After the first two rounds of the 2011/2012 Champions League, we already have an idea which teams are likely to succeed in the competition. But how will the German clubs fair after recent domination by both English and Spanish sides? This season the three sides hoping to bring the cup back to German soil are Bundesliga Champions Borussia Dortmund, former winners Bayern Munich and 2002 runners up Bayern Leverkusen. With the final being held in Germany there is an extra incentive to go all the way.
The Allianz Arena is the venue for this year’s final and home of German giants Bayern Munich who have begun this season’s competition in fine form in one of the hardest groups. With opponents Napoli, Villarreal and big spenders Manchester City, many would have questioned their chances of progressing to the next stage. After an important win away in Spain, Bayern produced an impressive display against one of the favourites to win the entire competition, Manchester City.
Although the result kind of got forgotten because of the antics involving want away striker Carlos Tevez, many other clubs will be aware of the threat that Bayern pose. After a strong start to the season and only conceding one goal so far, the future looks promising for Bayern Munich repeating their 2010 efforts and maybe even going one better and winning the competition.
The current Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund who have come into the spotlight for their attractive play were the team that people weren’t sure about entering the competition. After a late equaliser at home against Arsenal they travelled to the south of France needing to pick up some points to stay in the hunt for a top two finish.
The majority of the game saw Dortmund having possession and creating a number of good chances without converting them. The main player guilty of missed opportunities was talented German, Mario Götze who was denied on multiple occasions by Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. They will now have to win both games against the Greek side Olympiakos in order to give them a possibility of progression.
The third and final German side in this season’s competition is Bayer Leverkusen, who began with a difficult away trip to Chelsea. Although they lost 2-0 they won’t be too disappointed as they realistically know that was the hardest game in the group stage. Looking to pick up their first points of the group, they hosted the Belgian champions Genk who were making their second appearance in the Champions League. Goals from Lars Bender and Michael Ballack secured all three points in a nervy display. Bayer will feel it may be a step too far for them to progress to the knockout stages with a double header against Spanish side Valencia still to happen.
Out of the three German sides you would feel Bayern Munich are best placed to progress through the group stages and have a good squad to emulate the 2010 efforts. For the other two sides it will depend on how they can perform at home, especially for Bayer Leverkusen who has two very difficult home games ahead, in which they will need to pick up maximum points. Borussia Dortmund have played attractive football in their two games and at times shown why they are the current Bundesliga Champions, although it will be difficult for them to progress with both Arsenal and Marseille in commanding positions.
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