da spicy bet： I’m not sure about you, but I’m a bit disappointed by EURO 2016 so far.
da fazobetai： In some ways the stories coming out of the Championship have been met with wonder and not a slight sense of pleasure, but in many other ways, the finals are not what I’d hoped for.
Maybe I was expecting too much. Maybe I was expecting individuals to really stand out and put in breathtaking performances, maybe I was being unfair to those playing after long domestic and European seasons.
As it transpires, expectation weighs heavily and already Harry Kane appears to be feeling the effects of only having only a two week break in two years of continuous football.
But standing back and taking stock now that round two is complete, I’m seeing things clearly, but what are we learning from these summer finals? Here are FIVE lessons so far:
Spain to make it three in a row?
I just don’t see anyone else winning this but the Spaniards. I’m sorry, I know there are alternatives, but this lot are well organised, lethal up front and defensively secure. Nolito has started scoring, Alvaro Morata is proving his worth as a striker and everything seems to tick with the side. They take the majority of the possession, without the ball they win it back, the superb Andres Iniesta continues to shine and Spain’s patient build up is not easy on the eye, but effective overall. In a very defensive competition, it’s good to see teams looking to attack and for me Spain have everything to be the eventual winners once more.
Italy doing what Italy do
I was quite blown away by Italy against Belgium and it was one of the more enjoyable games to watch.
This was, if you believe the Italian press, most unexpected. The squadra Azzurra were reportedly the worst bunch of Italians footballers ever put upon the footballing earth, but as Antonio Conte said after the 2-0 win, “We did really well to prepare this game so well and prove all the critics wrong, because the critics were all against us.”
After suffering a bloody nose during the celebrations that followed Emanuele Giaccherini’s first-half opener, Conte added: “But this is the beauty of football. You get the chance to prove people wrong, if you have the determination and will to work like we have.” Although Sweden put in a good performance against the Italians, this new squad were always going to sneak a win. Conte was unlucky to lose Marco Verratti before the finals, but when you look at the Italian conveyor belt of youth, there’s not much to get excited about right now. Italy have the fifth-oldest squad in the tournament, with an average age of 28.
Conte said months ago that Italy no longer have the “young champions” of years gone by. As 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro pointed out last week, “Some choices were forced upon him. Ten years ago, Lippi had, at his disposal, a Serie A that was 66 per cent Italian. Now we are almost at 36 per cent.” Conte’s team are dangerous and very possibly a finalist this year. Love the blue shirts, by the way, too.
Standards lower than expected
What standards? From what I’ve seen the usual high standards and quality of play have disappeared without trace, if they ever turned up. I’ve never seen so many over-paid professional players unable to string more than two passes together without losing possession or even passing to their team-mates seems to be immeasurably difficult.
Big number nines in their favourite striking positions couldn’t hit a cows backside with a banjo. It is entirely plausible that the players are shattered after long seasons with their clubs, but in essence, some of them do only play two games a week for 90 minutes, bless them. No one can trap a ball, goalkeepers can’t catch, some of the games are less than mediocre and I find myself wanting to watch Coronation Street – I can’t even stand that programme. I’m not sure what it is, but standards have slipped to beyond the Ryman Leagues.
Just a word though about the smaller teams. It’s fantastic to see them do so well. The gulf between the European powers and the smaller nations has narrowed beyond measure and but for Wales, Northern Ireland Iceland and Hungary, it would be quite ‘samey’, really.
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Alternative marquee players…
Let’s start with West Ham’s Dimitri Payet. A year ago he couldn’t get buy a French cap, but after one illustrious season in the Premier League, everyone knows his name and after two outstanding, game-winning performances, every major club is checking their bank balance as they plot to buy him. Extraordinary ability, dreamy skills, to-die-for creativity and supreme technique, he has been the tournament’s stand out player already.
Gareth Bale is the free-kick specialist of the tournament and without him, what would Wales be? Chris Coleman can tell us all he likes that Wales are more than Bale, but really, they’re not. Moving to Luka Modric, Real Madrid and Croatia have a sublime midfield artist of the highest quality. Others play sideways, yet Modric always forwards and he regularly finishes matches with a pass completion of over 90%, but it is the high number of key passes he makes, creating chances for others, that makes him so special.
The self-proclaimed greatest footballer in the world is not having a great finals. The missed penalty makes five this season and that’s not Ronaldo. Portugal are not a great side and only Ronaldo can haul them anywhere past the first stage. Has he peaked and now he’s slowly coming down the other side of a fabulous career? Gotze on the other hand seems to be on a perpetual slide or nosedive. No one appears to want to pass to him and he makes runs with the ball going out to the flanks or behind him. What’s he done to upset his team-mates? Gotze was given the responsibility of leading the line against Poland and Ukraine, but came up short both times as his team again played without an orthodox striker. Mario Gomez is Germany’s only true striker, but Joachim Low is sticking by Gotze and in a questionable false nine position. Perhaps Mario isn’t so super after all?
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Russia
Russia are rubbish. The 2018 World Cup hosts (surely this could/should be in doubt now?) have underwhelmed those of us that thought they could be a dark horse in France. More like My Little Pony, the Russians are an unappealing side, hopeful that the big man up front (Artem Dzyuba) will get them what they need.
However without one or two key players, most notably Alan Dzagoev, they are as talented as a one legged pole vaulter. The coach opted for absolutely disastrous tactics in the first half against Slovakia, when you think he might have learnt from the England game and the team lacked any creativity whatsoever. Watch the manager. As he sits in the dug-out and things go from bad to worse, he seems to sit rocking. Not just problems on the pitch then? It’s doubtful whether the Russians will even bother very much against a resilient and well drilled Wales side.
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