Box To Box Football: The European Championships Special

ISSUE 1: June 2016

2

P5 P13

CONTENTS

Germany, Northern Ireland, Poland & Ukraine

P16

GROUP C PREVIEWS

England, Wales, Slovakia & Russia

GROUP B PREVIEWS

France, Albania, Romania & Switzerland

GROUP A PREVIEWS

By Matt Cowdock

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION,

By Jack Rodway

THE HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

By Jed Woodcock

FOREWORD

P4 P8

P20

P23 P26

P29

P34

By John Warrington

WHEN GREECE WAS THE WORD

By Ross Highfield

KOSOVO’S HISTORIC MOMENT

By Ben Delaney

SCOTLAND’S REDEMPTION ON THE HORIZON

Portugal, Iceland, Austria & Hungary

GROUP F PREVIEWS

Ireland, Belgium, Sweden & Italy

GROUP E PREVIEWS

Turkey, Czech Republic, Croatia & Spain

GROUP D PREVIEWS

P32

P36

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: The consequences of failure: England and the media by John Warrington (P10) Le Tour Des Stades by Jed Woodcock (P12) Euro 2012 Rewind by Jude Macdonald (P35) Badge of the Week by Oliver Marsh (P38) Phases of Play: Group Stage by Jed Woodcock (P39)

3

FOREWORD

LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER As football fans, we are spoilt rotten. It’s everywhere. Blogs, TV shows, podcasts, magazines, newspaper articles, you name it, there are thousands based solely on the beautiful game.

I was drawn into the obsessive game in the 2002 World Cup. Living in Turkey at the time, the national team’s heroic underdog performances, on their way to the Semi Finals and a 3rd Placed finish captivated my interest.

I lived in a replica Umit Davala kit for the next six years, reliving Turkey’s performances in every football I kicked and every time I played.

My obsession then turned unhealthy after getting Championship Manager 03/04 as a Christmas present from my Arsenal obsessed Dad. I played the game religiously over the next 12 seasons, spending countless hours and days glued to the game.

In 2012 I took the obsession further by starting a 6-a-side team at University, which then transformed into a near ill-fated 11-a-side team, Ivory Toast.

Box To Box Football was born from this football obsession in January of this year and with the help of other like-minded writers, I aim to provide an honest independent voice for football supporters, giving the Football Supporter’s Eye View with contributors writing for the love of the game, offering both serious and humorous views of the sport.

After founding Box To Box Football in January, with the help of countless talented contributors we have managed to get together Issue 1 of Box To Box Football Magazine, transferring our predominantly web-based articles to print. The last few weeks have been challenging to say the least, but it’s worth it.

We are unashamedly obsessed with this sport, and hope that our articles reflect that.

My words of thanks must be incomplete so that they are not a thousand lines long.

First and foremost, I want to thank my amazing girlfriend Amber Marsh, not only for supporting me from the beginning, but helping me develop and transform the project into what it is today. I also want to thank Amber for jumping into the project and writing multiple articles about football – something she thought she’d never do, along with drawing portraits and helping design the magazine.

I would also like to thank Joe Proctor for thinking of the name, constantly providing honest feedback to my myriad of questions and editing endlessly.

Thirdly, I would like to thank fellow Spurs’ fan Oliver Marsh for his continual stream of captivating articles, who has at times kept the website going on his own.

Lastly I would like to thank the huge team of talented contributors and editors who are based all around the UK and even dotted around Europe. Without them Box To Box would not be a reality.

Jed Woodcock BSc

4

www.boxtoboxfootball.uk info@boxtoboxfootball.uk facebook.com/boxtoboxfootball.uk

THE TEAM FOUNDER & CEO Jed Woodcock

CO-FOUNDERS Oliver Marsh, Joe Proctor & Amber Marsh

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Amber Marsh

EDITORS Joe Proctor, Oliver Marsh, Jed Woodcock, Michael Oddie, Krishna Raghvani, Dan Eales & Alex Roberts

CONTRIBUTORS Jed Woodcock, Jack Rodway, Matt Cowdock, Scott Brotherton, Dean Laughton, Joe Proctor, Oliver Marsh, Rhys Owen-Johnson, Michael Cox, Felix Tasker, Amber Marsh, James Foggin, Ben Delaney, David Cambridge, Othman Al-Kooheji, Ronan Mahony, Rob Flannery, Nima Safai, Manfredi Miyashita, Francisco Cardoso Pinto, Aidan Slinn, Jude Macdonald, John Warrington & Ross Highfield

PUBLISHERS Peecho: Amsterdam, Netherlands © Box To Box Football Ltd 2016 The views expressed are those of the individual contributors. Could any unacknowledged copyright holders please get in contact.

HISTORY OF THE EUROS

The history of the European Championships

By Jack Rodway So here we go, one month of non -stop football, as Europe’s elite meet in France for a celebration of the beautiful game. The European Championships is one of the world’s most popular sporting events, but this was not always the case. When Henri Delaunay, Secretary of the French Football Federation, first put forward the idea for a pan European games in 1927 he was unable to harness any meaningful support for the venture.

Eventually, Henri Delaunay got his wish as he went on to become the first General Secretary of UEFA. However, his death in November 1955 meant the Frenchman would not be able to see his hard work through to fruition. Replaced by his son Pierre Delaunay, Pierre continued his father’s dream and in 1957 under the name of the UEFA European Nations Cup, Europe would have its first competitive continental tournament. The trophy would be named after Henri Delaunay, simply known as – ‘The Henri Delaunay Cup’.

