Women's WC, Messi-Suarez-Neymar and the 100-million-Euro transfer: Beckenbauer's year-ender

By Franz Beckenbauer Now, with 2015 nearing its end, is a good time to look back at things - but also to look forward. A great deal has happened this year. Unfortunately, much of it has been overshadowed by the terrible events of 13 November in Paris during the friendly match between France and Germany. Still, there are few matters I’d like to discuss. For one, a lot has happened in European football, and not just from the sporting angle. For certain, there were more than just a few people who doubted whether Roman Abramovich would show such stamina at Chelsea. But at least until now, it appears that he is still enjoying his engagement, even after 12 years and despite some low points along the way. A current one has just led to his dismissing star manager José Mourinho at year’s end. [caption id=“attachment_1571621” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of Franz Beckenbauer. Reuters[/caption] But other top clubs such as Paris St. Germain, FC Barcelona and Manchester City are also being supported by generous backers. With such money the clubs are more attractive for the top stars, in turn raising the level of play. On one hand this is good for football. But on the other, many people will be asking where this dependence of the clubs is leading to. I feel that it is simply a development that can no longer be reversed. Each club must decide for itself which path it wishes to take. Just at this moment, the latest developments in England illustrate how individual leagues can become dependent on TV revenues. The English clubs take in three times as much as their German counterparts. This could mean that the record sum for transfer fees - currently co-held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale at Real Madrid - could be surpassed before long. I, at any rate, would not be surprised when the 100-million-euro (109 million dollars) barrier for a transfer is soon broken. But getting to the sporting aspects, Barcelona has just won the FIFA Club World Cup championship with a well-deserved 3-0 win over the Buenos Aires club River Plate. This comes as no surprise to football fans, above all since Barca’s trio of strikers - Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar - are currently the best in the world. It was also Messi who put his team ahead 1-0 before Suarez then scored twice to sew things up. This became the fifth title for Barcelona this season. Only in 2009 were they more successful when they won six titles, under their manager at the time, Pep Guardiola. And speaking of whom, Guardiola arrived at FC Bayern three years ago, but is now leaving again. I would have loved to see him stay longer. He has formed a team the way it now stands, suffused with his ideas and concepts. But this is way things are - you can’t tie somebody down forever. And, in Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern has lined up the perfect successor. Up through last summer he was manager at Real Madrid. It was painful for me, but also impressive, to see how his team two years ago simply took Bayern Munich apart in the Champions League semi-finals with a superb tactical strategy. So Ancelotti is an outstanding choice. While looking back, the women’s World Cup in Canada must also be mentioned. The USA team was the deserving world champion, dethroning their opponent in the final, Japan. Things did not go so well for the German women, falling short against England in the consolation match for third place. But overall, women’s football has shown a positive development. The players of the best teams are athletically in top condition and are really strong both in the technical and running aspects of the game. Women’s football has become yet more dynamic and fast-paced. And now, looking ahead to 2016, the year of the Euro Championships in France. [caption id=“attachment_2555368” align=“alignright” width=“380”] The stage is set for Euro 2016. AFP[/caption] All of us naturally hope to see a peaceful festival of football. This is the most important thing of all. As to the sporting side, I am kind of divided. On the one hand, it is a great opportunity presented to the smaller associations that the final tournament field is 24 teams. But on the other hand, I am fearful that the Euro Championship itself will not necessarily gain in terms of quality. And for the players of the top teams, the tournament will mean yet even more of a burden that they can scarcely be expected to embrace. Just the same, one should not underestimate the quality of the supposed football minnows. It is not all that easy to win against them. You can’t forget that in the meantime many players from such national sides play in the large leagues. Albania is one example. And Wales another - just think of Gareth Bale. Just his presence on the Welsh side will make group opponents England show much more respect. Or, look at Austria. Almost the entire national team roster plays in foreign leagues, similar to the situation towards the end of my playing days in the late 1970s when such Austrian standouts as Bruno Pezzey played for Frankfurt and Hans Krankl at FC Barcelona. And it was Krankl - highly-motivated to make himself attractive to the top clubs - who at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina scored twice to eliminate the Germans from the tournament. Football in 2016 will also be interesting to watch with regard to the World Cup qualification play in South America. At the moment, Argentina is only in the middle of the table, having been hampered by Messi’s injury problems. Brazil on the other hand is forging ahead, ever since Douglas Costa, who now is an attacker for FC Bayern, has scored, or assisted, virtually every goal, as was the case in the 1-1 against Argentina and the 3-0 win over Peru. Costa has been a great addition at Munich. Will he also be able to score the goals to propel Brazil into the next World Cup? And so, let’s look forward to the next football year. It will certainly once again be interesting, with a lot of diversity and above all, suspense. Courtesy: DPA Global Media Service