Football is, fortunately, a game. Victory and defeat are sometimes decided by chance. When the best of the best meet, I reckon it’s 20%. The draw increases the luck factor even more. That’s nice: it makes new winners possible.
It brought Manchester City and Real Madrid together in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the most spectacular game in European football for three years. Once again, it kept all its promises and thrilled with intensity and great goals. In the second leg, Carlo Ancelotti had everyone defend and said it was the only way Real had a chance. The penalty shootout was decided by psychology.
If there were a world ranking in club football like there is in tennis, it would be clear who is No 1. In the past five years, City have scored the most points in the domestic league and also won in Europe last year. Pep Guardiola’s sky-blue machine consistently produces precision.
Real would be in second place. The club have won 14 European Cup titles and were the first to win three Champions Leagues in a row, which previously seemed unthinkable. They are reinventing themselves again under Ancelotti. If there were a seeding like in tennis, this pairing would be the natural final.
This year Liverpool have challenged City again. Every three years or so, Jürgen Klopp builds a physically strong team that disrupt the City with counterattacking football. They deserved a victory in the Premier League’s top match and it is rare to see City so outclassed. Without Rodri, the City machine would probably have been dismantled. (Rodri deserved to be voted world footballer of the year).
All the ingredients for top football are there in Manchester, Madrid and Liverpool: some of the best players and the best coaches who develop a team over the years. In the Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso is the best coach. He was a top footballer and a strategist on the pitch. In his first full season at Bayer Leverkusen, he has already moulded a team with style that deserved to be German champions.
Alonso was educated at the big clubs: Liverpool, Real and Bayern. There he went through the schools of international greats. Rafael Benítez and José Mourinho wanted to block the opposition’s path to goal and make the most of the moment they won the ball. Guardiola has provided the offensive answer, his possession in the opposition half requires an even higher degree of organisation.
Now those who stand for success can be found in the Bundesliga. Benítez, Mourinho, Guardiola – they are all in Alonso. He gives his players security and self-confidence. Florian Wirtz, who probably has everything it takes to be an outstanding attacking player, is being shaped by him. Jonathan Tah can be particularly grateful. You could see from the age of 18 that he could become a very good defender. Then he disappeared. Now, at 28, he has re-emerged. This shows how important a coach is for a footballer.
It’s interesting that Leverkusen ended Bayern’s 11-year streak. Uefa lists Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt as among the 20 clubs with the highest turnover in Europe. Leverkusen are not one of them. Emerson, Michael Ballack, Lúcio, Zé Roberto and Bernd Schneider used to play there and the club reached the Champions League final in 2002. Today, the location is no longer suitable and larger clubs would buy such top stars from Leverkusen. The current squad was worth about half as much as Bayern’s before the season.
That’s why Leverkusen’s championship reminds me a little of Leicester’s in England in 2016. That is no longer possible because competition in the Premier League has increased rapidly since then. Not only is a lot of money being invested in Manchester City and Liverpool, but they are also acting according to the plan of a clever coach. Arsenal are now doing the same under Guardiola’s pupil, Mikel Arteta. All three teams are set to reach 80 points or more this season. The Bundesliga lacks competition at this level.
That is why Alonso’s team stand out at first glance: they have an idea of how to play, which sets them apart from their opponents. Other nations, especially Spanish and Italian coaches at the moment, focus more on structure and order, whereas German football is always and only about mentality.
This is also the reason why players such as Jude Bellingham, Kai Havertz and Erling Haaland had to leave the Bundesliga to become world class. Or why Joshua Kimmich’s self-confidence and security have dwindled. I remember how well he benefited from Guardiola’s leadership when he first stepped on to the big stage. That was eight years ago. Today, Kimmich is in his prime, but as a full-back he plays in a position that is not ideally suited to his talents. That is unusual.
German football has other virtues, the Bundesliga also has machines. Their components are fight, passion and competitive hardness. They look to exchange blows, never give up and offer chances. Bayern in particular are unpredictable, but Dortmund also survive ups and downs. Their successes cannot always be fully explained and this is no way to become world No 1. But these characteristics suit the game of football. Gary Lineker has already despaired.
Bayern’s and Dortmund’s runs to the semi-finals prove once again that the Bundesliga has plenty of resources to fall back on. It is the second strongest league in the world financially and can draw on the whole of Europe, and Germany is the most populous country in western Europe, which is particularly important in football.
Franz Beckenbauer comes to mind. After the 1990 World Cup title, he said that if the East Germans were added to the mix, Germany would be unbeatable for decades to come. It didn’t quite turn out that way, but there was an inner truth to it, just like his motto: “Go out and play football.” Don’t make a big fuss, knock it in, force your luck.
Philipp Lahm’s column was produced in partnership with Oliver Fritsch at Zeit Online, the German online magazine.