The qualifying stages began in 1958, with

notable absentees including; England, West Germany and Italy. The first finals were held in 1960 in France -the host nation was determined after the qualifying stage. The format for the qualifying stage followed the blueprint of the European Cup, where both nations played each other home and away.

ing the Yugoslav’s would turn defeat into victory, scoring three goals in a stunning four minute burst. Winning the game 5-4 – the highest scoring game in the competition’s history.

The final would need extra time to separate the two teams, with Viktor Ponedelnik scoring the winner in a 2-1 win for Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Soviet Union. Legendary goalkeeper qualifying, would be the boycott of Spain Lev Yashin would finally receive a richly when drawn against the Soviet Union. deserved major international winner’s The Spaniards were amongst the favour- medal. ites to win the competition, a side boastThe 1964 tournament, held in Spain, ing the talents of; Alfredo Di Stefano, Luis would continue the same format, with Suarez and Paco Gento. Sadly however the Soviet Union, Denmark, Hungary and this gifted group would not get the opSpain making the final four. This would portunity to compete in France. see Franco begrudgingly welcome the Since the end of the Spanish Civil War Soviet Union. Thankfully, there would be diplomatic ties between the two nations no repeat of boycotting when the two had been non-existent, Spain’s dictator teams met in the final. Luckily for Franco General Francisco Franco detested evea late winner from Marcelino would see rything to do with the Communist State.

The Soviet Union was the only major country to officially support Franco’s opponents. Franco refused to allow a team representing his nation enter Moscow, thus pulling Spain out of the competition.

Only four teams would qualify – the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and France. In the semi-finals the Soviets comfortably saw off Czechoslovakia 3-0.

The other tie would be far from straightforward with Yugoslavia trailing the French 4-2…but with 15 minutes remain-

Above: The first logo which was used for the

European Championships in 1960 Further Above: Lev Yashin, the Black Spider, was the Soviet Union’s star goalkeeper during the first European Championships

5

HISTORY OF THE EUROS the Spaniards win their first international competition. Imagine Franco seeing the Soviets lift the trophy in his beloved Madrid. A potential diplomatic disaster had been averted.

ee Clive Thomas, who sent off Johan Neeskens and Win van Hanegem. Holland’s total football was put on hold for the time being.

membered for one thing. That Marco van Basten volley. This talented Dutch side triumphed where the team of the 70’s had failed – by winning their first major tournament. Holland met the Soviet UnCzechoslovakia would meet Germany in ion in the final – this would be the Soviets The host nation would again be victorithe final, after they beat the Yugoslavs last European Championship as the Unous in the 1968 tournament. With Italy 4-2 in the other semi-final. The Czechoion would break-up in 1991. A Ruud Gullit winning this time around, beating Yugo- slovakians looked set for victory until header was followed by a historic goal slavia 2-0 in a replay. It was at this point Bernd Holzenbein equalised for the Gerfrom Van Basten, a goal of stunning techthat the competition changed its name mans in the last minute of normal time to nique and execution. The game finished to the European Championship and make it 2-2. The competitions first penal2-0 to the Dutch. would be the first tournament for which ty shootout was to follow after a scoreEngland qualified. The English finished less extra time.

One of the biggest shocks in the Euro’s third, beating the Soviet Union 2-0 in the history took place in Sweden in 1992, as Uli Hoeness would miss the only penalty third place playoff.

Denmark came straight off the beach to of the shootout, allowing Antonin conquer Europe. The Danes replaced The Italians route to the final was curious Panenka to win it. Up he stepped before Yugoslavia in the finals who were caught to say the least. After drawing 0-0 in the gently chipping the ball down the middle up in a brutal Civil War. Having squeezed semi-final against the Soviets, the game of the goal and here was the birth of the through their group, Denmark would was decided by a coin toss, which as luck ‘Panenka Penalty’. meet Holland in the semi-finals, who would have it the Italian captain Giacinto With the growing popularity of the tour- were expected to just turn up and win – Facchetti chose correctly. Not sure they but as we know football doesn’t work like nament, the 1980 championship held in would get away with that today.

Italy, would see the number of competi- this. After a 2-2 stalemate the game would go to a penalty shootout, with van The 1972 Championships, in Belgium, saw tors expand from four to eight. With no Basten, of all people, missing the crucial West Germany announce themselves as semi-finals, the two group winners penalty. a true contender. Franz Beckenbauer, would go through to the final. PredictaGerd Muller and Paul Breitner were just a bly, West Germany would be there, So onto the final for the Danes, where few names the Germans could call on. against the surprise package of Belgium. they would meet a now unified Germany.

They would stroll through the competiPeter Schmeichel played the role of the Yes, you guessed it, the German’s won. tion, thrashing the Soviet Union 3-0 in hero, with numerous saves in the game’s Two goals from Horst Hrubesch would the final, with Muller netting a double. early stages. Then out of nowhere. Goal. see them edge out the Belgian’s 2-1 at Was this the best ever German team?

1-0 to Denmark with John Jensen lashing the Stadio Olimpico. home from the edge of the area. The Has a Euros ever been dominated by a German’s shock would soon turn into single player like France’s Michel Platini despair as Kim Vilfort made it 2-0. did in 1984? The reigning World Player of Denmark reigned supreme. A victory the Year scored an outrageous nine goals made all the sweeter, as it was in rival in five games, as the French went on to Sweden’s backyard. win the tournament on home soil. A Football’s coming home! Well it did for competition high in quality would hit its peak in the semi-finals, when the French about three weeks - then left with the Germans. But what a few weeks it was. met Portugal. All square at 1-1 as they England actually played well at a major entered extra time, Rui Jordao’s volley Above: Gerd Muller celebrates scoring during finals, they beat Holland 4-1, Paul Gaslooked set to see the host tumble out of the 1972 European Championships coigne scored one of England’s greatest Right: In one of the biggest shocks of the Euro- the tournament. Luckily for France a goals and they even won a penalty comeback was on the cards. Jean Franpean Championships, Denmark emerged as winners in 1992 shootout. England 1996 would be the first cois Domergue would equalise and fittingly it would be Platini who would grab tournament where 16 teams would comIn the summer of ’76, Czechoslovakia, pete. a late winner. The final would be a more Yugoslavia, West Germany and Holland straightforward affair with France beatall met in Yugoslavia. The CzechoslovakiThen the German’s showed up in the ing Spain 2-0. ans saw off the Dutch 3-1 in the semisemi-final. Alan Shearer opened the scorfinals, with a little help from British refer- The 1988 European Championship is reing only for Stefan Kuntz to equalise

THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN NUMBERS

6

1960

9

1st

The first edition of the Euros took place in France in 1960

There have been nine different winners since the competition began

Albania, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Slovakia and Wales have all qualified for the competition for the first time

£22.8m The winners of Euro 2016 will take home £22.8 million

18 Eighteen different referees have been chosen to officiate at Euro 2016, including Martin Atkinson and Mark Clattenburg

HISTORY OF THE EUROS

shorty after. England would come agonizingly close to winning the game with Gascoigne lunging at the ball in the six yard box in front of a gaping goal, only to miss the ball by a few millimetres. Penalties would follow, with Gareth Southgate missing the only spot kick. Germany would go into the final where they would beat the Czech Republic 2-1 after extra time, thanks to an Oliver Bierhoff winner.

The finals in 2000 would see the competition jointly held for the first time, by Holland and Belgium. A rare England win over a poor Germany side wasn’t enough to see them through the group stage.

However the tournament was all about France and how they cemented their place in footballing folklore.

After winning the World Cup two years previously, the Euros would see them become part of an elite group of teams to win both tournaments back to back.

The final in Rotterdam against Italy was full of drama, Marco Delvecchio’s strike looked set to bring the trophy back to Rome, before Sylvain Wiltord’s late show rescued the tie for the French. Inevitably with the Italians on their knees, David Trezeguet lashed home the golden goal in extra time to create history for Les Bleus.

in England and Holland in the semi-final, Portugal seemed set for their first title.

The Greeks on the other hand were supposed to be the whipping boys, having never won a game at a major competition. Nevertheless, they produced a defensive masterclass. Beating the Portuguese in the group stage certainly raised some eyebrows.

Despite this defeat to the Greeks you wouldn’t have met too many people betting against Portugal. Yet, the sheer enormity of the situation seemed to make the Portuguese freeze on Europe’s biggest stage. In the final, they found themselves unable to break down the Greeks. They would fall to the sucker punch, as Angelos Charisteas rose highest at a corner midway through the second half, to give Greece a 1-0 victory.

Greece ruled Europe - and no one could quite believe it.

Euro 2008 and 2012 belonged comfortably to one nation, Spain, back to back winners. This four year period is made all the more special as they were to win the World Cup in between these two victories. What Spain did is likely to never be repeated. Pass and move, Spain simply tortured their opponents.

Torres goal settled the game in a 1-0 win for Spain. 44 years of pain forgotten in an instant.

Winning the 2012 Euro’s was expected by Spanish fans and almost met with a shrug of the shoulders such was the belief in victory. Co-hosted in Poland and Ukraine, the build up to the 2012 tournament wasn’t about football, but about the fears of potential racism, luckily for the most part these fears were unfounded and the football did the talking.

Spain navigated their way through a tricky group, France were easily beaten 2-0 in the quarter final and a Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Portugal were beaten on penalties. Spain would meet Italy in the final who themselves had reached this stage by beating Germany, when Mario Balotelli made a name for himself with both his goals and celebrations. But Spain were not Germany, and the final was a ruthless exhibition of football from the Spaniards. 4-0 it would finish. The first team to retain the trophy.

So what can we expect in France this summer? What we can be sure of is there will be great interest from these isles, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland all competing. Could Iceland a counEuro 2008 held in Austria and Switzertry of 320,000 in their first ever major Denmark or Greece what was the biggest land would end their 44 year wait for a tournament write a few headlines? Will shock? The 2004 tournament was supmajor trophy. The perennial underachiev- France win again in front their home posed to be Portugal’s big moment in a ers were no more. Fernando Torres, Dafans? Or could Spain win the trophy for competition held on home soil. However, vid Villa, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Inthe third time in a row and become unthey faced an immovable object in iesta were the four standouts in a long disputed kings of the competition?

Greece in the final, who had battled list of world class players. They would One thing we do know is that we through a scarcely believable month of meet Germany in the final, a tall, strong, should expect the unexpected football. physical team. Skill certainly ruled strength here as the Germans were made and it all gets underway on the Having knocked out Spain in the group to look distinctly average. A Fernando 10th of June. stage, and two extremely talented sides

7

THE STADIUMS

Location, location, location Where the magic will happen this summer

By Matt Cowdock Rather justifiably, the football community has an obsession with venues. It would not be unfair to claim that the identity possessed by some grounds can even draw the attention away from the events on the pitch and instead make a football match more experiential than it otherwise might have been.

For instance, certain settings are wholly sensory affairs; an old-fashioned English ground will entice you in on matchday with the scent of fried onions from swathes of burger vans, while your ears will ring with the tribalistic, and often humorous, songs emanating from the stands on the inside. On the continent, meanwhile, the stadium experience differs greatly but is equally as distinctive: the pungent smell and fiery heat of a flare may reinforce the clichéd notion of

8

a stadium being a ‘cauldron’, while the songs sung here are more akin to ancient incantations designed to rouse their team to victory.

