Borussia Dortmund
Last Season: Bundesliga – 3rd; Top Scorer – Erling Haaland (41)
Why Borussia Dortmund will win the Bundesliga? They’ve made arguably their most ambitious and excitement managerial hire in a decade, in Marco Rose, who joins from Borussia Monchengladbach. The club may have lost Jadon Sancho, but they’ve retained a core of the squad – including, most crucially, Erling Haaland – and have made an astute addition in Donyell Malen. Plus, last season’s late run showed their mettle.
Why Dortmund won’t win the Bundesliga? Bayern Munich, for starters. That might well be the only reason, but there’s also the case that Dortmund didn’t so much finish 19 points behind the champions in third place last season, as they rather snuck ahead of fifth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt into a Champions League spot by four points.
The Manager
The Stadio podcast’s visually aesthetic masterpiece. The headline surrounding Rose for much of last season was how Borussia Monchengladbach imploded when it was confirmed that he’d be leaving at the end of the campaign. But the former Salzburg manager is now at the Signal Iduna Park, and the belief is that he translates the system that took Monchengladbach to the Champions League in 2019/20, and not last season’s winter blip. Speaking of...
One Thing to do: Deal with the blip. Dortmund may have looked to solve their goalkeeping mishap with the acquisition of 23-year-old Gregor Kobel from Stuttgart, but another Achilles’ Heel they have is when things go wrong. As the teams headed into the Ruckrunde, Dortmund won only four of their first ten games of the second half of the season. They recovered to win all of their final seven games and finish third, but by then the league was far gone. This poor run also stems from Dortmund’s dire trait of never winning games when the performance is shaky, or conniving to drop points in games when they looked vastly superior. Rose needs to instil a cultural reset as much tactical nuance.
Time-turner (Ten years ago): Dortmund went into the 2011/12 season as champions, having surprisingly won a first league title since 2002, a title Jurgen Klopp’s side would retain. They haven’t won it since.
Chelsea
Last Season: Premier League – 4th; Top Scorer – Timo Werner/Tammy Abraham (12)
By December 2020, Chelsea looked limp. They had spent the summer splashing out on the best and brightest names, as well as a new goalkeeper and defender, yet they looked miles behind the others in the league. Yet, by May, they had made their case to be the best team in Europe, having seen off Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid (twice), and Manchester City (in three different competitions), as well as the small matter of winning a second Champions League title.
The first half of the season definitely highlighted how under-qualified Frank Lampard was in the dugout, but Chelsea’s rehabilitation in the second half is significantly due to replacement Thomas Tuchel. Now, the task is to challenge for the title. The Blues haven’t really looked like contenders since winning the league in 2017, and for all their recovery, they still finished 19 points behind City in the Premier League. The potential arrival of Romelu Lukaku is a realisation of their key weakness; Chelsea had the second-best defence in the league last season, but their top scorer in the league was Jorginho... with seven penalties.
The Manager
For many familiar with the German, the probable implosion and chaos is on the back of the minds. But at the moment, the Sky is rosy for the Blues manager, whose impact on the side was evident right from the off. He’s shown he can beat the best on one-off sprints, now it’s about toppling them in the marathon.
One Thing to do: Find some consistency. Chelsea never quite got into gear for much of the season, they only won more than two league games on the bounce on three occasions, and never went beyond four – by contrast, Manchester City got to 13.
Time-turner (Ten years ago): There was excitement when Chelsea plumped for 33-year-old former member of staff Andre Villas-Boas as manager in 2011. It didn’t quite work out, but the Blues ended the 2011/12 season with their first ever Champions League title.
Everton
Last Season: Premier League – 10th; Top Scorer – Dominic Calvert-Lewin (21)
‘Is this the season Everton finally break the glass ceiling?’ (no). We’ve asked this question so many times, it might become a catchphrase. Everton fans have seen so many false dawns, they could be forgiven for never being optimistic ever again. Since 2017, different methods have been tried. The summer splash, the young exciting manager, the proven winner. Nothing has quite worked. And last season was another show of flattering to deceive, as Everton flirted with the top four before finishing 10th.
To make matters even less glamourous, the new season hasn’t begun and the pressure is already on. Fans have voiced their displeasure over the appointment of former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez. Their patience will certainly be tested in that regard, and a bad start could pretty much toss their whole season. But Benitez is probably still in that spot of ‘proven but not quite done’, and given what he did at Newcastle, it could get better at a team willing to use considerably more resources. So, again, is this season Everton finally break the glass ceiling? (No)
The Manager
If Benitez thought he walked into a baptism of fire when he took charge of Chelsea back in 2012, this is worse. No sooner had speculation started to develop about his impending arrival, did fans bring forth receipts from his Liverpool years. He certainly has a lot of work to do to win over the fans. A good start is key, and even that doesn’t fix anything yet.
One Thing to do: Be patient. Everton don’t quite have the toughest of starts, but hiccups and teething problems are to be expected. It seems an impossible task, but early season drawbacks shouldn’t attract mass fan discontent. Also, try this thing whereby Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison don’t score more goals than the rest of the entire squad.
Time-turner (Ten years ago): In David Moyes’ penultimate season, Everton once tried their hand at getting close to the heavy hitters in the league, finishing in the top seven for a second successive season. Many wondered whether they’d break the glass ceiling... wonder how that’s turning out.
Inter
Last Season: Serie A – Champions; Top Scorer – Romelu Lukaku (30)
No sooner had Inter won a first league title in a decade than it started to look quite certain that they wouldn’t be following it up with another. First, Antonio Conte left, then we found out why. Inter are pretty much skint, and it’s not absurd to suggest that they’d haemorrhage players, even as we enter August.
Achraf Hakimi left for Paris St. Germain early, top scorer Romelu Lukaku is heading for the door as well, and partner Lautaro Martinez is not unlikely to leave. It’s only the consequences of footballing capitalism, everyone.
The Manager
After all his brilliant work with Lazio in the past five years, Simone Inzaghi surely deserved better than inheriting a defending champion side with players likely to jump ship. His spell at the Stadio Olimpico looked to have earned a move where things are more comfortable, instead it looks like he’ll have to work his magic all over again at the San Siro.
One Thing to do: A few things, on and off the pitch. For now, though, get a new forward.
Time-turner (Ten Years ago): Inter had barely entered the 2011/12 season with Gianpiero Gasperini when they ditched the manager, for Claudio Ranieri, who they’d get rid of in the near future as well.
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