Dortmund’s form this season has been exceptional. In the early autumn, many people thought that perhaps they would start to fade away by now, but they’ve in fact managed to do the complete opposite. Incredibly, they now find themselves 11 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen in second, and rather comically, 17 points ahead of the supposedly mighty Bayern Munich. Dortmund’s dominant position hasn’t been down to the poor performances of their rivals though – after all, Leverkusen have only lost twice all season – but because of their own ruthlessly consistent displays. They have dropped points in just one of their previous 14 games (a 1-1 draw with the ever-stubborn Hoffenheim), and as a result, you could be forgiven for thinking they have already wrapped the league title up. To compare them to Europe’s other leading clubs at present; they have a points-per-match average of 2.69, whilst Arsenal average 2 points and Lille average just 1.82. The only side who can actually match Dortmund in the major leagues are Barcelona, who average 2.7 points per game.

They comfortably have the best defensive and attacking records in the Bundesliga, and yet their forwards are some way off Theofanis Gekas’ tally of 12 goals. This only serves to demonstrate Dortmund’s collective strength though – Shinji Kagawa and Lucas Barrios both have 8 goals to their names, but Dortmund are not reliant or one or two exceptional sources of talent to keep them at the top of the pile. Instead, they have a young, hungry, vibrant squad who are willing to work for each other, and tackle any obstacle in their path as a single, united entity. The talent is of course there, in the form of Kagawa, Barrios, Nuri Sahin, Neven Subotic, Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski, to name a small collection, but as Bayern and Schalke are currently proving (for all the wrong reasons), talent is nothing without the right mentality.

The Black & Yellow’s manager, Jürgen Klopp, has got the defence looking beautiful in its shape and form – a site that should have any aspiring young coach jotting down notes – particularly the way they effortlessly narrow up and switch to a back five whenever they come under any sustained pressure. Three defenders will form an unusually narrow back three, a winger and a full back become wing backs and the midfielders plug any additional holes, which makes trying to pick them apart an unenviable task. This defensive wall has provided them with the base point to play what has actually proven to be extremely entertaining counter attacking football, reminiscent of Manchester United’s counter attacking play in the 2007/08 season.

This return to form will be a massive relief to the loyal Dortmund following, who pack out the stunning Westfalenstadion through both the good and the bad times. In the past, these supporters have seen their side win six league titles, a Champions League, a Cup Winners’ Cup and an Intercontinental Cup. Perhaps they are now finally on the cusp of once again bringing some silverware home, and who knows, maybe in the not-too-distant future they will be able to replicate the one night they have never forgotten. On 28^th May 1997 – they beat Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final. Playing at the Olympiastadion, which was then the home of their rivals, Bayern Munich, Dortmund overcame a Juve side absolutely packed full of star names; Zidane, Deschamps, Boksic, Di Livio and the emerging Del Piero. Two Karl-Heinz Riedle goals and a decisive second half Lars Ricken strike provided the underdogs with their first European Cup, and it was hoped that the success would continue. Unfortunately though, they have won just one major trophy since then (the league title in the 01-02 season) and hadn’t looked like winning any more until this season. In recent years, they have been cursed by financial difficulties, numerous coaches have come in and failed to redirect the sinking ship, but now, finally, they might just live up to their potential.

If ever this current, promising Dortmund side does need to look for encouragement, they only have to look back to this legendary night in Munich.

The UEFA Cup first-round draw was held on Friday and there are a number of interesting new faces in the competition. One of those teams is Dutch side FC Twente, who as we’ve detailed in previous posts, is now coached by former England boss Steve McClaren. Twente, who were entered into the UEFA Cup after they were soundly defeated by Arsenal in Champions League qualifying, have been drawn against French club Rennes.

Two early favourites have to be six-times European champions AC Milan and Sevilla, who won the UEFA Cup in successive seasons (2006 and 2007) under coach Juande Ramos (now with Tottenham Hotspur). AC Milan face Swiss outfit FC Zurich in the opening round while Sevilla start out against FC Salzburg of Austria.

The first-leg ties will be played on September 18th with the return legs taking place on October 2nd. The 40 teams that progress from this round will entered into the group stage of the competition.