It’s clear, therefore, that location matters - it can add something extra to any game, from the dourest of nil-nils to the most epic and gladiatorial ordeals. And with that in mind, let’s take a look at the stadiums which will attempt to make this summer’s newly expanded Euro 2016 as memorable and awe-inspiring as possible.

Ten grounds will be used to accommodate the new format, so let’s take it from the top. Quite literally, in this sense, as we turn our attention to the north of France and the dashing Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille. Having opened in 2012, this multi-use stadium boasts 50,000 seats as well as France’s first retractable

roof, able to open or close in roughly half an hour. Set to host six games, four in the group stages and two knockout fixtures, the Stade Pierre Mauroy will be the joint second-busiest ground in the tournament.

A 25 mile trip southwards will take us to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, home of Lens.

Closed for a multi-million euro renovation last season, this 1930s ground had also been used in Euro ‘84 as well as the 1998 World Cup. Situated in an important centre of industry and mining, the Stade Bollaert-Delelis will be hoping to dig up some golden moments during its four games this summer.

THE STADIUMS Euro 2016 whistle-stop tour. Rugby fanatics will be familiar with the Stade de Toulouse, a stalwart of the city’s all conquering Union team. The ground seats just 33,000 but has history on its side, having been constructed for the 1938 World Cup. Another venue able to share this historic claim is Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, yet having had an extensive revamp for the 1998 tournament it can now seat over double what the Stade de Toulouse is capable of. As the word ‘velodrome’ suggests, the ground used to be home to French cycling yet despite having the track removed in 1985, the name remains unchanged and pays homage to its multi-sport history.

Left: RC Lens fans cheer on their team in the

Stade Bollaert-Delelis Above: The recently opened Stade de Bordeaux has been built with the capability of physical vibration Below: Stade Geoffroy Guichard is home to St Etienne and maintains a distinctly English feel

Travel further south still and you will end up in Paris: the capital city and sporting hub containing arguably the two major grounds in the country. First and foremost is the Stade de France, located in the Saint-Denis region. Built primarily for the 1998 World Cup, the ground has a capacity of 80,000 and now acts as the home of both the French football and rugby union teams. Given that its last major tournament fixture played host to a 3-0 victory to Les Bleus in the final, the country will be waiting with baited breath for a similarly lucrative campaign in Saint-Denis this year.

The second venue in the Paris region is just down the road in the form of the Parc des Princes, home of seemingly perpetual Ligue 1 champions Paris StGermain. Dating back to 1897, the stadium is the oldest in use at Euro 2016 and therefore can boast the most history, having staged four major international football championships - this history, as well as its renovations, make it one of the premier grounds in Europe, and it will have a chance to shine on five occasions this summer.

The final ground lies on the southeastern coast. Nice’s Allianz Riviera plays host to both Nice and Toulon in football and city’s Ligue 1 team are yet to benefit rugby respectively but regulations stipufrom. late that in UEFA competitions it must Over in eastern France, we have two stadiums The steep stands and the be referred to as the Stade de Nice. While of varying modernity enormous stanchions its alternative name is the newly expanded which serve to hold the hardly revolutionary, Stade Geoffroy Guichthe eco-friendly deard in Saint-Etienne tiers up mean this ground sign of this multimay have had its cais capable of physical sport arena makes it pacity increased for the tournament, but it still vibration during games, a charming host for four of the tournamaintains a distinctly creating a pulsating and ment’s games.

English feel with its four imposing stands in intimidating atmosphere So there they are close proximity to the the ten grounds pitch. In nearby Lyon, is which will host over fifty matches bean entirely new construction - the imagitween June and July this summer. The natively named Stade de Lyon is the expanded tournament bracket in con59,000 seater replacement for the Stade junction with France’s footballing infraGerland and will debut on the internastructure, steeped in history and modertional stage with six matches, including nity alike, means this could be one of the one of the semi-finals. most exciting competitions in recent memory.

The picturesque south of France plays host to the final three stadiums on our

Comment intrigante!

Out on the west coast and deep into wine territory we have the Stade Bordeaux, another one of the four Euro 2016 venues to have been opened in the last four years. The steep stands and the enormous stanchions which serve to hold the tiers up mean this ground is capable of physical vibration during games, creating a pulsating and intimidating atmosphere - a trait which the

9

ENGLAND & THE MEDIA

The consequences of failure: England and the media

By John Warrington final game in France; unless of course that game happens to be the final itself.

This was all about getting a few quotes into the bank and then launched like grenades against Hodgson at a later date.

