Soccer celebrates its best season in ages

Have you lost the fun of soccer recently? Understandable, the same teams always win. But something turned the soccer world upside down last summer. A summary of a remarkable first half of the season.

Sepp Herberger once formulated a legendary sentence: "People go to soccer because they don't know how it will end." But that no longer seems to apply in the modern era. Money is often the deciding factor. The average soccer fan, after all the sponsor of the whole event, has had to put up with a lot in recent years. Eternally cheering Bayern in the Bundesliga. FIFA itself. VAR decisions with the transparency of concrete or the hand rule that has been improved beyond recognition. The turmoil of actually wanting to be happy when your favorite team qualifies for the European Cup on the last match day, but at the same time knowing that you now have to take out three more TV subscriptions. On top of that, Qatar and Saudi Arabia's sportswashing offensives are headlining the fan festival of alienation, so to speak.

In the Bundesliga, FC Bayern has been marching to the title for over ten years. About a year ago, the club started firing from all cylinders when it came to off-field entertainment (Neuer's skiing accident, the separation from Nagelsmann, the separation from Salihamidžić, the separation from Kahn), but the media-wobbling giant always remains so confident in the Bundesliga that it is enough for the title (and a 4:0 against BVB). Even last year, when the record champions seemed to have been counted out.

Things hardly look any better in England. Pep Guardiola, the best coach in the world, and his club, which is completely devoted to him, are using endless resources to create a machine that only seems to simulate soccer. Even in the long-awaited premier class, Manchester City are no match for them. In the 4:0 semi-final victory in May, Real Madrid, the other perennial winners of the top flight, were badly beaten. World soccer is a competition dominated by money, in which nothing changes except the sum for the highest transfer fee.

What you have missed so far

But at some point in the summer of 2023, reality decides to pause for a moment. Because what has been rolling across Europe's stadiums over the past few months can only have been the stuff of fantasy. If all the above reasons have put you off the soccer circus, here is a partial list of all the unforeseen absurdities:

In Spain, FC Girona (!) are second, level on points with Real Madrid.
The Bundesliga is enjoying an existing title fight, led by a furious Bayer Leverkusen.
Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy discovers his inner Gerd Müller and scores 16 goals.
Curiously, he is still not top of the goalscoring charts (because Harry Kane is on 18 goals).
Manchester United are bottom of their Champions League group after five matchdays - behind Bayern, Galatasaray Istanbul and FC Copenhagen.
Bayern, on the other hand, were knocked out of the DFB Cup in the second round against Saarbrücken.
The Gallic village of Union Berlin is in a relegation battle.
FC Schalke 04 is in a relegation battle - in League Two.
There's a soccer talk show on Sky with Roman Weidenfeller and Riccardo Basile.

Ajax, Lyon, Union, Schalke - relegation battle

Half of the season has been played and it looks as if there could (!) be a new champion in all four of Europe's top leagues. But it is by no means only worth watching for sporting highlights. Completely inexplicable slumps in performance are also a trend. In the Netherlands, flagship club Ajax Amsterdam is off to its worst start to a season since 1965. Sports director Sven Mislintat was dismissed at the end of September, but the club has since recovered somewhat.

The same cannot be said of Olympique Lyon. The former French champions are in last place. They have one win to their name so far. And in Germany, experts, fans and managers alike are puzzling over the multiple crises at Schalke and in Köpenick. Between Champions League games against Real Madrid and SSC Napoli, of all teams, a season is creeping in in which what all outsiders have expected from Union since their promotion is happening - a relegation battle. The indestructible Urs Fischer, symbol of the fairytale rise of recent years, is no longer coach.

Schalke's sporting collapse has once again caused the entire construct to totter. Coach Thomas Reis has been sacked and sports director Peter Knäbel has been dismissed with effect from the summer. In the background, the eternal Clemens Tönnies is trying to bring about his own return, so far without success. The only ray of hope has come from the currently injured diamond in the rough Assan Ouédraogo. The 17-year-old's imminent departure appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Jude Bellingham stands above it all

But more established players also know how to surprise. Serhou Guirassy, who was recommended to FC Bayern by Lothar Matthäus in the summer, scores and scores and scores as if it were forbidden tomorrow. To be fair, Manuel Neuer seems to be able to simply ignore the fact that he hasn't been on the pitch for almost a year.

And Alejandro Garnacho may have kicked the turf several times before penalties, but he probably scored the goal of the year recently. The beleaguered United fans will be forgiven. New Madrid player Jude Bellingham hovers above it all. The ex-Dortmund player has taken the Whites' fans by storm, literally. Carlo Ancelotti created a new role especially for him after his arrival; behind the two nominal strikers, Bellingham should have the freedom to repeatedly move into the penalty area. He scored 15 goals in 17 games. In Dortmund it was 24 in three years.

Bellingham may have shot Real to the top of the table, but his royals are not without competition. Girona FC are the closest rivals, ahead of FC Barcelona and even level on points. Only promoted last year, the club, which only plays in front of just under 15,000 people at home, has so far been able to keep up with the giants of Spanish soccer. And yes, the soccer fairytale may also have something to do with the fact that the City Group is co-owner of Girona and players with a Manchester City past keep wearing the red and white jersey.

Chelsea and United stagger through the league

The mother ship on the island, coached by Pep Guardiola, currently has a number of rivals for the league title. The Citizens are currently only in third place, with just four points separating league leaders Arsenal and fourth-placed Aston Villa. Neighbors Manchester United (7th) and Chelsea FC (10th), which has degenerated into a haphazard prestige project, have nothing to do with the top of the table. Despite illustrious transfer spending, Chelsea is still not getting back on track under new coach Mauricio Pochettino. Simply having money no longer seems to be enough in the Premier League.

It can't really get much better than this. And maybe it won't. Maybe it will all end up being miserably boring again, Bayern will win the league with a goal in the 15th minute of stoppage time on the last matchday, Real Madrid will win the Champions League and France will win the European Championship. For the moment, however, the only constant is surprise. So an appeal to all those who have turned their backs on the green pitch in recent years: Watch soccer again. At the moment, people don't know how it will end.

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Despite Manchester City's dominance in the Premier League under Pep Guardiola, they are currently only in third place, trailing leaders Arsenal and fourth-placed Aston Villa by just four points.
In Germany, FC Bayern Munich's reign as champions seems unshakeable, with their closest rival Borussia Dortmund struggling, but Manchester United, Manchester's local rivals, are languishing in seventh place after a difficult start.
In an unexpected turn of events, Bundesliga newcomer FC Girona is second in the Spanish La Liga, level on points with Real Madrid, offering a refreshing change in the usual dominance of the top European leagues.
Jude Bellingham, the former Borussia Dortmund player now with Real Madrid, has been a standout performer, scoring 15 goals in just 17 games, propelling his team to the top of the table and showcasing his talent with some impressive performances.
Surprisingly, Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester United are both struggling in their respective leagues, with Chelsea under new manager Mauricio Pochettino yet to find their footing, while Manchester United are in seventh place, highlighting that even teams with huge financial resources can sometimes falter.

Source: www.ntv.de