Spain v England - Sun 14th July, 20:00 | Euro 2024 Final

[RayCTID]

Hola. (That is the only Spanish I know)

 

[Koniec]

And another was on 18th May, to the rags, of all teams.

And I think Scotland was a better quality team than the fucking rabble from Trafford.

McTominay may be the best player around.

 

[Vienna_70]

McTominay may be the best player around.

Fucking hell!

You’re easily pleased.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Spain were by a mile the best team in the tournament.
England had the strongest squad of players but a poor coach.

 

[Nelinho]

..and the football gods looked down and said
“We were fooled by the Greeks, but no longer shall an undeserving team steal the prize”

If you ask me to assess the footballing value of that team, if you really ask me to evaluate the average footballing ability of the members of that squad, I would hesitate to give them even a 6 out out of 10. I'm not kidding, I'm being very serious. I repeat, not even a 6 out of 10. Average or mediocre players most of them, some even below average. The difference maker? Otto Rehhagel, obviously. A man with crystal clear ideas and principles. A man who created a tactical platform that suited his players' -very few- strengths and effectively dealt with their -so many- weaknesses (but I'm not elaborating on that, it's beyond the purpose of this post). Also a man who ignored the Greek media, by the way, from day 1 -and was never, I mean NEVER, forgiven for that. Otto never gave a fuck about temporary form, for example. Never. He was consistent in his choices from the very beginning, kept calling the same players regardless of form, even if they were injured! Which galvanized the pshychology of the squad, created bonds, led to motivation and commitment. Combined with the consistency (and gradual familiarity) in terms of tactics, the chemistry demonstrated by the Greek team on the pitch would be admired even at club level...

There are people in that squad who have offered nothing (or close to nothing) to the sport. Yet they are rich and owe their fortunes to that manager. Signing contract after contract for years, exactly on the basis of that trophy. And the worst (plus saddest) part of the story? Some of them, assisted by assholes in the media, have been pricks, undermining Rehhagel's role for years. You see, they wanted the whole glory for themselves. I would like to believe that the Greek public opinion hasn't bought that major lie -but you can never be sure with the masses...

You see, it's not my fault that people claiming to be football fans still fail to understand this: Under a great manager, a team with average players can indeed transform into a competitive unit, delivering 7,5 or 8 or 8,5, even 9 out of 10 performances. That's clearly the case with Greece of 2004. Of course they were lucky, absolutely, but the point remains that Rehaggel would be successful for just being in the tournament, never mind qualifying the group stage, going all the way and reaching the final, beating France and Czech Republic in the process, finally winning it against Portugal (for the second time in the tournament) in -excuse me- Lisbon! There are literally no words to describe this, it's a miracle...

You see where I'm getting, don't you? Because if we're talking about England 20 years ahead, the analogy is exactly the opposite: Good, very good, even excellent players, shaping a mediocre team and eventually failing -with the manager being the key factor, again, this time negatively. But why blaming him? He didn't exactly find the door open, did he? Parasites responsible for the development of the sport in the country made the decision and hired him, the same way similar parasites have hired a guy like Roberto Martinez, for example, in Belgium and Portugal respectively -which also went so well. You will never see these people in the spotlight though, you won't even know who the fuck they are, always avoiding accountability. I've said it numerous times, knowledge is a rare commodity in the football industry. And what we witness on the pitch is heavily influenced (if not decided) by decisions (or non decisions) made off the pitch...

Bottom line: To paraphrase your post, let's say that in 2004 football Gods were generous, even extremely generous. I will give you that. Still, they respected the nature of the sport -and there are very serious lessons to be learnt from that victory. But if we're talking about 2024, I'm sorry, they made the right choice. Football won. Period.

PS. I guess England losing the final means our Kyle won't have to swap -some of- his City trophies, will he? Trophies won with sweat and blood, by the way, against all odds, with his club at a state of war with the whole fucking football community -and he was part of that collective success. Kyle won't regret that outcome, I am ready to bet everything I have on that. "Without a question". A fool? Hmm. Maybe he hasn't matured enough. Maybe he's still too young (...) to realise the BS he's said (currently as the team's first captain, by the way). Because I promise you, the day will come when he will. It will be the day he will apologize once again -like he has done numerous times regarding decisions in his private life...

 

[levets]

And another was on 18th May, to the rags, of all teams.

And I think Scotland was a better quality team than the fucking rabble from Trafford.

25th May Vienna.

 

[eyalluvitt]

Laporte picked the right tournament to drop the frogs

 

[JakobC47]

I'm glad these Euros are over. Having a 24 team tournament resulted in 4 week job. Much better with 4 groups of 4. All over in 2 weeks.

 

[eyalluvitt]

Pickford's long punt up to Kane made me cringe, it was eighties Wimbledon, the only difference being it actually worked for them, Kane never in seven games held the ball up and brought other players into our attack, the tactic was a dismal failure, this must have been under the managers instructions, Einsteins definition of madness. Southgate is a poor manager and must go.

The fall off recently in Kane is enormous, he looks less mobile than his wife

 

[Vienna_70]

25th May Vienna.

What?