“It's exciting. Jose is one of the best manBetween now and then, (whenever then agers in the world. He knows the Premier is), the knives will come out of the drawLeague really well” er simply to be sharpened and maybe “For myself and the other United players, draw a little blood ahead of the final act of regicide. it's exciting times and I'm looking forward to it" I suppose some would argue Hodgson The door thrust And that has left himself vulnerable to such atopen and as it tacks should all go disastrously wrong. was it; did a battery of Earlier this week, our newspaper colthose cameras soundumns were lauding his bravery for pickfew ing like a chorus ing “England’s youngest squad in a genwords of frogs greeted eration”, “a team to score goals”, and for were all Roy Hodgson it took to taking “five strikers” including an 18 year and Wayne old who has “come from nowhere”. But trigger Rooney as they you can bet your last pound coin that an avastepped into the should we fail, the context of those lanche of room for anothwords will change. “Too attack minded,” header England press “Only three centre backs”, “not enough lines. conference. holding midfielders” and “too much inexWhat did This gathering of perience,” is what we’ll be reading over the rethe crème de la our croissants and brioche. porter crème from Roy Hodgson is a very likeable man in across the whole sports media spectrum honestly expect the England and United football and importantly, he is highly captain to say? Unless he is looking for a was well attended. With the excellent respected by the media. This though spread laid on at the FA’s expense by the rapid move away from Old Trafford, won’t be enough to save him from a five star Grove Hotel near Watford, that’s Rooney was hardly going to reply with death by a thousand words should Engsomething along the lines of, “I can’t no surprise. This was also the first occastand him and the job should have gone land fail to match up to the high expectasion the England manager faced the tions of the media. What those expectato Ryan Giggs”. The point being that press since whittling down his squad of 26 to the 23 who will do battle in France, whatever Rooney’s true feelings, (and he tions are and what they should be is of course an entirely different debate. The hence the large turnout. Three separate may well be genuinely excited by the trouble is our press loves nothing more prospect of working under the new Manrooms were reserved for different secthan a good sacking to get their piranhachester United manager) the headlines tions of the media; television, radio and like teeth into; just ask Louis van Gaal. screamed his approval of his new club the scribes from the national newspapers. Three press conferences in one and boss regardless of what the truth of the I know Roy Hodgson reasonably well the same tired questions to be repeated- matter might actually be. having worked with him for a season on ly asked and answered during a 90 miSerie A coverage for an international A bit like the friendly game against Pornute Q+A that made ‘Today in Parliament’ broadcaster. He is without doubt one of tugal, this press conference was the last seem as entertaining as ‘Only Fools and the best pundits I’ve come across and his ‘warm up’ for the media before the real Horses.’ No wonder Wayne Rooney experience of working in the media is action starts in France and frankly was struggled at times to stifle a yawn. obvious, particularly during post-match just as dull. Like Hodgson himself, nointerviews when emotions can be inbody among the ‘press corps’ was preThe whole event was more like a tennis tense. He demonstrated his ability to pared to show their hand. The News warm up. A few gentle serves and nothChannels and the Red Tops were content give himself room for manoeuvre when ing smashed back across the net with asked if the line-up for the last friendly anything remotely approaching the pow- to fight over scraps about ‘poor Danny against Portugal would be the same Drinkwater’ and the ‘meteoric rise of er of a Djokovic volley. The fact the main when England face Russia on June 11th.

Marcus Rashford’. headline to come out immediately after the press-conference had nothing reThe fiery exchanges, the harsh words and “I am not prepared to say the 11 that motely to do with the England national recriminations - they will be reserved for starts tomorrow will be the 11 that defiteam, tells its own story. When asked nitely starts against Russia. I don't want the post-match ‘presser’ after England’s

Ahead of Euro 2016, Box to Box Reporter, John Warrington was invited into the England Camp for Roy Hodgson’s first press conference after naming his squad of 23. John questions if our media really is behind Hodgson and his men. He also examines the relationship between the press and the National Team.

10

about his new club manager, Jose Mourinho, Wayne Rooney played with a straighter bat than the one Geoff Boycott used to hit century after century.

ENGLAND & THE MEDIA to commit myself to a team against Russia in 10 days’ time”

his career.

It wasn’t always like this between the media and football. I remember when a who possibly deserve press conference constia place in the team tuted two or three hacks Wouldn’t it be nice if sitting with a manager in and they are going to keep fighting for that his office and drinking Roy Hodgson could place” whisky out of chipped tea mark the occasion by cups while discussing SatClearly, no manager sticking two fingers up urday’s team. Proper relais going to reveal a at the press by bringing tionships were built and starting line-up 10 there was mutual trust. days before a game, home the trophy?

As a result stories were far but the way in which better balanced and cerHodgson delivered tainly more accurate. his answer was clever. Aside from keeping each member of his squad on their When I worked at Charlton Athletic neartoes, it was obvious he wanted to see if a ly a decade ago, things had already beVardy, Rooney, Kane triumvirate would gun to change. There would often be work before finalising in his own mind his four or five camera crews, plus radio and ideal team-selection. For various reasons, the written press turning up for the not least Wayne Rooney’s injury, this was weekly briefings. How can relationships the first time the three of them have be built when there are so many outlets played together. Hodgson is not a stupid who want a piece of you? In turn this has man, he remains one of the best coaches bred real competition to be the first to in the game and he doesn’t need to be break a story and it’s the player’s told what worked and what didn’t in such agents, despite their patronising and arrogant tones. vested interests, to whom The two main talking points of the week the media though were the exclusions of Andros turns to Townsend and Danny Drinkwater as well for as the inclusion of Marcus Rashford. The their assembled throng of newsmen asked ‘inside their questions about the reasoning bestories’. hind Hodgson’s decision-making almost genteelly but with just enough menace to make one shiver. Hodgson, as is his nature answered politely and confidently but knowing full-well the true purpose behind the interrogation. It doesn’t matter who he takes to France or who he leaves behind; if things go wrong, it is these decisions which will form the case for the prosecution.

"There will be at least four or five players

While this is certainly true of club football, the National Team has long attracted intense scrutiny. Graham Taylor, Sir Bobby Robson, Steve McLaren, and even World Cup winning manager, Sir Alf Ramsey, count among the many former England managers who suffered terrible abuse at the hands of the media in this country.

This July marks the 50th anniversary of our only major tournament victory to date. Wouldn’t it be nice if Roy Hodgson could mark the occasion by sticking two fingers up at the press by bringing home the trophy? But wouldn’t it be nicer still if he and his squad could, just for once, prepare for a major tournament without fearing the consequences of failure?

Left: An uninterested Wayne Rooney looks on

in the recent press conference Below: Roy Hodgson portrait drawn by Amber Marsh

Wayne Rooney, perhaps, gave an indication of how he viewed these jousts between the press and the England camp when he was asked what advice he would give to 18 year old Rashford, bearing in mind the impact the England captain had at Euro 2004 when he was the same age as his fellow Manchester United striker.

