Everything has to end sometime

This past weekend three long standing periods of domination were finally put to bed. One by one over the weekend they fell from Albania to Gibraltar via Croatia. A sense of new life being pumped into these leagues as seen with the celebrations after the final whistles blew. In the cases of Kukesi and Rijeka it was first ever league titles, for Europa FC first title in a lifetime.

Albania:

Kukësi celebrate their maiden championship

source: rtsh.al

On Saturday FK Kukësi dethroned champions for the past six seasons Skënderbeu Korçë. They secured it with a 2-0 home win over the outgoing champions with a brace from Croatian striker Pero Pejić. Those goals took his tally to twenty-six for the still unbeaten champions with one round remaining. The striker signed last summer from Esteghlal of Iran and has now won the Albanian title with three different sides (Kukësi, Skënderbeu Korçë and Dinamo Tirana).
Another key in the success was Enea Koliqi who kept twenty clean sheets along the way. For manager Ernest Gjoka it capped off a terrific first season in charge. For perspective, Kukësi last season were beaten nine times and finished third, sixteen points off the title.

Croatia:

Rijeka are Croatian champions

source: CROPIX

One of Europe's long standing periods of dominance is over after Rijeka maintained their superiority this season with a 4-0 dismantling of Cibalia sparking wild celebrations in the coastal city. The result ended any hope of Dinamo Zagreb extending their league streak to twelve and ensured a first ever league title for Rijeka. It caps a magnificent spell in charge for manager Matjaž Kek, under his stewardship has seen the club win the Croatian Cup and Super Cup along with two Europa League group stage appearances.
A storming run to the title was made possible with four players hitting double figures, Franko Andrijšević (fifteen goals), Alexander Gorgan (twelve goals), Roman Bezjak (eleven goals) and Mario Gavranović (eleven goals).

Gibraltar:

Europa FC celebrate their triumph

source: C Correa Photography

Lincoln Red Imps' run of fourteen consecutive titles is over after Europa FC took full advantage of the opportunity presented to them. A 2-2 draw between Lincoln and Mons Calpe a fortnight ago swung the title race back into Europa FC's hands and they made no mistake, winning both remaining games. It was their first title since 1952 and their seventh overall. Their title victory denied Lincoln what would've been a European record of fifteen titles in succession.
A major contributor to the success was no doubt the thirty-goal haul from Kike Gómez but also both Guillermo Roldán and Liam Walker hit double figures with fifteen strikes each. Manager Juan Gallardo in his first season in charge delivered a fantastic title win that saw Europa FC beaten only twice in twenty seven league games.

FK Budućnost - An almighty collapse

In last week's post about title races I mentioned briefly how the title race in Montenegro had been reopened in recent weeks. I felt this warranted a post of it's own because of how it came to this stage of an open race, whereas only a few months ago FK Budućnost seemed to be pretty much nailed on for the title honours. 

FK Budućnost hail from the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica. Since the country's independence from Serbia in 2006, the club have won the league crown twice and have posted six runners-up placings. In the Yugoslav era the club reached the final of the Yugoslav cup in 1965 and 1977, losing on both occasions. Last season Budućnost lagged behind fellow capital side Mladost and last summer were a couple of spot kicks away from eliminating eventual Europa League quarter-finalists Genk. 

This season however is certainly worth talking about. At the beginning of the campaign Budućnost raced out of the traps with five wins from their opening five games. They wouldn't taste defeat until a 2-0 reverse at home to Rudar in October. Four wins from the next four league outings would extend their lead at the top of the table. A cup exit at the hands of Grbalj did put a dampener on the first half of the season however. A 3-0 win over Bokelj in the final game before the winter break got that cup disappointment out of their system. 

At the break Budućnost were eleven points clear of Mladost and seventeen ahead of FK Zeta and Sutjeska. Their record stood at played seventeen, won thirteen, drawn three and just one defeat. Manager Miodrag Vukotić seemingly guiding his side to a third league title. 

However there was a sensational collapse in the wings. The first two games back after the break yielded four points against Zeta and Sutjeska. However that victory over Sutjeska would be their only victory for two months and to date the team have only recorded two since.

