5 most exciting matches from the 2014-15 season
The reasons to watch football are endless. There is the obvious commitment to support one’s team and defend it in the face of rival fans as well as the equally important obligation to enjoy watching rival teams lose with their fans whining and complaining (there are always, of course, rival players we secretly have an unhealthy liking for and so we use this as a premise to watch them play).The quest for following promising youngsters, innovative tactical changes, relegation dogfights and league permutations ensure that a football fan has no dearth of excuses for watching any and every game of football within his/her reach. It is another matter that all these base human reasons sometimes prevent us from experiencing the true joy of the beautiful game.A handful of matches every season quickly remind us why we love the beautiful game. The unpredictability, the competition, the initial euphoria of taking the lead, the disappointment of a missed chance to draw level, the feeling of despair while trying to equalise, the anticipation of a goal and, at the end of it all, the ecstasy of winning on one side coupled with the sorrow of losing on the other.Honourable mentionsSevilla’s season was filled with matches that would keep you at tenterhooks but the Europa League final was the icing on the cake for the Spanish side as they came from behind to win 3-2 against Dnipro to clinch the trophy. Lazio’s 4-2 win away at Napoli was also among the best games of the season but more because of Napoli’s profligacy than Lazio’s brilliance.Their exploits were commendable, but there were still more impressive shows on display. Here’s a look at the 5 most edge-of-the-seat, thrilling encounters of football which were on display in the top divisions of countries across Europe –
#5 Wolfsburg 4-1 Bayern Munich, Volkswagen Arena, 30th January, 2015
Bayern Munich were in cruise control. The German champions had taken an 11-point lead into the midseason break and the critics of Bundesliga were once again voicing their concerns over the monopoly of the German domestic top division by the Bavarians.
Bayern’s first match after the break was against the second-placed team, VfL Wolfsburg. The Wolves possessed considerable flair going forward and the recent death of young club defender Junior Malanda had left their players full of emotion.
Sure enough, Wolfsburg began the match on a positive note. The home team seemed undaunted by the reputation or the possession game of Guardiola’s men. In the fourth minute itself, they would show the footballing world the perfect game plan to defeat Bayern Munich.
Winning the ball deep in his own half, Maxi Arnold passed the ball out to the right winger, Caliguiri. Caliguiri raced into the space left on the flanks by Bayern’s high line. When stopped by Dante, he passed the ball through the gap left between the former and Boateng, Bayern’s two central defenders.
Kevin De Bruyne, the fulcrum of Wolfsburg’s attack, latched onto the ball and passed it sideways to striker Bas Dost, who expertly slotted it home past Manuel Neuer. The Wolves had just scored against the German champions through a ruthless counter-attack. The duration of the move? 8 seconds.
Throughout the match, Dieter Hecking’s men kept to their game plan - Let Bayern keep the ball, lure them into your own half, give them the false feeling of security. Then, when you get the ball, immediately pass out to the wings, then pass inside to an advanced midfielder (primarily, De Bruyne) and switch wings or shoot.
By the end of the match, Wolfsburg had put 4 past Neuer and they could easily have had at least 2 more. Pep Guardiola had become an easy prey to Hecking and his lack of plan B was evident that night.
But the night belonged to the green and white Wolves. In his goal-scoring celebrations, Kevin De Bruyne looked up and pointed to the heavens – “This one’s for you, Junior. Anything for you..”