“With Marcus now in this tournament, for

me he doesn't need much advice. Let him play. As a young lad that's how you'll see the best out of him” Was there a subtext to this comment?

Was Rooney really saying don’t hound him like you’ve hounded me? Perhaps.

And it’s hard to blame him if one looks back on some of the negative coverage that has accompanied him throughout

11

LE TOUR DES STADES

LE TOUR DES STADES Cycling around the Stadiums of Euro 2016 What were the highlights of your trip around France?

By Jed Woodcock We catch up with cycling enthusiast Andy Smith and cheese lover Annie Glennie (above) who have taken on a mammoth cycle tour around France this summer.

So, what is Le Tour de Stades?

It's a 1,500 mile (2,500km) cycle tour across France to visit all 10 of the Euro 2016 stadiums!

I loved exploring every host city and discovering each one's unique geography, history and culture. As for cycling days, it was fascinating going south from Lens tracing the WW1 western front then camping next to the River Somme, the impressive Canal de Garonne between Bordeaux and Toulouse was lovely to follow, whilst the Cote d'Azur coast road towards Cannes and climbing into and over the Alps were both amazing rides.

And the hardest parts?

Tell us more about yourselves. And During that night camping in northern France the temperature how did you manage to persuade dropped to just 2 degrees and the Annie? next day there was hail and sleet I'm Andy, a lifelong Watford FC to cycle through. Also, any uphills and England supporter, and my are hard work on a fully loaded girlfriend Annie wanted to join me touring bike, so of course going on this adventure despite not befrom sea level at Nice to our highing a football fan. But she does est point (1,261m altitude) at the love French cheese!

Col de Carabès involved lots of tough climbing in hot temperatures plus sometimes even against a headwind.

Did you have any favourite stadiums that you visited?

How did you think of the idea?

It originated back in 2013 when I decided to do more than just visit Brazil to watch some World Cup 2014 games; I wanted to better understand the country and especially the cities that were hosting this massive event. So I decided that riding a bicycle to visit all of the tournament's stadiums would be an amazing way to really experience Brazil. Hence, I'm using the same idea now in France.

12

It was fantastic to reach both the first and last stadiums at Lille and Lyon, I enjoyed seeing PSG play at Parc des Princes, (left) but the most exciting was Marseille's Stade VĂŠlodrome where I'll return to watch one of the semi finals.

Was there a pre-Euro 2016 buzz around the cities you visited?

To be honest France is currently quite pre-occupied with protests and strikes over their proposed new labour laws, plus the flooding in Paris, but there are Euro 2016 banners in host city centres and merchandise in the shops so the

buzz is building towards the tournament kick off.

Any plans for Russia 2018 or across Europe in 2020?

Yes! Having done Brazil and France I'm keen to continue these brilliant adventures, so am starting to investigate the options for both those tournaments.

What would you say to others who might want to do similar cycling tours?

Go for it! Hop on a bike and cycle to your local team's stadium, then to another one nearby, regardless of which league the team play in, and if you've never been thee before then why not time it so that you can watch a match while you're there?

FRANCE

GROUP A: France

-Pierre Gignac and Anthony Martial vying for spots in the first XI. Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema won’t be in the side however, with the French Football Association (FFA) announcing he won’t be selected following the sex tape blackmail scandal involving international teammate Mathieu Valbuena. While the skills of Benzema will undoubtedly be missed, his presence in the squad would definitely do more harm than good, and the FFA look to have made the right decision.

finals in two of the last three Championships, failing to get out of the ‘Group of Death‘ (Romania, Netherlands and Italy) in 2008 after collecting just one point.

ure trove of world-class players.

Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye have all made it into the squad, and that is before you even consider this season’s breakout stars like Dimitri Payet of West Ham and Leicester’s N’Golo Kante.

FRANCE

POPULATION: 66 million THE STAR MAN: Antoine Griezmann is Allez Les Bleus! potentially more important to France’s

By Scott Brotherton success than Pogba ONE TO WATCH: Whilst Payet has been As the bookies’ favourites and superb for West Ham, he’s untested at tournament hosts, France have a international level lot to live up to this summer.

THE GAFFA: Didier Deschamps Whilst winning the 1998 World Cup set a THE BEER: Kronenbourg high precedent, France have flattered to EVERYFAN ODDS: 7/2 to win deceive since. Despite success at Euro 2000, recent generations have failed to PREDICTION: The team could either go live up to Zidane, Vieira, Henry et al. on to win the tournament, or crash out Midfield is where France’s real strength lies – it’s simply a treasFrance have only reached the quarterat the group stage with a team mutiny

This time around they not only have home advantage, but a really promising group of players who are capable of achieving glory. Didier Deschamps preference of a 4-3-3 formation makes the French a really potent attacking force and they have plenty of options in all areas of the pitch.

Experts seem to agree that Payet will most likely start on the left of an attacking trio, and is competing with Martial for the final starting spot. Whoever is successful will start alongside Giroud and Griezmann who – barring injury of course There won’t be many unknown entities in – are guaranteed to start in June. the squad for Premier League fans. Ten of the final 23-man squad ply their trade Pogba is the player who springs to mind as France’s talisman, but Matuidi is the in England. real heartbeat of the team. In fact, even Players are also picked from European manager Deschamps openly admitted giants like Juventus, Roma, Barcelona, that the PSG man is the first name on the Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, with team sheet. A box-to-box midfielder, only five players (including the two backMatuidi has boundless energy and starts up goalkeepers) playing in France’s Ligue off a lot of attacks by winning the ball 1. Even the most casual football fan back. should know almost all of France’s startOne thing is certain: France certainly ing eleven. have the tools to win the Euros. Of Defensively, Deschamps is likely to start the experienced duo of Laurent Koscielny and Eliaquim Mangala. With captain Hugo Lloris behind them this trio stand ‘Les Bleus‘ in good stead for the early stages of the tournament.

course, there is always the chance that pressure may prove too much for the hosts – plus the fallout of the BenzemaValbuena fiasco may still have an effect on the squad. However, if all goes to plan, then France have an excellent chance.

