Lionel Messi was the individual star of the calendar year with his incredible tally of 91 goals, but Spain continued their dominance of world football clinching another European title and Chelsea broke through in Europe.
Here’s Sports Pundit’s look back on the 2012 calendar year in football and the highlights throughout the world’s major competitions.
2012 European Championships Final: Spain 4 Italy 0 Semi finals: Germany, Portugal Player of the tournament: Andres Iniesta Golden Boot: Ferando Torres
Spain may have been criticised for their tiki-taka style but they proved the champions once again, claiming back-to-back European titles and marking their place in history with Andres Iniesta key to their success. Italy’s run to the final was impressive with Andrea Pirlo at his finest, but ultimately they were shown up in the decider.
Netherlands were the big disappointment after losing all three group games, while Germany would have hoped to have done better than yet another semi-final appearance.
UEFA Champions League 2011-12 Final: Chelsea 1 (4) Bayern Munich 1 (3) Semi finals: Real Madrid, Barcelona
Roman Abramovich finally got his European crown after years of chasing the ultimate club glory. Didier Drogba was the hero in the final as Bayern lost on home turf much to their disappointment. The departure of favourites Real Madrid and Barcelona in the semis was a major shock, with the Catalans remarkably thwarted by Chelsea. APOEL were one of the stories of 2012, reaching the Champions League quarter-finals after a dream run where they knocked off Lyonnais in the Round of 16.
Despite Chelsea’s 2011-12 success, boss Roberto Di Matteo was sacked only months later with the Blues becoming the first winners to ever fail to get through the group stage in 2012-13. Manchester United and Real Madrid were drawn to face each other in the Round of 16 in 2012-13 in the most mouth-watering tie on offer.
English Premier League Manchester City clinched the title in the most remarkable of final days, with Edin Dzeko first equalising in the 90th minute before Sergio Aguero netted deep into stoppage-time to complete a 3-2 win over QPR which denied Manchester United. It was one of the best-ever title races.
Robin van Persie had a miraculous season with third-placed Arsenal scoring 30 goals, before a stunning move to Manchester United prior to the 2012-13 season which he has begun on fire for the Red Devils. Newcastle were one of the big stories of 2012, finishing fifth, while mainstays Blackburn and Bolton went down. Chelsea won the FA Cup, while Liverpool knocked off Cardiff City to clinch the League Cup.
Spanish La Liga Jose Mourinho inspired Real Madrid to a superb La Liga crown, fending off the best efforts of Barcelona to win the league by nine points, claiming 100 points and scoring 121 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo was incredible with 46 goals, although he was topped by Lionel Messi who netted 50. The Argentine broke the world record for most goals in the calendar year too, with 91 strikes.
Villarreal went from top four to relegation, while big-spending Malaga claimed a Champions League spot and upstarts Levante finished sixth. The 2012-13 season has been much different, though, with Mourinho struggling for control as Real, as Barca – following Pep Guardiola’s exit - raced away nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid (who won the 2011-12 Europa League) with Radomel Falcao in stellar form, attracting many admirers.
German Bundesliga Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund clinched back-to-back titles with another wonderful season, finishing eight points clear of a frustrated Bayern Munich who finished runners-up in three competitions during 2011-12. They’ve turned that frustration into form in 2012-13, racing away with a big lead at the winter break.
Italian Serie A Andrea Pirlo turned back the clock and made AC Milan regret their decision to let him go, as he inspired Juventus to the 2011-12 Scudetto. Remarkably, Juve went the season unbeaten. It would unravel for the Old Lady following a match-fixing scandal which saw boss Antonio Conte banned but they are again top in 2012-13 with Milan dropping off the pace following the exits of a series of veterans.
Other Events African Cup of Nations: Zambia 0 (8) Ivory Coast 0 (7) Club World Cup: Corinthians 1 Chelsea 0 Copa Libertadores: Corinthians 3 Boca Juniors 1 (on aggregate)