Budućnost's record since the break has been a stark contrast to their record before the break. Played fourteen, won three, drawn three and lost eight. Goalscoring has dried up and the defence has become extremely leaky. Before the break they conceded just seven in total, they have conceded seventeen in the games after the break.

Radomir Đalović hasn't replicated his autumn form

Foto: Luka Zeković / Vijesti

Top goalscorer remains Goran Vujović with eleven and despite the team's collapse he has remained on some sort of scoring trail. Vujović has probably been the only player to retain some sort of form resembling the first half of the season. Radomir Đalović in total has ten league goals with just three coming after the break. Midfielder Milivoje Raičević has nine goals to his name, however he hasn't scored since December before the break. 

Amazingly their collapse hasn't nudged them off the summit, yet. Sutjeska sit two points behind them having made up fifteen of the seventeen point gap that existed between the two at the break. FK Zeta are a further point behind in third but would actually be two points clear but for a six point deduction for two separate cases of disciplinary breaches. 

Budućnost have two games remaining to crawl over the line but for a side that require two victories to guarantee the title but have only won three games since the new year, nothing is assured in Montenegro.

Grand Stand finishes around Europe

By now approaching mid-May many European leagues have already crowned their champions. However for some, there is some quite enthralling title races still to reach their conclusion. By enthralling, I mean enthralling, more than two sides going for the title with little between them.

Poland:

Jagiellonia are gunning for a first ever league title
source: Maciej Gilewski 

We'll start with Europe's closest title race in the Ekstraklasa. Six rounds of games still remain with the final round not scheduled until the beginning of June but it does translate into a month of knife edge action. A single point is all that separates the four title contenders with Jagiellonia Białystok lead Lech Poznań on the head-to-head record. Such is the compact nature of the league this season it could well be decided on the head-to-head. 
Two of the contenders, Jagiellonia Białystok and Lechia Gdańsk have never won the title which adds more suspense to this race. Defending champions Legia Warszawa, while in contention, are yet to reach the summit this season. Given that the league has split into two, the next few weeks are littered with head-to-head clashes between the contenders and this is certainly one title race to keep a close eye on. 

Moldova:
Moldova's Divizia Națională reaches it's conclusion in the next fortnight with just three points separating the top four sides. The twist in the race however, is leaders Milsami have already played a game more than their rivals. Milsami face a nervous weekend of inactivity while all three of their title rivals face home fixtures. Any win for any of the contenders will knock Milsami off top spot but should all three of Dacia, Sheriff Tiraspol and Zaria win then the final weekend will see just one point separate all four. To add even more twists, Milsami will face Zaria on the final day with Sheriff and Dacia away at relegation threatened sides. 

Montenegro:
An absolute collapse in form from Budućnost in 2017 has opened the title door to FK Zeta, Mladost and Sutjeska, with all three sides now within three points of the stuttering capital side. Four rounds of games remain and given the slump from Budućnost, the title slipping out of grip cannot be ruled out. The leaders also face all the title hopefuls in their remaining fixtures. To put a perspective on the collapse, Budućnost held a twelve point lead at the winter break. This is a race worth keeping an eye on to see if Budućnost can avoid a sensational bottle-job. 

Albania:
Over the border in Albania, the Superliga has been a constant three horse race all season. With four rounds left to play just a solitary point is all that is between FK Kukësi, Partizani Tirana and Skënderbeu Korçë. Champions for the past six seasons, Skënderbeu Korçë haven't been able to make top spot their own this season with surprise package FK Kukësi remaining in front for much of the season by the narrowest of margins. This midweek sees a round of games pencilled in for decision and the remaining rounds will be crammed in before May 27th's finale which has Skënderbeu Korçë hosting Partizani in a potentially massively defining fixture. 

Romania:
Over in Romania just one round remains in the Liga I title race. Three sides, Viitorul Constanța, FCSB and Dinamo București are seperated by two points. All three face home games this coming weekend with Dinamo needing a very unlikely set of results to claim the title. Viitorul are gunning for a first ever league crown and FCSB are looking to claim a first title since the acronym of FCSB was adopted seemingly permanently earlier this year. On paper Viitorul have the toughest assignment against CFR Cluj with FCSB hosting Universitatea Craiova and Dinamo at home to Astra Giurgiu. 

