Football is often characterized by drama and intrigue. The year 2015 was no different as drama on and off the field kept followers of the beautiful game captivated and enthralled.
Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Rolando set tongues wagging early in the year as he beat Barcelona wizard Leo Messi and Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the prestigious world player of the year title.
Then the Elephants of Ivory Coast stormed to the 2015 Afrcan Cup of Nations triumph with a 9-8 penalty shoot-out victory over Ghana – a costly exercise for Supersport pundit Samuel Kuffour.
Raheem Sterling chipped and provided some spice by forcing a move away from Liverpool to Manchester City in July. But that was nothing compare to the earth-shattering announcement on June 2 – Sepp Blatter was leaving Fifa. And what followed? Well, the football fanatics are still trying to make sense of that as the once-mighty Fifa appears to be unravelling.
Below is a brief review of some of our highlights for the year.
January
Ronaldo wins Ballon d’Or again
Cristiano Ronaldo won the Fifa Ballon d’Or award for the second year running and the third overall on Monday and said he wanted to become “one of the greatest players of all time.”
The Real Madrid forward polled more than double the number of votes as his bitter rival Lionel Messi who only just edged Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into third place.
Joachim Loew won the Coach of the Year of the award after leading Germany to the World Cup title in Brazil, finishing ahead of Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone in the poll.
On the Field
February
Elephants go marching to African glory
Goalkeeper Boubacar Barry scored the decisive goal as Ivory Coast ended a 23-year Africa Cup of Nations title drought by winning 9-8 on penalties after the final ended 0-0 following extra time. Before netting, veteran Barry had set up the match-winning chance by diving to his left and pushing away a spot-kick from Ghana goalkeeper Razak Braimah.
The Champions
Bundesliga Champions
Bayern Munich were confirmed as German champions for the 25th time on April 26 as Wolfsburg’s 1-0 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach meant Pep Guardiola’s Bavarians can no longer be caught.
Gladbach’s Germany striker Max Kruse sent the title to Munich as his 90th-minute winning goal at Borussia Park saw Bayern finish the weekend with an unassailable 15 point-lead with four games left.
Bayern had picked up their 24th victory in 30 league games on Saturday when Bastian Schweinsteiger’s late goal sealed a 1-0 home win over Hertha Berlin at the Allianz Arena.
May 3 – Chelsea crowned champions
Eden Hazard scored the only goal as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at a festive, sun-soaked Stamford Bridge on Sunday to claim their first Premier League title since 2010.
The Belgian headed in after Julian Speroni had parried his self-won penalty late in the first half to register his 19th goal of the season and carry Jose Mourinho’s side over the line with three games to spare.
Champion Chief
Absa Premiership champions Kaizer Chiefs ended the 2014/15 season with a 2-0 win over Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on May 9. The win for the Amakhosi was secured by first-half goals from Mandla Masango and Willard Katsande. The Chilli Boys, meanwhile, avoided the relegation zone despite the defeat and will play in next season’s Absa Premiership.
May 17
Barcelona were crowned the 2014/15 La Liga champions on May 17. With one game still to play, Luis Enrique’s team have attained 30 victories, 3 draws, and 4 defeats. The 1–0 win over Atlético Madrid on the day secured the title.
For the fourth time in ten seasons, Barcelona were the team celebrating at the end of the Uefa Champions League final on June 10 having claimed their fifth title overall in 2014/15 and made Juventus the first side to lose six European Cup deciders.
Champions of Europe for the first time in 1992, Barcelona joined Bayern Munich and Liverpool on five titles with a 3-1 success over Juventus at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Goals from Ivan Rakitic and – after Álvaro Morata had equalised – Luis Suárez and Neymar secured a victory that gave Barcelona their second treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League as coach Luis Enrique followed Josep Guardiola in winning all three trophies in his first term in charge.
July – Raheem Sterling became the most expensive Englishman ever after joining Manchester City from Liverpool for a fee that could rise to £49 million on July 14. City paid an initial £44m for the winger, which could go up by a further £5m depending upon add-ons, after he passed a medical and agreed personal terms. He will wear the No. 7 shirt.
August – Orlando Pirates defeated Kaizer Chiefs 4-3 on penalties to claim their fourth Carling Black Label Cup at a sold out FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Sifiso Myeni had given the Sea Robbers a first half lead but Reneilwe Letsholonyane equalised midway through the second half for Chiefs in an entertaining match in the pre-season clash.
CAF Champions
November 8 – Second-half goals from Mbwana Samatta and Roger Assale gave TP Mazembe a 2-0 home win over USM Alger on November 8 and a fifth CAF Champions League title.
Leading 2-1 from the first leg in Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo club triumphed 4-1 on aggregate to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, where the likes of Barcelona and River Plate are potential opponents.
Tanzanian Samatta converted a 75th-minute penalty awarded for a clumsy foul at a packed 18,000-capacity Stade TP Mazembe in southern city Lubumbashi.
Ivorian Assale doubled the second-leg lead four minutes into stoppage time by tapping in from close range after Samatta spearheaded a counterattack.
By winning the premier African club competition for a fifth time, Mazembe join Zamalek of Egypt as the second most successful sides behind eight-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
The Players
Messi inspires Barca’s reign in 2015
Barcelona turned around a terrible start to 2015 to end the year as the undisputed kings of Spanish football once more having sealed a second treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League in just six years.
The Catalans lost their first game of the year to former Manchester United manager David Moyes’s Real Sociedad, sparking an internal crisis at the club.
Star player Lionel Messi refused to attend a training session with the club’s fans, while sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta was sacked and his assistant and club legend Carles Puyol resigned in support.
Vardy Good Year to Remember
November 28 was the day and Manchester United were the opponents. The focus was on one Jamie Vardy. Will he score to set a new record or will the Red Devils end his goal scoring streak? Vardy was on fire as he set a new Premier League record by scoring in an 11th consecutive top-flight match as Leicester City drew 1-1 with Manchester United.
Off The Field
Blatter Year to forget.
June 2 a day never to be forgotten in world football. Sepp Blatter resigned as president of Fifa in a stunning capitulation to critics as the weight of corruption scandals threatened world football’s governing body.
“I don’t feel I have a mandate from the entire world of football,” Blatter, 79, calmly told a press conference at Fifa headquarters just four days after winning a fifth term.
The Swiss official, who has ruled the world’s most powerful sports federation for 17 years, said he would remain in charge until a special congress can choose a new leader. He vowed to pursue strong reforms in that time — Supersport.com