Euro Trash

Some people say Scottish football is far too easy. They may be right considering the mafia-like grip the Old Firm have had on the Scottish game. Or, if you’re of a green and white persuasion, that would read the grip Celtic and their now-defunct rivals had on the Scottish game.

I say this because this weekend saw Celtic complete one of the most incredible seasons in the history of the Scottish game and maybe one of the most incredible of all time. Their last minute win in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen was a tough one, but it completed an unbeaten domestic campaign and a treble.

Now, I lived in Glasgow’s East End and I still work there so you can imagine the scenes caused when I walked into the break room of my work at around five to a packed room cheer right as Rogic won the cup. They reveled in the celebrations of Scott Brown, who is basically that kid you played with but who was never that bright and just stayed in the same place all his life.

That wasn’t the only exciting cup final at the weekend either. Over in Spain, Barcelona rounded off their season, and Luis Enrique’s reign in charge, with a cup win over Alaves. Enrique’s tenure has been little more than arguments with players apparently more powerful than him. I wouldn’t be surprised if, when he retires, Lionel Messi takes on a role similar to the Emperor in Star Wars.

The cup win did help ease the pain of losing the title for Barcelona though. Real Madrid simply sauntered to the title with suggestions Malaga may just lie down completely reject… they scored after two minutes. That’s defensive resiliency that a Sunderland manager could only dream of right there. It means Real have finally wrestled the title back to Madrid but there are still question marks over Zidane and his coaching credentials. I mean, I know Roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League but that doesn’t mean that should be discredited immediately.

And finally, Crotone became the feel-good story of the weekend thanks to their rather miraculous escape from relegation. They picked up twenty points in their final nine games to stay up showing the sort of form that Arsenal usually show to ensure they finish top four each season. Poor Empoli went down with them having presumably gone on holiday about six weeks ago, assuming they were safe. No doubt Massimo Maccarone was heartbroken to hear about relegation on his sun lounger in Magaluf.