Could it really be happening? Are Barcelona on the verge of being knocked off their lofty perch? Judging by the barnstorming performance by Bayern at the Allianz on Tuesday, you wouldn't bet against it. But have Barcelona truly been replaced as the footballing heavyweight? Is this the end of their uber-successful era as football's most dominant force? If you ask me, the answer is... no.
Well not yet, anyway. What we saw on Tuesday night was nothing short of remarkable and shocking in equal measure. Two giants of European football - which Bayern Munich always have been - should, ideally, at least - produce either a mouth-watering goal-fest or a spell-binding, chess match-like contest. What we got, of course, was a Catalan mauling.
To see Barca come unstuck for not the first time in recent years may well be a sign of their successful style waning, though I doubt that we'd ever get the chance to doubt their superiority in the years to come. Bayern have now replicated the scalp that Chelsea and of course, Real Madrid have claimed in the past few years, though it seems to me at least that many just want Barcelona to be replaced by a team at the top.
In a not too dissimilar way that Manchester United's dominance in the Premier League is really starting to irritate their closest rivals more than ever, the glorious rise of Barcelona since the days of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho, which swiftly transformed itself into the monster that was Messi, Pep and co. has left other teams - especially Real Madrid - inconceivably jealous. Sure, they could handle being second best to a team like that for a year or two, but at a margin as wide as this? It's getting a bit embarrassing for them.
Therefore, any chance that anyone gets to really put Barca down; put them in a place where they have not been for quite some time (i.e. well and truly battered away from home in Europe), is going to be taken at the earliest opportunity. But it is never going to be the case that Barcelona will never be able to compete with teams such as Bayern again - unless a so-called 'balance of power' takes place. After all, it was Bayern who were on the wrong end of a battering just 4 years ago and since then, have clocked up more Champions League finals than Barca (though there two fewer trophies). If anything, this should make Barca angry.
And if the balance of power is shifting; why is Bayern taking pole position? The same Bayern that couldn't defeat an un-dazzling Arsenal side at home? The same Bayern who managed to lose a final in their own stadium that they dominated from start to finish?
The way BM's vorsprung durch technik steamrollered Barca's tiki-taka was immensely breathtaking. It was those same players that lost those games so poorly against English opposition that managed to produce a masterclass with one of the most intimidating front-lines in world football. Yet only now, there's a 'shift' in domination:
Arsenal were a team playing top stuff in early 2011; competing on four fronts and looking strong to end their trophy drought. *cries* Their style had been constantly likened to Barca's on numerous occasions, and they came head-to-head in a real battle royale. We ended up playing them off the park that evening. They were on the rack, hanging on, because we had played them at their own game. Surely this would be a far more apt and accurate time to suggest a 'shift in power'?
(It's been pretty downhill from there; Birmingham, 8-2, Bradford etc., but that's not the point).
The point is, at a time like this, any suggestions of a power shift are to be expected. German football is certainly on the up, but whether a Bayern side is going to challenge the elite to become another 'Barca' is just going to be a waiting game. Pep probably cannot believe his luck, but what if he's a one trick pony? You can never be sure with football.
What is for sure is that European football may have regained its competitive edge, especially with the English under-performing and the Germans doing the opposite this year, and in doing so, are threatening to overturn the Spanish - whether that pattern is to continue, though, remains to be seen.
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