I may lean towards Germany as my favourites but ‘Les Bleus’ are a narrow second. The reigning world champions now have a fourth European title in their sights – a first since Euro 96 – and if both win their groups then they are set to meet in the semi-finals.

As group winners, the French would face the best third-placed team and then potentially Wales or England. Depending on how those sides do, it may not be until that huge, potential semi-final that the hosts’ mettle is truly tested.

Below: The team celebrate a Martial goal

during Euro 2016 qualification

Despite the obvious pedigree at the back, perhaps the biggest worry for the French is their defensive record in recent times. Just under half of their goals conceded since Deschamps took over in 2012 have come from set pieces. Koscielny in particular has taken some flack for his defending from dead ball situations, and he will have to improve if France are to combat the likes of Germany and Spain.

Upfront, they also have options with Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Andre

13

ALBANIA & ROMANIA

GROUP A: Albania Fearless newcomers

By Dean Laughton Albania will be making their very first appearance at a major tournament. Here is a little preview of this year’s newcomers, The Kuq e Zinjte (Red & Blacks).

Albania finished second in their group.

Their away form was excellent, unbeaten and a memorable win over Portugal. Achieving draws against European stalwarts Denmark was also impressive. Most notable was the abandoned game away to Serbia, where a drone was flown onto the pitch bearing the Albanian flag – UEFA ruled that Albania should take the three points.

the team during qualifying, with no player scoring more than once.

POPULATION: 2.9 million THE STAR MAN: The experienced Lorik Cana is integral for the Albanians ONE TO WATCH: Taulant Xhaka, brother of Arsenal’s Granit is an exciting prospect THE GAFFA: Gianni De Biasi The manager is Gianni De Biasi. After a THE BEER: Korca dozen managerial stints across Italy and EVERYFAN ODDS: 1000/1 to win Spain he took the plunge into internaPREDICTION: A better side than tional football. De Biasi quickly saw that people assume, but getting out of the main issue with the Albania national team was the most talented players eligi- the group will be a tall order Lorik Cana will be the most familiar player to a UK audience after his time with Sunderland in the 2009/10 season under Steve Bruce. Having moved back into central defence with current club Nantes, Cana is the captain, leader and most capped player in Albania’s history with 90 appearances. A real icon.

ble opted to play elsewhere – Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami to name a few. So with the help of Cana, De Biasi galvanised the squad and persuaded other top players to play for him. Tactically, they are strong and well-organised, with De Biasi giving the flair players some freedom.

Left: Albanian captain

Goals were spread around

Lorik Cana is the heartbeat of these fearless newcomers

GROUP A: Romania Defending the Tricolorii

By Rhys OwenJohnson Following an unbeaten qualifying campaign Romania take their place in Group A. Escaping the group will be a formidable task given the presence of France in the group. Nevertheless, Anghel Iordanescu will be buoyed by his side’s defensive record.

Iordanescu employs a cautious 4-2-3-1 formation. An absence of match winners has resulted in an emphasis on defensive stability, and while it

14

After qualifying for Euro 2016, De Biasi is now a national hero in Albania. It was such a fantastic achievement that the Albanian president granted De Biasi Albanian citizenship and he now has dual nationality.

Albania are in Group A with hosts France, tournament regulars Switzerland and the dogged Romania. Albania have proved they can stand toe-to-toe with the big sides in Europe and produce an upset, so expect them to have absolutely no fear.

proved effective in a weak qualifying group it remains to be seen if they can cope with a higher quality of opposition.

opportunity to lead the line. With much of their qualifying success built on an experienced back four, relying on youthful exuberance to get the goals may The centre back pairing of Vlad Chiriches prove more productive than the ineffecand Dragos Grigore are integral, although tive strikers of the qualifying campaign. neither are setting the football world alight. Chiriches has fallen out of conten- It will certainly be a challenge to qualify tion at Napoli, while Grigores plays for from the group but there is experience at Qatari based Al-Sailiya. the core of the side, none more so than coach Iordanescu, who oversaw their Perhaps their best attacking options lie in quarter final run in the 1994 World Cup. emerging talent. 23-year-old Steaua Bu- However, a dearth of star players may charest playmaker Nicolae Stanciu cercondemn the Tricolorii to an early exit tainly fits the bill. Stanciu particularly from the tournament. impressed in the goalless draw with Spain in March, exhibiting his ability to dictate from midfield. While his international inexperience is perhaps concerning, the 10 million Euro price tag slapped POPULATION: 19.8 million on him by Steaua THE STAR MAN: Playmaker Nicolae shows that he is Stanciu will be a vital creative force one to watch.

Above: The Romanians celebrate a rare goal during

qualifying

ALBANIA

ROMANIA

Another youth prospect who could boost Romania’s goalscoring prowess is Florin Adone.

Cordoba’s 23year-old scored against Italy in November, and may be given an

ONE TO WATCH: Hard working frontman Florin Adone could make a real goalscoring impact in France THE GAFFA: Anghel Iordanescu THE BEER: Timisoreana EVERYFAN ODDS: 200/1 to win PREDICTION: Third place in the group and a round of 16 exit, the Albania game will be crucial

SWITZERLAND Left: Stoke City man, Shaqiri, will be key to any

success for this golden generation

guez and the experienced Stephan Liechtensteiner occupying the full back positions. Those familiar with Football Manager will be alert to the potential of Basel striker Breel Embolo, the nineteen year old is in fantastic form for club and is attracting attention from Europe’s top sides. He could provide the spark for a side that often lacks creativity and goalscoring.

