looking strong and I'd say they'll take fourth with Man City in fifth.
Spain's La Liga is down to two, the only two really. Real Madrid and Barcelona are duking it out on equal points, with Valencia in third an without hope to bridge the gap. So it comes down to a race between two teams that are so damn rich that if they aren't fighting for first it's a shame on them. Especially Real. They went Yankees before the season, buying the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka. Still they're barely ahead of Barcelona, mostly due to the sheer brilliance of the best player in the world, Lionel Messi. Go Barcelona I say, trounce those bastards.
Probably the most exciting league to be watching right now is the Italian Serie A. Inter Milan have led for most of the season and are looking like a strong contender to win their 5th straight Scudetto. However AC Milan and Roma aren't letting them get it easy. The race for the Serie A title is as close as it has ever been, which is producing some wonderful games. Palermo, the pink wonders from Sicily, are sitting in 4th and have a chance to go to the Champions League next season. To everyone's delight Juventus is completely bumbling, somewhere in 7th or so. The team that was forcibly relegated for cheating several seasons ago is languishing in failure. Having hilariously lost to Fulham in the Europa League, Juventus' glory days are long gone. My money is on Inter to win it, but they have more chances to get fatigued as they are still in the running for the Champions League.
French Ligue 1 Orange has a five way race for the title. Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, Montpellier, Auxerre and Bordeaux are all within 3 points of each other. I'm not even sure who I think will win this league since I don't follow it too closely. To have so many teams in contention either shows the strength of those teams or the weakness of the league as a whole. With Lyon in the semis of the Champions League it's probably the latter. I'd like to see Auxerre take it I think. Anyone but Lyon.
Germany, Portugal, Greece, Ukraine, and Holland are all having some rather uninspiring seasons. Bayern is in the lead in the Bundesliga, with Schalke chasing. No Hoffenheim to present an exciting challenge, no underdog Wolfsburg chasing their first glory. Just Bayern at the top. How boring. Portugal is being contested by the same three teams. Braga is making a run at Benfica, which is great, but they won't win it. Braga isn't Sporting, Porto or Benfica so it can't win. The Portuguese league is probably the most boring of the 'major' European leagues. Greece I only mention because Olympiakos is in first, like always. Aris, the team that Freddy Adu sometimes plays for, is way out of contention. Greece sucks. Ukraine is a two horse race between Shakhtar and Dinamo Kiev. How will it turn out? Shakhtar I hope, but really couldn't care less. FC Twente is in the lead in Netherlends, which is pretty cool since they aren't PSV or Ajax. Last season's winner AZ is out of reach, and my favorite Feyenoord is barely ahead of them. I hope Twente takes it because I like seeing 'Yankees'-type teams like Ajax and PSV lose. I wish Feyenoord could get their shit together and win the league someday.
Finally I'll mention the Turkish league. This league has only ever been won by four teams: Fenerbache, Besiktas, Trabzonspor, and Galatasaray. These are all pretty interesting teams, but to have a league only have four champions in over 50 years is ridiculous. Imagine how boring American sports would be if only four teams won in that long. The sport would die. This season, however, there is another team on top of the table and is putting up a fight for their first ever title. Unheralded Bursaspor are taking second place Fenerbahce to the wire with a close race. Now I do love Fenerbahce, but I'm really rooting for Bursaspor to win in this one. I encourage you to as well.
Scotland isn't even worth a mention. There are only two teams in Scotland, and until something drastic happens... what's the point?
Next time I'll talk about the European club competitions and the semifinalists in each of those. Champions League. Europa League. Next time!
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