When 'Aliens' are brought down to Earth

The merits of team play are reaffirmed in European football

Many sports commentators have called it a "changing of the guard", after two German football clubs swept aside two Spanish giants - arguably considered the planet's best teams and undoubtedly far more popular intentionally. Shock waves are still reverberating through the sports world, but when everyone calms down, the question will not be whether Barcelona and Real Madrid are over the hill, but whether we have retained some fantastic illusions about them.

Barcelona have been so good they were given the nickname "The Aliens", who played out-of-this-world football on a regular basis. The team, however, were beaten soundly by Germany's Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Uefa Champions League. They lost 4-0 in the first leg on German soil and, more embarrassingly, 3-0 in Spain on Wednesday night. But even the staggering score lines do not tell the whole story of how the previously invincible Barcelona were absolutely out-passed, outplayed, out-muscled and outclassed.

Real Madrid restored some pride in the second leg on home ground, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0, but crashed out of the UCL semi-finals because they had lost 4-1 during the first leg in Germany. But apart from the last 10 minutes of the second leg, Real Madrid - like Barcelona - absolutely looked second best in the tie.

Of course, Barcelona were missing Lionel Messi through injuries, and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo - by his own standards - was apparently going through a bad patch. But that's the whole point. The two have been the world's best players and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund ruthlessly exposed the danger of relying too heavily on specific players in a team sport.

When Messi and Ronaldo were on song, Barcelona and Real Madrid looked unbeatable, and when they met each other, the winners virtually emerged through a coin flip. But Barcelona looked out of sorts without Messi, and Real Madrid were quite average when Ronaldo did not perform.

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have shown how great team-play can ridicule a reliance on superstars. Granted, the German clubs have some outstanding players of their own, but their management on and off the pitch seems to have focused on the virtue of collectiveness. This could be a reason why German league football is not as internationally popular as that of the UK or Spain. If you're a really big football star, you don't dream of first playing in Germany before you retire.

German football features dull solidity and international football fans or subscribers of cable TV, say, in Asia, can live without the inclusion of the Bundesliga in their cable package. But the truth is, German football has always remained at the top of the game, whereas countries or clubs that place too much importance on stars have experienced highs and lows, according to whether or not their "stars" shine.

Team sports need stars who can produce something "out of nothing" - who can inspire, and who can benefit their organisations commercially. But one thing about football stars is that people take note when their teams succeed, but rarely blame them when their teams fail. At the end of the day, no star shines forever. What's more important is fostering team spirit.

With everyone talking about a power shift, more roads will lead to the Bundesliga. In fact, one of the world's greatest coaches is poised to manage Bayern Munich next season. Will that be an added blessing or will it backfire? We shall know soon.

What we know now is that German league football will have to handle something it is not familiar with: the great international spotlight.

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