The 28th edition of the African Cup of Nations
was co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The tournament began on the 21st
of January 2012. The failure of defending champions Egypt and African football
powers Nigeria and Cameroun to qualify meant that Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana were
the overwhelming favourites to win the title. Zambia had other ideas. The ‘Chipolopolo’
defeated Ghana in the semi-finals and face Cote d’Ivoire in the finals on the
12th of February. The game
headed for a penalty shootout as both teams failed to score in regulation
time. Herve Renard’s side won the
dramatic shootout, winning their first continental title and becoming the
fourteenth nation to lift the tournament. The Zambian team dedicated their win
to the members of the national team who died near the final’s venue in
Libreville during the 1993 Zambian national football team air disaster.
In March, Bolton Wanderers Midfielder Fabrice Muamba
suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup game with Tottenham Hotspurs at
White Hart Lane. He received medical attention from the physios and a
cardiologist who was amongst the spectators and had come on to assist. Muamba
recovered despite his heart having stopped for more than an hour. Following
medical advice, he announced his retirement from professional football in
August 2012. Aston Villa Captain Stiliyan Petrov was diagnosed with acute
leukaemia after receiving treatment for a fever after his team’s 3-0 loss to
Arsenal. The Bulgarian suspended his football career to have treatment.
May was the month of champions. Italian giants Juventus
claimed their first Serie A title in 9 years. The ‘Old Lady’ was unbeaten in
the entire league campaign. Broussia Dortmund claimed a second successive
league title; they fought off Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich to retain the
crown they won in the 2012/2011 season. Montpellier was crowned Ligue 1 champions
ahead of PSG. The Parisians had spent lavishly in the summer and brought in
Carlo Ancelotti to help secure a league title. However, it was Montpellier
which was established through a merger in 1974 that won a first league title. With virtually the last kick of the game against
QPR Sergio Aguero won Man City their first league title in 44 years. The
Citizens backed by Sheikh Mansour’s billions needed to win their last game of
the season to be crowned champions and the final day was indeed dramatic with
City winning 3-2.
Real Madrid won a first La Liga title in 3 years. Jose
Mourinho’s side were able to break the strong hold of rivals Barcelona. Los
Blancos won the league by scoring more than a 100 league goals and 7 points
ahead of Barcelona. Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League after a dramatic
penalty shoot out with Bayern Munich. Chelsea had against all odds triumphed
over Barcelona in the semi-finals. The finals held in Bayern’s Allianz Arena
and the Bavarians were the overwhelming favourites. Thomas Mueller gave Bayern the
lead on 83minutes but Chelsea equalized with their first corner of the game as
Didier Drogba sent a thumping header into the Bayern goal in the 89th
minute. Robben had an extra time penalty save. The game went into penalties and
Chelsea won the shoot out and their first Champions league title and the
acclaimed Holy Grail for owner Roman Abramovich.
In June the UEFA European Championships was co-hosted by
Poland and Ukraine. The tournament was held from June 8 to July 1 2012.
Defending Champions Spain were still the favourites to retain the title. The
Spain team were in Group C and played a 1-1 draw with Italy in their opening
group match. The final match took place at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, where
Spain defended their title with a 4-0 win over Italy. Spain became the first
team to win two consecutive European Championships and the first international
team to win three straight major tournament titles (Euro 2008, World Cup 2010
and Euro 2012).
The club world cup held in the Japan with the
final between European Champions Chelsea and South American champions
Corinthians. The Brazilians triumphed 1-0.
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