Spain's national team triumphed at the UEFA European Championship, Real Madrid claimed their 15th Champions League title, and Rodri won the Ballon d'Or, highlighting a year of Spanish football dominance in 2024.
MADRID, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Two major tournaments captured most of the football headlines in 2024 - a year in which the Spanish game made a convincing claim to be the best in the world at both club and international level, and one player saw his legend continue.
The UEFA European Championship was the moment for Spain's national team to shine and validate the decision to give the low-profile Luis de la Fuente the job as head coach, after Luis Enrique's departure following the disappointment of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Former under-21 coach De la Fuente placed his faith in youth, with wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams providing a thrilling spearhead for a team that nevertheless had an experienced backbone of Unai Simon in goal, Aymeric Laporte in defense, Rodri in central midfield, and the much-criticized but usually effective Alvaro Morata in attack.
Spain played the best football throughout the tournament and was a worthy winner, beating England 2-1 in the final. Rodri's displays in midfield were vital in him being awarded the Ballon d'Or in November, while 17-year-old Yamal is the most exciting talent since Lionel Messi.
Messi celebrated his 37th birthday during the Copa America, and although his legs no longer have the explosiveness of 20 years ago, he was still the figurehead as Argentina added the Copa America to the World Cup they had lifted in Qatar in 2022.
He scored in Argentina's 2-0 semifinal win over Canada in the tournament played in the United States, and although he only played 66 minutes of the final against Colombia, Lautaro Martinez netted the winning goal in extra-time and Messi was in all of the photos.
Colombia was a worthy finalist, especially after beating Brazil in the quarterfinals when it outplayed the Selecao before winning on penalties. Brazil's big-name players again failed to shine in an international tournament, and that's probably why Vinicius Jr lost out to Rodri for the Ballon d'Or.
However, Vinicius was at the heart of Real Madrid's success in the first half of the year as Los Blancos rode their luck to win the club's 15th UEFA Champions League title.
Real Madrid squeezed through a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinal against Manchester City, who had dominated both games against Carlo Ancelotti's team and wasted chances to seal the tie up long before Bernardo Silva decided to chip his penalty straight into Thibaut Courtois' grateful hands.
Madrid then looked to be heading out against Bayern Munich in the semifinals, with the German side leading 3-2 on aggregate before an uncharacteristic last-minute howler from Manuel Neuer, who spilled a simple shot, allowing Joselu to save the day, while in the final Borussia Dortmund also had chances, but Madrid saw out the game to win 2-0.
That win completed a domestic and European double for Real Madrid as there was little opposition in La Liga against a Barcelona side in both institutional and sporting crises, who would dispense with the services of Xavi Hernandez at the end of the season, replacing him with former Germany and Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick.
Manchester City had some consolation for a Champions League exit as Pep Guardiola's side completed a strong end to the 2023-2024 campaign to finish two points ahead of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
Liverpool finished third and said goodbye to Jurgen Klopp, with Arne Slot joining from Feyenoord and providing a seamless transition which has seen his side look almost unstoppable in the new season.
Atalanta won the UEFA Europa League, beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final, to ruin what would otherwise have been a perfect season for the German side coached by Xabi Alonso.
Leverkusen had been unbeaten for the entire campaign, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup and Supercup before falling at the very last hurdle to Atalanta.
Inter Milan was unstoppable in Serie A, finishing 19 points ahead of AC Milan in a title race that had been wrapped up long before the end of the season.
Elsewhere, the Saudi Pro League continues to develop, with big-name players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar.
Despite the big names, the Saudi Pro League has failed to win the attention of football fans, especially in Europe, and there was disappointment as Al Hilal was knocked out of the AFC Champions League semifinals. ■