Other notable mentions
Gibraltar:
Both Lincoln Red Imps and Europa FC have been nip and tuck in the league for the entire season. Both are separated by a point with two games remaining. Lincoln hold the slender advantage but face third placed St Joseph's in a potentially tricky game. Europa FC need a slip up from Lincoln in their final two games while they themselves need to win both of theirs. 

Hungary:
A tight finish is in store with Honvéd and Videoton level on points with three games of the campaign remaining. As luck would have it they both face each other on the final day of the season on May 27th. Honvéd are at home and chasing a first league title since 1992-93 while Videoton are hoping to claim a third ever league title. 

The decline of RCD Mallorca

A quick glance at the bottom half of the Segunda división and you will find a couple of teams that graced La Liga for decent spells such as Almería and Rayo Vallecano. Look closer and you'll find RCD Mallorca second from bottom in serious danger of going down. It wasn't always this way.

Hailing from the capital of the Balearic islands, Palma, RCD Mallorca have spent a total of twenty-seven seasons in the Spanish top flight. They are ranked eighteenth in the historical classification and have by and large been the island's leading club. Their decline to their current mire has been slow and painful.

The 1998-99 season remains the club's best ever in terms of achievement. Under the guidance of Argentine coach Héctor Cúper, the islanders were runners-up in the final edition of the UEFA cup winners cup while domestically they finished third for their highest ever placing. A Supercopa de España trophy the following season marked the start of what was to become a golden period for the club. Cúper had departed for Valencia at this stage and under Luís Aragonés in 2000-01, Mallorca again finished third in La Liga. Unlike in 1999 where they failed to negotiate a path to the champions league group stage, in 2001 they made no mistake. In a group containing Arsenal, Schalke and Panathinaikos they finished third but narrowly missing out on progression.

Another trophy wasn't long coming for the club. The 2002-03 campaign didn't end until late June but the long arduous season was well worth the effort when, now under the guidance of Gregorio Manzano, they beat Recreativo de Huelva 3-0 in the Copa del Rey final in Elche. Goals from Walter Pandiani and a brace from Samuel Eto'o securing Mallorca's finest hour.

Leading players such as Pandiani, Eto'o and Alberto Luque would be sold off in the seasons following that Copa success. This resulted in a relative doldrum period where comfortable mid-table placings were the norm. Players being sold off was a common theme until the 2009-10 season. A season that saw Mallorca heavily involved in a champions league tussle with Sevilla. A late dip in form allowed Sevilla to pip them to the fourth champions league spot by a solitary point. A few weeks after the heartbreak, Mallorca were banned from taking part in European competition by UEFA for financial irregularities. That 2009-10 campaign was to prove as good as it got.

Mid-table and relegation battles ensued for the following seasons until they fell through the relegation trap door in 2012-13 on the final day. A relegation that ended a two decade spell in the top division. There would be no bouncing straight back up and their three seasons down in the second tier have yielded almost identical finished of seventeenth, sixteenth and seventeenth. Such mediocrity saw highly promising Marco Asencio depart for Real Madrid.

The current campaign is in serious danger of Mallorca slipping further down the pyramid. At the time of writing they are second bottom, six points off safety with six games remaining. Instability in the dugout hasn't helped with three different managers taking the helm. The current incumbent, Fernando Navarro is facing a massive challenge to keep the club up in the next few weeks.

Relegation would be a disaster for the club. Segunda B doesn't have professional status and the attendances at the Iberostar Estadi would plummet even further in the third tier. For the optimistic Mallorca fans perhaps some solace can be taken from Tenerife's experience. The Canary Islanders suffered back-to-back relegations from La Liga to Segunda B but a bounce back into the second tier has seen them build slowly into a side current challenging for promotion into La Liga once more.

The story of RCD Mallorca in the past twenty years could have yet another twist in the next few weeks and relegation also opens the prospect of Mallorca facing local rivals Atlético Baleares competitively next season. Not a prospect Mallorca fans would've envisioned when beating Recreativo in the Copa del Rey in 2003.