The BIG stories of 2021 ...before they happen
Nick Bidwell takes a look at the year’s burning questions
1 IS THE EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE A REALISTIC POSSIBILITY?
Clearly a raft of the continent’s top clubs – including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and many of the Premier League’s finest – regard a period of pandemic-induced recession as the ideal moment to make the project happen.
However, there are simply too many key protagonists ready to object. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has deemed the proposed breakaway as “insane”, Champions League holders Bayern Munich are not at all interested, while La Liga supremo Javier Tebas provided the ultimate of put-downs: “These underground schemes only look good when drafted in a bar at five o’clock in the morning.”
2 WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THOMAS TUCHEL FOLLOWING HIS EXIT FROM PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN?
Put simply, the German boss’ days at the Parc des Princes were numbered long before his contract was terminated in December. Tuchel’s main beef was that he was not sufficiently respected in France. Last season, for example, he almost achieved a brilliant clean sweep, winning the domestic championship, Cup and League Cup, plus Champions League silver. Yet still had large swathes of the Gallic media gunning for him, criticising his tactics and his side’s lack of defined identity.
Sources in England and Germany say Chelsea may be his next port of call, with current Blues boss Frank Lampard under pressure following a patchy run of form.
6 CAN THE MILAN REVIVAL CONTINUE?
Ten years have passed since Milan last won the Scudetto, and only a few months ago coach Stefano Pioli was looking ripe for the axe. Yet the 55-year-old saved his job by stringing together a remarkable run of form that has continued into the new campaign and, after remaining unbeaten in the league throughout 2020 since lockdown, his team are well placed to end Juventus’ dominance of Serie A.
Assuming that evergreen Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic stays fit and in form, anything is possible. The 39-yearold Peter Pan shone like a beacon in the first half of 2020-21, setting an example to his team-mates by providing goals, spectacle, combativeness and leadership.
7 CAN WE EXPECT MORE GOLDEN OLDIE EXPLOITS?
Thanks to strides in sports and medical science, beefed up back-up crews, better pitches and more rotation, 30 and 40-something pros have never had it so good. Hats off to the likes of Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud (34), Montpellier defender Vitorino Hilton (43), Bologna forward Rodrigo Palacio (38), Real Betis wing wizard Joaquin (39), Sampdoria front-man Fabio Quagliarella (37), Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Makoto Hasebe (37) and many, many others. We’re all benefitting from their extra few years in the sun.
8 CAN SCOTLAND SHINE AT EURO 2020?
About to take part in their first international tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France, the Scots may appear to be a workaday outfit on paper, only boasting a smattering of Grade A individuals. But write them off at your peril. In just a year-and-a-half in charge, manager Steve Clarke has pieced together a cohesive, hard-working unit with that happy knack of battling through against adversity. Belief and momentum are crucial commodities in football and after twice winning penalty shoot-outs in the play-offs, the feeling in the camp is that this is their time. Two Euro 2020 fixtures at home at Hampden Park and a tussle with the “Auld Enemy” England at Wembley will make for added psychological bonuses.
9 WILL THOMAS MULLER RETURN FOR GERMANY?
Coach Joachim Low won’t have a job for much longer if he can’t find a solution to Germany’s alarming slump. But in Thomas Muller, he may have a saviour.
Discarded from the national team in March 2019, the Bayern star has been in the form of his life in 2020, playing a vital role in the Bavarians’ treble-winning success, and he’s not slowed down in the current campaign. With 100 caps, 38 international goals and five major tournaments under his belt, he offers a wealth of pedigree and experience in addition to his outstanding form.
10 HAVE ARSENAL FINALLY TURNED THE CORNER?
The R-word was even mentioned among Arsenal fans after they took just eight points from their last 12 league games before Christmas, but wins versus Chelsea, Brighton and West Bromwich Albion to close out and then start the New Year saw them turn the tide. While relegation is unthinkable for a club that has been in the English top flight longer than any other (102 years), missing out on European football for the first time since 1995-96 would also be a failure.
It was then, in 1996, when Arsene Wenger was appointed, but the stability he installed has evaporated. Question marks hang over key figures: owner Stan Kroenke, who has overseen a sustained period of decline; technical director Edu, whose appointment in 2019 has failed to arrest the slide; and “super” agent Kia Joorabchian, perceived to have obtained an input into the club’s transfer strategy.
Between them, these key decisionmakers have inadequately dealt with the futures of several players, most notably William Saliba and Mesut Ozil, creating an inharmonious squad. Arsenal have some immensely talented young players in Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Kieran Tierney, and did tidy business last summer capturing Thomas Partey and Gabriel. If Mikel Arteta can rid the club of the bad apples and deadwood, the future will look eternally brighter.
11 WHAT WILL THE NETHERLANDS BRING TO EURO 2020?
The Dutch left a huge hole when they failed to qualify for Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018. How we missed those mythical tangerine jerseys, their classy, progressive style of play and the massed ranks of their orange-clad fans. Their current squad arguably is the strongest they have had for some time, featuring players of the calibre of Van Dijk, De Jong, Wijnaldum, Depay, Van de Beek and Bergwijn. Two worries: is new coach Frank de Boer up to the job? And will centre-back extraordinaire Virgil van Dijk recover from injury in time for the main event?
12 IS QATAR A BREEDING GROUND FOR ELITE COAHES?
A great recent mystery was the total disappearance of Laurent Blanc who, since being sacked by PSG in 2016, had not worked at all. Until December that is, when the ex-France coach was appointed by Al-Rayyan.
The Qatar Stars League may not be considered elite level, yet it is already home to a coach tipped for Champions League football in Xavi. If both Blanc and Xavi can land big jobs off the back of their exploits in the Middle East, other managerial wannabes could be tempted.