Sleeping Giants

'A Sleeping Giant' is a term quite regularly used to describe a side that has an illustrious history or a period of dominance, but have tailed off in recent years and find themselves in a worse situation than they were. Everyone is aware of some of the sleeping giants in England such as Newcastle United, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest to name a few, but who would be some of the sleeping giants in the rest of Europe?

Benfica

Benfica still do enjoy domestic success, but they have somewhat tailed off on the European scene from the great sides of the 60s and 70s. Last year, they became the first Portuguese side to do the domestic treble (Primeira Liga, Taca de Portugal and Taca da Liga). The Portuguese club enjoyed significant dominance in the 60s when they won two European Cups as well as countless domestic honours.

Legends from the golden era include the late and great Eusebio who remains the clubs record goal scorer with 474 goals in 15 years with the club. Upon the hero's death, the Portuguese declared three national days of mourning for the Mozambique-born Portuguese star. Star striker from the 60s and 70s, Nene currently holds the record for the most appearances with 575. The 66 times capped Portuguese international won 10 league titles, 7 Taca de Portugal trophies as well as UEFA Cup runners up in 1982/83 towards the end of his illustrious career. Today, they have won the previous 2 league campaigns and seem to be recovering domestically after a spell of domination by rival Porto.

Hajduk Split

HNK Hajduk Split is a club with lots of history. It was formed by four university students in the early 1900s in the then Croatian city of Split which was under Austro-Hungarian rule. 'Hajduk' was an adopted title as it literally meant 'freedom fighters' referencing their struggle for an independent Croatia. Split dominated the Yugoslav league in the 70s winning four league titles and finishing runners up in another one, as well as winning the Yugoslav Cup five times.

Early in the Noughties however, the club faced bankruptcy after being severely mismanaged by the board. They survived in Croatia's top division but often lost out to their fierce rivals, Dinamo Zagreb. Since 2008, the club has been improving and managed to qualify for the Europa League, the first time they qualified for a European group stage since 1994. They are still waiting for their first league victory since 2005 and have finished the last 2 seasons in 3rd. They are slowly but surely climbing back to the top of Croatian football.

Torino

Juventus are the big team in Turin, however they also share the city with Torino, a nationalist club with tragic events that sent the club into a period of mediocrity. Torino were in their pomp in the 40s when they won 5 Scudetto titles. They were one of Italy’s heavyweights and almost certainly would have been a European contender if the competition had existed. On the 4^th May 1949, all but one of the Torino squad were killed when their plane crashed into the hills of Superga, on the outskirts of Turin. The team never recovered and has endured some very hard times since. After struggling to stay in the Italian top flight for almost a decade, the side was relegated in 1959. The death of influential Italian star, Gigi Meroni, further halted the progress of the Turin side, but 9 years later, the club won their 7^th and last Scudetto under the stewardship of Luigi Radice.

The club floated between Serie A and Serie B in the 80s and 90s, and in 2005 were embroiled in financial trouble. After finishing in the playoff spot for promotion that season, the side were expelled from the league after financial irregularities. The Lodo ‘Petrucci’ law allowed ‘a new team’ to be instated into the division below the previous one based on the sports merit of the old club. I use ‘new team’ loosely as it still absorbs all the history of the old club. Today, Torino have battled back from Serie B in 2012 where they have remained since. Torino finished the 2013-14 season excelling all expectations in 7^th which allowed them a chance of playing in the Europa League, much due to the prowess of Alessio Cerci and Ciro Immobile. Immobile netted 22 times that season before being sold to Borussia Dortmund, while Cerci exited to Atletico Madrid. They weren’t able to replicate their domestic exploits last season as they finished 9^th but did reach the Round of 16 in the Europa League. It’s small steps, but Torino are showing progress of banishing the dark days behind them.

Dynamo Dresden

Dynamo Dresden were once the dominant side of East Germany, but the fall of the Berlin Wall coupled with the amalgamation of East and West Germany, saw the club tumble down the Bundesliga ladder. Sports clubs were not for-profit businesses under communist rule but rather set up as a means of socialising for state entities: CSKA for the Army, Lokomotiv for the transportation ministry and Dynamo for the secret police. The East German powerhouses enjoyed great dominance in the 70s winning 5 league titles and 2 cups. Despite not meeting recently, Berliner FC Dynamo are considered their big rivals, due to them often pipping Dresden to the East German title. They regularly competed in Europe during their hay day and into the 80s, gaining impressive victories over FC Porto, Juventus and Benfica.

The first meeting between socialist Dynamo Dresden and a capitalist West German side was in the 1973-74 European Cup against Bayern Munich, losing 7-6 on aggregate but it is the clash against West German side Bayer Uerdingen which would be more memorable. Winning the first leg 2-0 and cruising 3-1 at half time, the first choice keeper received an injury to be replaced by debutant Jens Ramme who conceded 6 goals to lose 7-3. However it was the incident in which striker Frank Lippmann escaped to the west when playing the away leg in Krefeld. As communism fell, so did Dynamo Dresden. There four years in a restructured Bundesliga saw them constantly battling relegation and when the inevitable happened in 1995, they never returned. They reached the heights of 2.Bundesliga from 2004-06 and again in 2011-14 before being relegated to the 3^rd tier where they currently remain. Dynamo Dresden is a side steeped in history, both successful and sinister, but one that they don’t look like repeating anytime soon.

HSV Hamburg

On the 29^th September 1887 Der Hohenfelder Sportclub and Wandsbeck-Marienthaler Sportclub coalesced to form SC Germania, known today as HSV Hamburg. They enjoyed their golden era in the 70s and 80s, winning 3 league titles as well as finishing second in 5 seasons. 2 DFB-Pokals were added to the collection, not to mention a European Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup, and 2 UEFA Super Cups. However the cherry on top was the European Cup victory in 1983. They beat Dynamo Berlin, Olympiacos, Dynamo Kyiv and Real Sociedad enroute to a finale against Italian giants, Juventus. Former Fulham and Bayern Munich manager, Felix Magath scored an 8^th minute winner to secure their first European Cup in their history.

They are a club that is proud of its tradition of having played in every season of the Bundesliga since its conception in 1963 and in fact every top tier of the German league since World War 1. At the Imtech Arena/Volksparkstadion they display a clock that reads how long they have been in the Bundesliga. The clock almost stopped back in June when Karlsruhe came close to toppling the former German giant in the relegation playoff. After a 1-1 draw at home, a very late equaliser from Marcelo Diaz forced extra time before Nicolai Muller scored the winner with 5 minutes of extra time left. Seemingly down and out, Karlsruher were awarded a penalty right at the end of extra time, but Rene Adler saved to keep Hamburg in the division for at least another season. Hamburg aren't the German force they used to be and that proud record is clinging by a thread.

Parma

From UEFA Cup winners in 1999, financial problems have plunged the Italian side into chaos and now ply their trade in the amateur leagues of the Italian pyramid. Parma don’t have the same stature in terms of history and theirs happens much more recently. Their first appearance in Serie A was in 1990 and they enjoyed most of their success in this timeframe, most down to the global brand Parmalat and their CEO, Calisto Tanzi. Tanzi used the football to expand his company with more eastern Europeans featuring as Parmalat expanded. Parma had world class players at their disposal including the club’s record goal scorer, Hernan Crespo, World Cup winner, Fabio Cannavaro, former Juventus star Lillian Thuram who is the most capped French defender as well as Faustino Asprilla, a part of Colombia’s golden generation and Gianfranco Zola. They had cracking players, but a league title often eluded the side. During the 90s they won 3 Coppa Italia trophies, one Italian Super Cup, 2 UEFA Cups, a European Super Cup and a Cup winners Cup. They achieved just one 2^nd place finish in the league in 1996/97.

Admitted into administration in 2004 due to the collapse of their parent company, the club operated in controlled administration until January 2007, before returning to the top division several seasons later. Previous to last season, Parma actually performed quite well. Roberto Donadoni guided the side to sixth position in the Serie A and a third consecutive top ten finish. However, their Europa League place was rescinded due to the late payment of income tax on salaries as well as incurring docked points for the following season. The club changed ownership several times with each buyer, often breaking promises of money. With several games forfeited towards the end of last season, facilities seized and players remaining unpaid, Parma succumbed and finished rock bottom of Serie A and demoted to Serie D.

Sampdoria

The last side that I will focus on is Sampdoria. The Samps enjoyed most of their success in the 1980s after being bought by oil businessman Paolo Mantovani in 1979, while in Serie B. In 1982, Sampdoria were promoted to Serie A and won their first Coppa Italia 3 years later. Their success during the 80s largely consisted of Coppa Italia victories in 1985, 1988, 1989 as well as one in 1994. They recorded a Cup Winners Cup win in 1990 while losing out to Barcelona in extra time of the 1991/1992 edition of the European Cup. Some would say their defeat against Barca was cruel, particularly as Gianluca Vialli missed three glorious chances to win before Ronald Koeman won it for the Catalan side. At the end of that season, star performers such as Vialli, Vujadin Boskov, Toninho Cerezo and Fausto Pari left the club and signalled the beginning of the decline of Sampdoria. They succumbed to relegation as quickly as 1999.

Since their exploits 30 years ago, Sampdoria have struggled to get back to the big stage. While they have regularly been in Serie A, they have never challenged for titles or the domestic cups on offer. They returned to the top flight in 2003 and finished in 8^th position thanks to the goals from Fabio Bazzani and Francesco Flachi. Two seasons later, they were on track to return to the Champions League only to be pipped to the post by Udinese in the closing games of the season. However they featured in 2007/2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup as a result of Atalanta not being granted a UEFA licence. Since returning to the league in 2013, Sampdoria have been improving at a steady rate. Docked points in their returning season for their participation in the 2011-12 Italian football season, they ended in a 14^th place finish. The previous two seasons have seen Samp finish in 7^th and 12^th respectively, the former seeing them return to European football, only for them to crash out in the third qualifying round to Serbian side, Vojvodina. This season they find themselves 6pts outside the relegation zone just above arch rivals Genoa. It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride for one of Italy’s historic giants.

These are just a few of the clubs that many deem to follow under the 'sleeping giant' bracket. Feel free to leave your thoughts on the clubs mentioned, or other clubs that I have omitted.

Euro 2016 - The Groups

The draw for the Euro 2016 group phase was made last Saturday with 4 home nations competing, the most ever in a single European Championship.

Group B - England, Russia, Slovakia, Wales

I don't see there being too many problems for England, with their stiffest arguably being neighbours Wales. England should almost definitely be topping the group with ease and have the potential to win all three games. As for Wales, they have nothing to fear either. Wales need Gareth Bale fit to progress in my opinion. With the way his life has been going at Real Madrid, jetting off to France with the national side will be something of a relief. Slovakia finished second in their qualifying group with 22 points, 5 behind holders, Spain. Slovakia did record a famous 2-1 victory over the holders in October 2014 when a winner three minutes to go from Bursaspor striker Miroslav Stoch secured the victory after Paco Alcacer equalised a Juraj Kucka goal on 82 minutes.

Final standings in this order are England, Wales, Slovakia, Russia.

Group C - Germany, Northern Ireland, Poland, Ukraine

After qualifying for their first Euro campaign, there will be a buzz in the Northern Ireland camp as they are named in a group with the World Champions. It is going to be very tough for Northern Ireland and I don't expect them to qualify. Northern Ireland will be just happy to be at the tournament and no doubt the fans will also. Northern Ireland will probably line up defensively and look to hit teams on the break. I see the Germans and Poland being too strong for the nation of 1.7m, while Ukraine would represent their best opportunity of picking up some points. While Northern Ireland may finish bottom of their group, I do think they will pick up a point against Ukraine.

Final standings in this order are: Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Northern Ireland.

Group E - Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Sweden

Like their neighbours, the Republic of Ireland having been handed a very tough group. Belgium are widely tipped by many to be one of the tournament favourites next summer, while Italy normally up their game for the tournaments despite not being a great Italian team compared to those over the years. Sweden heavily rely on captain and PSG striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. If Ireland are able to mark him out of the game then I expect the side to record a victory.

Final standings in this order are: Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Sweden.

 

Group A - Albania, France, Romania, Switzerland

Looking at the other groups, France have a great opportunity to claim a pole position after being handed a group with Albania, Romania and Switzerland. When Albania last met France in June a free kick form Ergys Kace gave the Eastern European side their first victory over the French in their history. I don't see any of the others offering any competition to prevent France from finishing first in their group.

Final standings in this order are France, Switzerland, Albania and Romania.

