Was last year just an anomaly, or was it the end of the cycle? No English teams contested the Champions League final. No English team even reached the semi-finals. After five years of having at least one team in the final, there was no reason to believe that the trend wouldn’t continue. Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso may have left for Real Madrid from Manchetser United and Liverpool respectively, but English teams still looked to have enough quality to compete with the best on the continent.

This time last season few would have predicted that Bayern Munich and Inter would have made it all the way to final. While both good teams, Barcelona’s master class the year before, Real Madrid’s spending as well as the incentive of a Bernabeu final, and Premier League teams’ consistent performances all contributed to the consensus that it would be an Anglo-Spanish contest all over again. You have to go back three years for the last Italian team to make the final – AC Milan’s win over Liverpool – while Bayer Leverkusen were the last German representative in 2002. Both Bayern and Inter will be taken a lot more seriously this season after impressively putting both Spanish and English clubs to the sword in last year’s competition.

In response, both Barcelona and Real Madrid have reacted quickly. Barca have added the lethal finishing of David Villa to an already frightening starting eleven, and Real have done what they do best – land the biggest names in the game, with Jose Mourinho aiming to win the Champions League with a third club. The perennial problem for Real Madrid has been trying to manage the egos, and accommodating such an array of players into a coherent team, and if anyone is capable of solving such a headache, it is Mourinho.

English teams, have not made the high-profile changes to match their Spanish rivals. It is difficult to imagine Tottenham going all the way in the competition, simply being there is an achievement in itself, and based on the seeding they will receive, progression from the group must be the first aim. For Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, winning is a realistic ambition. The fact that Arsene Wenger has managed to persuade Cesc Fabregas that at least another year at the Emirates, rather than a return home, is the best option for him is a massive coup over the Catalan club; as good as the Premier League is, losing another of its main attractions to La Liga would have been a big blow.

It is difficult to predict how the English teams will fare. Arsenal have arguabley a better chance in Europe than the league, based on their squad and the style of football they play. Man Utd and Chelsea both crave success in Europe, with Roman Abramovich still waiting for his main target, but with both placing so much emphasis on the league, will it come at the expense on European shortcomings?

Teams such as Bayern and Inter are tougher prospects than previous seasons; Bayern have the vastly experienced Louis Van Gaal still at the helm and although Inter no longer have Mourinho, they have replaced him with a man who has reached two CL final in the last five years in Rafa Benitez. Under Mourinho, Real will be much, much tougher to overcome; fact. Barcelona still play the best football on the planet. English teams will still compete, but it may be a few years until they produce the sheer number of semi-finalists (three consecutive seasons with 3/4 of the semi-finalists from 2007 to 2009), and finalists that they have done since 2005. That pattern of domination will happen again; it existed in the 60s and 70s and will exist again. The English teams are capable, but they will have to be at their very best to prove last season was simply an exception.

Get updates on my articles and follow me on twitter.

*

With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery