2020 Review (Jan-June)
2020 has been such a long and mad year!
Honestly, I debated whether to write this, as I don’t think many will want to re-live this sh*t-show of a year. Despite the obvious, a lot of things have happened over the last 12 months, and that is equally true in the world of football. Despite taking several months off, the game had incredible moments prior to the break, and since it’s return the games have come thick and fast.
So, we will keep this short and sweet, and try not to mention or focus on the whole pandemic thing, but come along as we take a look back over some of the key points and stories over the past 12 months in the footballing world. Hopefully we cover the main points, but feel free to let us know on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if we missed out any memorable moments for you, and we will be sure to throw them into the mix.
Brace yourself, and let’s get on with it…
January – The year began with such optimism as the new year was seen in with a goal from Cesar Azpilicueta, who netted the first goal of the year after just 10 minutes of their 1-1 draw against Brighton in the early kick-off. From here on in, there were some big moves around Europe, with over £200million being spent in the Premier League alone. After a record breaking summer transfer window, some clubs were still in the market for improvements, none more so than Manchester United, who spent big to bring in a Portuguese midfielder by the name Bruno Fernandes. This will no doubt go down as one of, if not the greatest January signing of the past decade or even further, as he has revitalised the red devils. Since Bruno’s arrival, he has been and continues to be leading the side to victories, been their main goal contributor and is a delight to watch. Other big moves that happened in the month were Haaland moving to Dortmund where he again has shone since arriving, Lo Celso moved to Tottenham, Eriksen left for Inter and Jarrod Bowen joined the Hammers. It was also a time of surprising transfers, with Ighalo joining Manchester United, Ashley Young joining Inter, Defoe to Rangers, Pepe Reina to Aston Villa and Asmir Begović joining AC Milan. Back on the pitch, the FA Cup 3rd round took place in January and in the Premier League, Liverpool were dominant in their ambitions of both an unbeaten season and their first Premier League title.
February – 28 games into the season, and soon to be crowned champions Liverpool slipped up in stunning fashion, as they were truly defeated 3-0 by Watford. Ismaila Sarr scored twice and Troy Deeney bagged one as the reds were stunned by the Hornets. Meanwhile, across Europe, Champions League and Europa League round of 16 first legs got underway, as Dortmund and PSG, Liverpool and Atletico and Real Madrid and Man City faced off in the first round of knockout fixtures creating some incredible moments and games to savour. Although for some, the second leg wasn’t played until months, these openers left some tasty ties left to be played, with Liverpool chasing a 1-0 deficit, City holding a slender lead over Madrid and Dortmund also holding a 1 goal advantage over PSG. Finally, outside of the major footballing leagues, a social media video went viral showing once Ballon d’Or winner Kaka being nutmegged on a 5-a-side pitch in Hackney, one of the most shocking things we’ve seen all year.
March – In March, we received the final few games of football pre-lockdown where the world seemed to be maintaining an element of normality. On the 1st of March, City claimed another trophy as they beat Villa in the Carabao Cup final in a fairly routine 2-1 win. Meanwhile, there were some absolutely fantastic matches on show this month, and none more so than the Champions League last-16 second leg, as dominant Liverpool attempted to overcome a 1-0 deficit against resolute Atletico, in this game, it was a tactical masterclass from Simeone who’s side defended with spirit and capitalised on errors to win the second leg 3-2 and progress through 4-2 on aggregate. On March 13th, after their Europa League tie against Olympiacos, Mikel Arteta tested positive for Coronavirus, despite initial comments that nobody within Arsenal’s camp had shown symptoms. This was the first major case that had a serious impact on a team in the league, which became the catalyst for postponing the season. The season was officially put on hiatus for what was initially a 2-week period on the 13th, and of course things were not to be quite that straight forward. At this point in time, Liverpool were all-but mathematically champions, while Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich sat in the drop zone, worrying for their futures.
April – In what is usually one of the most packed months of football with leagues around Europe coming to a close, domestic tournaments reaching the finals and of course European competitions also reaching their climax, April in 2020 was shut-down in footballing terms. No game was played in the month as delay after delay from the governing bodies kept all footballing staff at home for the most-part. As a result, all us fans had to occupy ourselves was another few hours on Football Manager, and social media posts from players and clubs showing home training and “lockdown challenges”, which looking back now, are as dull as expected, but it’s all we had, so I’ll happily watch Foden kick a toilet roll round his front room if that’s all that was on offer. We did however have the second series of Sunderland ’till I die drop on Netflix in April and millions binge-watched the sitcom-esque shenanigans at Sunderland, where once again they were struggling to climb back up from their major downfall whilst balancing financial difficulty with hilarious (to the neutral of course) consequences.
May – Throughout May we were subjected to more delays and more bureaucracy, as different leagues across Europe and the UK were beginning to accept the inevitable cancellation and postponement of their fixture and their whole seasons. For some, this brought benefits of promotion and titles (despite the asterisk that will be forever placed against it), while for some clubs, they had to suffer with relegation alongside the financial hit of lockdown, meaning some clubs to this day are struggling and waiting on some miracle to keep afloat. These decisions were not taken lightly I’m sure, however the footballing governing bodies really showed where their priorities as they left the women’s game to largely fend for itself while lower league clubs were again the first to face the chop. In May, the WSL decision left Liverpool to face relegation while Aston Villa received some good fortune in earning promotion from the Championship. Quite ironic really considering the possible fate that could have faced the men’s side’s has the Premier League been curtailed. There was some optimism for football obsessives however, as the Bundesliga returned in the middle of May, becoming the first league to return post-lockdown, and like many fans across Europe and the world, we picked a team to back and became super-fans of Dortmund, Bayern, Leipzig or in my case Borussia Mönchengladbach. Whichever horse you decided to back, it was a promising sign to see football returning, despite adjusting to the lack of crowd and atmosphere.
June – 100 days after the the postponement of football in England, we were rewarded with an opening fixture of a 0-0 draw between Aston Villa and Sheffield United, and despite how dull that game sounded, it was wonderful to have a full 90 minute game of football back on our screens and in our lives. No more re-runs or Premier League retro as we had the beautiful game back in all it’s glory (minus fans of course). Within the first 90 minutes of footballs returns, we were not only adjusting to the lack of a crowd, but also faced one of the most illogical refereeing calls I’ve ever witnessed, as Sheffield United were denied a winning goal despite the ball crossing the line. A glitch in goal line technology was not intervened upon by VAR as “it’s not under their jurisdiction” and relegation threatened Villa were gifted a point from the gods, not that that made any long-term difference right Watford and Bournemouth fans? Elsewhere however, Barrow were promoted to League 2 for the first time in 48 years, City returned to winning ways against a woeful Arsenal side, and Mourinho’s Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw over Manchester United. Speaking of United, one man who had been busy over lockdown was Marcus Rashford, who began campaigning for free school meals vouchers to be continued over summer, in a campaign of selflessness from the footballer which has done amazing things for children around the country, while earning himself the admiration of the entire nation. Another important development throughout June and the return of football was the Black Lives Matter acknowledgement, as clubs and players took a stand on racism as the world rightly began to evaluate their own beliefs and actions in society.