 

Group D - Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Turkey

I think Group D is a very interesting affair. Czech Republic toppled Group A - and the Dutch - to secure their 9th outing in the competition. Looking at Croatia, they finished second in Group H behind Italy and possess some very good players. Ivan Rakitic is a very good box to box midfielder and will offer both an attacking threat and security for the defence. Similarly Mario Mandzukic, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Perisic are key individuals and all pose a threat going forwards. We all know the pedigree of Spain and they will be looking to correct a few wrongs after a poor performance in the World Cup. Finally, Turkey always have the potential to shake things up with Arda Turan, Hakan Calhanoglu and Burak Yilmaz.

Final standings in this order are: Spain, Croatia, Turkey, Czech Republic.

Group F - Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal

Many have tipped Austria to be this year's dark horse and I can understand why. David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic are probably their stand out players and will attract the most attention of their opposing sides. Alexander Dragovic is a decent young defender as is Martin Hinteregger and this is coupled with the experience of Leicester City defender, Christian Fuchs. Iceland have qualified for their first ever tournament and included home and away wins over the Netherlands in qualifying. Hungary scraped through finishing 3rd in qualifying group F and beating Norway 3-1 on aggregate in the playoffs. As for Portugal, they rely heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo and this could be their downfall later in the tournament but I see them qualifying from this group.

Final standings in this order: Austria, Portugal, Iceland, Hungary.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the Home Nations' prospects or any other team for that matter.

Champions League Round of 16

Three teams from England and Spain make it through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League while Germany and Italy supply two sides each, while France, Belgium, Russia, Netherlands, Ukraine and Portugal contribute 1 each. 

PSG v Chelsea

History repeats itself with Chelsea once again facing PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League. The tables have definitely turned for the London side as they currently lie in bottom half of the Premier League table as opposed to the top of the table this time last year. Despite having acquired Angel di Maria this season and Edinson Cavani on fine form, I can honestly see Chelsea winning this tie. Because of their poor form in the league, there is a good chance that Chelsea will put all their eggs in the Champions League basket. It will be close and Chelsea will have to penetrate a defence that has only conceded once in Europe, but I predict the underdog to upstage the favourites.

Benfica v Zenit

Definitely not a tie that will grab many of the headlines, but Benfica come off the back of a second place finish behind Atletico Madrid. They have improved dramatically in Europe considering finishing rock bottom of their group last season scoring only 2 goals and winning only 1 game. Looking at Zenit, they topped the group fending off the likes of Lyon, who finished rock bottom and Gary Neville's Valencia who drop into the Europa League positions. It was definitely a shock for them to finish on top, and I would tip the Portuguese side to progress, however this represents a real opportunity for Zenit to put Russia back on the football map.

Gent v Wolfsburg

Like Zenit, KAA Gent surprised many people to seal a place in the last 16 for the first time in their history, finishing behind the Russian side in their group. Likewise, Wolfsburg are competing in their first knockout round in the Champions League and have never played a Belgian side in the Champions League before. Bas Dost is Wolfsburg's top goal scorer and the Belgian underdogs will have to be on form if they are to stop him also Max Kruse will be key for the German Cup holders creating 33 chances so far in this season. The German side will be clear favourites to progress and I tip the side to make the quarter finals.

Roma v Real Madrid

Real Madrid find themselves a point off the top of La Liga leaders, Barcelona and head coach Rafa Benitez is becoming under increasing pressure. In Europe they have been somewhat of a free scoring outfit, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 11 times in the group stage alone. They also had a solid defence throughout the group stage, conceding three goals, all of which were in the away leg against Shakhtar Donetsk. Roma have never kicked on under Rudi Garcia since pushing Juventus for the title 2 years ago. Miralem Pjanic is their creative player while there still is life in the old legs of Francesco Totti. I predict Madrid to qualify easily.

Arsenal v Barcelona

This is possibly the most intriguing tie. Arsenal have had terrible luck with draws in the last 16 over the last number of seasons and it doesn't get much harder than a tie against in form Barcelona. Having had a terrible start in Europe, some may say that the Gunners were lucky to progress, but they have players stepping up to the plate. I have been critical of Mesut Ozil over the years I have been blogging but he is finally showing what he is capable of. The game against Barcelona is a massive test and it will be key that the German does not squander possession. Barcelona need no introductions and possess the best attacking force in Europe. I do think that the Catalans have enough to see off the challenge of Arsenal but it will not be easy.

