Robben and Ribery hoping for a red-carpet send-off
They were not always a natural fit. They had a dressing-room scuffle over who should take direct free-kicks. But over 10 years in tandem for Bayern Munich, Arjen Robben, the Dutchman with the most reliably regular manoeuvre in football - the cut back from the right, onto his left foot - and the Frenchman with a far less predictable character, Franck Ribery, turned into quite a double-act. On Saturday, it will be seen for the last time at the Allianz Arena.
Robben and Ribery - or ‘Robbery’ as they became known as shorthand - are leaving Germany’s champions after 10 and 12 years respectively. The pair have contributed 266 goals between them to what the club’s executive president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge calls “the most successful decade in Bayern’s history”, one that included the 2013 Uefa Champions League triumph, when the winning goal in the final was scored by Robben, set up by Ribery.
Robben, 35, wants to wave goodbye to home fans with an eighth Bundesliga title, Ribery, 36, with his ninth. A point against Eintracht Frankfurt - who are chasing a Champions League spot - will achieve that but there is no cushion.
A defeat would open the door to Borussia Dortmund, two points behind the leaders and facing Borussia Monchengladbach on the last day of a title-race as tight as any as in the era of Robben and Ribery.
Monaco’s minefield
Two years ago exactly, Monaco became champions of France. In doing so they interrupted one of the most domineering domestic reigns that exists in Europe, Paris Saint-Germain’s extravagantly-funded run of seven titles in the last eight years. The club from the Principality also reached the semi-final of the Champions League.
The plunge has been startling. Granted, Monaco sold a number of the stars of that campaign, but they lost many of them immediately after their dream season and still finished runners-up to PSG 12 months later.
This weekend, they are battling for their top-flight status, 17th in the table, two points above the relegation zone, and only above Caen - who occupy the 18th place that means a relegation play-off against a Ligue 2 aspirant - thanks to a narrow goal-difference.
The bad news? Monaco, who sacked Leonardo Jardim as manager in the autumn and brought him back after Thierry Henry’s rescue mission failed, are in freefall. They have taken three points from their last seven games, while Caen have gathered 10, and 19th-placed Dijon seven.
The assignments ahead are taxing, too, with Monaco hosting Amiens - at risk in 16th place - this weekend and completing their schedule with a local derby at Nice.
Atalanta’s anguish
Defeated on Wednesday night in the final of the Coppa Italia by two late Lazio goals, and still fuming over a Lazio handball missed by VAR, Atalanta's fairytale season might yet deliver a historic first.
With two fixtures left in Serie A, Atalanta are clinging on to fourth spot, and a place in the next Champions League, unknown territory for the Bergamo club.
They face Juventus this weekend, and though Juve are already champions and lost 3-0 to Atalanta in the Coppa quarter-finals, there are targets still to be met in Turin.
For a start, Cristiano Ronaldo, on 21 league goals in his first season in Italy, has two more games to try to catch up with Genoa’s Fabio Quagliarella (26 goals) or at least with Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata (22) in the Capocannoniere race. Breathing down Atalanta’s neck are AC Milan and Roma, both just three points behind.
Istanbul Intrigue
In the month of extraordinary comebacks - Liverpool against Barcelona; Spurs at Ajax - how’s this one? The Turkish Cup final, Wednesday night. Akhisarspor, last season’s winners, lead Galatasaray from the 56th minute. At 10 minutes from full-time, Elvis Manu’s goal remains the difference. Galatasaray’s Mbaye Diagne, leading scorer in the Turkish league, has by then missed a penalty.
Cue the recovery. Galatasaray equalise in the 80th minute, Sinan Gumus taking over spot-kick duties effectively. They lead in the 88th thanks to Sofiane Feghouli. Four minutes into injury time, Diagne’s 31st strike of the season secures the Cup.
So momentum is very much with Galatasaray as they now chase a Double. They take on Basaksehir this weekend in what looks the decisive contest in the Turkish league title-race, with the contenders level on points going into the penultimate day, Galatasaray ahead on goal difference.
It is a compelling battle: the established Istanbul giants versus the upstarts of Basaksehir, staffed with veterans like Emre Belozoglu, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robinho.
Valencia’s Va-Va-Voom
And on the subject of comebacks, here’s how stealthy Valencia have climbed up to an unlikely fourth place in La Liga and the prospect of another Champions League campaign in September.
For all but a few days through the entire first half of the season, they were anchored in the bottom half of the table. Not until last weekend did they sidle into the top-four - heartbreakingly for tiny Getafe, who had dared to start imagining their maiden voyage in Europe’s leading club tournament.
The two clubs are joined on points going into the last day of Spain's top division, Valencia with the edge in the tie-breaking head-to-head record.