Here are the results in full (my predicted winners are bolded):

AC Milan v FC Zurich
Politehnica Timisoara v Partizan Belgrade
Hertha Berlin v St Patricks
Banik Ostrava v Spartak Moscow
Metalist Kharkiv v Besiktas
Portsmouth v Guimaraes
Kayserispor v PSG
Sevilla v SV Red Bull Salzburg
Wolfsburg v Rapid Bucuresti
Sampdoria v FBK Kaunas
Maritimo v Valencia
Dinamo Zagreb v Sparta Prague
Manchester City v Omonia Nicosia
Young Boys v Club Brugge
AS Nancy v Motherwell
Everton v Standard Liege
Napoli v Benfica
AC Bellinzona v Galatasaray
NEC v Dinamo Bucuresti
Racing Santander v FC Honka
APOEL Nicosia v Schalke 04
Litex Lovech v Aston Villa
FK Austria Magna v Lech Poznan
Vitoria Setubal v Heerenveen
SK Brann v Deportivo La Coruna
Slavia Prague v Vaslui
Slaven Koprivnica v CSKA Moscow
Brondby v Rosenborg
Cherno More v VfB Stuttgart
Rennes v FC Twente
Ajax v Borac
Tottenham v Wisla Krakow
FC Copenhagen v FC Moscow
MSK Zilina v Levski Sofia
Borussia Dortmund v Udinese
Braga v Artmedia Petrzalka
Feyenoord v Kalmar FF
Hamburg v Unirea Urziceni
Hapoel Tel-Aviv v Saint Etienne
FC Nordsjaelland v Olympiacos

Now that the Champions League final has passed and I’ve had a bit of a break, it’s time for me to get back to work and start monitoring the transfer market. I’ve decided to not post much about rumours, though I will be posting a few articles, as there is already so much written on speculation. I’m going to stick to talking about the deals that actually do take place and this article will take a look at a few of the moves that have already taken place by clubs confirmed to be either in the Champions League or UEFA Cup for next season.

Rafael Benitez has begun his summer overhaul of the Reds’ underperforming squad by bringing in Switzerland right-back Philipp Degen on a free transfer. The Switzerland international defender will move to Anfield on July 1st when his current deal with the German club Borussia Dortmund ends. The move for the 25-year-old may spell the end of the line for Steve Finnan as Degen will likely share the right-back spot with Alvaro Arbeloa.

Degen only made 11 starts this past season as he was bumped from the lineup by the emergence of Antonio Rukavina. Rafa speaking to Liverpool FC’s official website summed up the move this way: “Sometimes you can find these players on the market. When you find a player like him who costs no money it means you can use money for improving other parts of the squad.” Could Finnan be sold to raise transfer funds? We’ll have to wait and see.

On to Spain where Real Madrid have signed Argentine centre-back Ezequiel Garay from Racing Santander. The 21-year-old Argentine, who is recovering from a knee injury, is reported to have cost Real in the region of 10 million Euros. He has played well at Racing since joining from Newell’s Old Boys in the 2005-06 season. He is a quick, decisive defender with a powerful shot from free kicks and penalties. Garay, who many sources say could remain on loan at Racing for another season, was linked with a possible move to Barcelona earlier this year.

Staying with Spain for a bit, Villarreal have signed Brazilian midfielder Edmilson on a two-year contract. The 31-year-old helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup and helped Barcelona win the Champions League two years ago. He fell out of favour at the Nou Camp this season and made only five starts. He will join Villareal on July 1st as his Barcelona contract expires in June.

Barca have made their first signing of the summer by paying the 14 million Euro release clause in Seydou Keita’s contract at Sevilla to take him to the Camp Nou. Keita has signed a four year contract, with a release clause reported to be as high as 90 million Euros. The 28-year-old Mali international becomes the first signing of the Josep Guardiola era at the Camp Nou and is expected to replace Deco. Keita is primarily a defensive midfielder but is regarded as one of the most skillful African-born central midfielders for his passing, control, vision, and shooting skills.

Moving over to Italy, it was announced that both Cafu and Serginho will leave AC Milan at the end of the season. Last season’s European champions are letting the pair go after deciding to bring in fresh blood following a poor campaign, with Barcelona defender Gianluca Zambrotta reported to be one of their main targets. A former World Cup winner Cafu, 37, will return to Brazil but is unsure if he will retire.

Cafu told reporters “I have had five marvelous years in which I have managed to win everything. The moment has arrived to leave. It is sad and hard but I knew sooner or later the time would come to go home, to return to Brazil. I don’t know if I’ll still play when I’m in Brazil.”

Cafu, who joined AC from Roma in 2003, has won a Scudetto, Champions League, two European Super Cups and a Club World Cup among other honours in his five seasons at the San Siro.

Also leaving is fellow Brazillian Serginho, who joined the club in 1999 from Sao Paulo. He has had problems returning to form after suffering a back problem two years ago and will also be heading home to Brazil. Legendary Milan captain Paolo Maldini, 39, is expected to stay at the San Siro for another season with a final decision due soon.