Juventus v Bayern Munich

Beaten finalists Juventus are recovering in the league having won all of their last 5 matches. Juventus are a good side and you would struggle to find a side that can hold a lead better than the Italian giants. Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich has strengthened since the last edition and they look good. Vidal has been ever-present in the midfield while signing Douglas Costa from Shahktar Donetsk has proved and inspired decision. Paulo Dybala is an exciting prospect for the Old Lady and I have watched him turn out for both Palermo and Juventus in the last 2 seasons. He is quick and has the potential to cause problems. I tip Bayern's strength in depth to overcome Juventus. 

PSV v Atletico Madrid

PSV beat a disappointing Manchester United side to the second placed spot. They will look back on a very good victory against the Manchester side in game week 1 and another well fought draw at Old Trafford. Former Newcastle United reject, Luuk de Jong is their top scorer this season with 13 goals. During the group stage, PSV scored 8 goals and conceded 7. Looking at their opponents, Atletico Madrid topped their group with relative ease, recording 4 wins and a draw. In the league, the Spanish side sits in 5th position, 4 points off Real Madrid in second and further point off the league leaders, Barcelona. I don't see PSV troubling the 2013-2014 runners up, with Atletico finishing the tie at Vicente Calderon.

Dynamo Kyiv v Man City
Dynamo Kyiv surprised many to pip Porto to the last spot that qualifies for the knockout rounds. The Ukrainians have some useful players including winger Andriy Yarmolenko who was ever present in the group stage. Kyiv are currently battling it out for the league title with arch rivals Shakhtar Donetsk, who failed to qualify from the group stage. Manchester City have had many unfortunate draws since 2010/2011, facing Barcelona last year and the year before in both times where they qualify from the group stage. City should be strong enough to beat the Ukrainian side, particularly with the second leg in front of the Etihad faithful.

Liverpool tie with Sion

A dull 0-0 game with very few highlights allowed Jurgen Klopp's side to top their Europa League group while FC Sion qualify for the knock-out rounds in their very first European tournament.

Despite a near mis-hap from Simone Mignolet in the first minute, Liverpool controlled the possession in the opening of the match and had a great chance when Brad Smith crossed the ball to Divock Origi who failed to finish. The Belgian was unmarked and coughed up a very good chance which should have been converted.

Liverpool were quite happy to give possession to FC Sion and the Swiss side were struggling to do anything with it. The game wasn't played at a particularly fast pace during the first half with both sides happy to let the other take take the initiative. Sion had a few half chances but Origi had another chance but the defender covered and blocked expertly.

Liverpool had another good chance when Adam Lallana skipped by a few Sion challenges into the box, but was starved of options and the chance petered out. The chance was created down the left by Ben Smith's overlapping runs and James Milner. This is where Liverpool could get in behind the Swiss defence but the end product was often lacking.

It was a pretty dull first half, with neither side really pressurising each other. Liverpool were already qualified while Sion only needed a point to guarantee qualification.

There was virtually nothing to report on in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but the arrival of Philippe Coutinho was imminent and the Brazilian had every opportunity to conjure something up in the free number 10 role. Recovering after a four week lay off, Coutinho would want to lay down a marker for future matches.

Sion had several set pieces most of which were wasted poorly. One was a training ground routine which allowed a Sion player to remain unmarked and attempt to get a decent ball in but it came to nothing. Origi had a chance when the ball was slid through to him. With the keeper baring down on him, the Liverpool man had to try and take the ball around him but the keeper got hands and diverted in elsewhere.

Coutinho broke through the middle in between the defence and midfield, and slid Roberto Firmino through but the first touch from his fellow countryman was poor and the ball rolled harmlessly out for a goal kick. Inside the last 10 minutes. Smith once again broke down the left before hitting a teasing ball into the box. Origi failed to get any meaningful contact on the ball as the keeper clutched to it harmlessly.

It was a game with a draw written all over it and I probably should have guessed this from the standings before the match. Needless to say that it finished 0-0, but the Swiss supporters were incredible as they witnessed their side qualified for their first ever knockout round in Europe.