GROUP A: Switzerland Shaqiri and co.

By Joe Proctor When Xherden Shaqiri slalomed through the Danish defence in 2011 and guided the ball into the bottom corner to score the opening goal of the European U21 Championships, it was meant to mark the beginning of a golden era in Swiss football. The goal defeated the hosts and the Swiss marched all the way to final, beaten only by a ludicrously strong Spain side (David De Gea, Javi Martinez, Mata were among the star names). The success of that tournament transitioned to domestic football the following season, the core of that side played for FC Basel and starred in victories over European giants Bayern Munich and Manchester United at St Jakobs Park.

However since then Swiss football has slumped somewhat, with the national team producing a series of mediocre, bordering on poor, performances. In fact they failed to even qualify for the Euro 2012, edged out by Montenegro in qualifying. Things went slightly more to plan during the World Cup in 2014; they came into the tournament sixth in the FIFA World Rankings and qualified out the group for the first time ever. They pro-

They have been drawn in a kind group too. Hosts France are favourites to run away with it but the Swiss are fancied to claim second ahead of minnows Albania and Romania. It is likely that awaiting them in the round of 16 will be one of Poland or Ukraine, both are eminently duced a respectable performance to take beatable. eventual finalists Argentina to extra-time Of course there are plenty of prein the round of 16 where they were untournament issues for this side. Architect done by some Messi magic two minutes of the crucial comeback victory over Slofrom time before the post cruelly prevenia, Josip Drmic, suffered an injury in vented an equaliser at the death. Howev- March and the long standing question of er they never really convinced, they were who will lead the line for this talented beaten comprehensively by France in the group has been reignited. Will it be the group stage and only escaped the group out of form Haris Seferović? The out of ahead of Ecuador thanks to a last gasp position Admir Mehmedi? The untested winner against the South American side. Embolo? None seem ideal options. Also There is therefore not a huge sense of can manager Vladimir Petković, who exuberance heading into Euro 2016. struggled through qualification, prove he Their display during qualification also did not inspire confidence. They were defeated handily by England on two occasions and narrowly squeaked into second place ahead of Slovenia. They lost to the Slovenes in Maribor and needed a flurry of three goals in the last ten minutes to beat them at home. The Houdini routine was actually a bit of a feature of their qualification campaign. As the Swiss won in Lithuania and then Estonia thanks to a late show, Shaqiri netted the winner five minutes from time in Vilnius and an own goal deep into injury time was enough to overcome Estonia.

That is not say that Switzerland are coming into this as nohopers, this is still a side with plenty of talent. Despite a fairly average start to his in time English football with Stoke, Shaqiri is a very good player and a talismanic presence at national level, the skilful winger will be a handful. Granit Xhaka is another highprofile name in the squad. The recent Arsenal signing is a dynamic midfielder and will be vital part of any success the Swiss put together. The defence is also fairly robust, with Ricardo Rodri

can fill the void left by legendary German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld?

However if the Swiss produce a strong start to Euro 2016 those questions will soon dissipate. It is a smooth path to the round of 16 and during the rough and tumble of knockout football anything can happen. Who knows? Perhaps Shaqiri and co. will prove they really are the golden generation.

SWITZERLAND

POPULATION: 8.1 million THE STAR MAN: Xherden Shaqiri may not be excelling at Stoke, but he is the leader of this Switzerland side ONE TO WATCH: Cameroonian born striker, Breel Embolo, has been in exceptional form for Basel this season and this could be his breakout tournament THE GAFFA: Vladimir Petkovic THE BEER: Feldschlossen EVERYFAN ODDS: 70/1 to win PREDICTION: Expect an exit in the round of 16 or quarter finals

15

ENGLAND

GROUP B: England Dream or doubt

By Oliver Marsh Out at the Group Stages of the last World Cup and without a major tournament win in fifty years, failure upon failure has led to a cynicism surrounding the England team. But it wasn’t always like this. I remember a nationwide optimism, with all of us dreaming like fools of victory.

Is it better to be pessimistic as we are now, rather than optimistic and getting shot down as we have done before?

The first major tournament I properly watched as a kid was France 1998. I remember the brilliant ‘Three Lions’ song and the excitement of England at a World Cup. Paul Scholes scoring in the opening game, through to the heartbreak of penalties, I remember it all. I remember England beating Germany 5-1 in qualifying a few years later, and the David Beckham free kick against Greece.

In 2002, I remember being on a family trip to Brighton, hearing a roar from a

16

nearby pub and an old lady running up to us and screaming, “he’s done it, he scored, the wonderful man!” when Beckham scored the penalty against Argentina. In 2002 we even got to stay at home in the mornings to watch the game before coming in to school. As if they needed us to love this team even more, they were even getting us out of maths! They made us cheer, they made us cry, but for years we were so invested in this team that it seemed only a matter of time before we’d be partying on the streets in celebrating a major tournament win.

ENGLAND POPULATION: 53 million THE STAR MAN: Wayne Rooney might have the experience, but Harry Kane is goalscorer-in-chief for England ONE TO WATCH: Young Spurs midfielder Dele Alli who has had a stellar debut Premier League season THE GAFFA: Roy Hodgson THE BEER: London Pride EVERYFAN ODDS: 9/1 to win PREDICTION: Head says Round of 16, heart says “COME ON ENGLAND!” and youthful exuberance to take us to the quarter finals if not further...

As you can tell, I grew up with this Golden Generation of Gerrard, Owen, Rooney, Beckham, Lampard, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Crouch… okay, not Crouch, but you get the point – world-class players all wearing the same badge. They were a force to be reckoned with. And to be fair it wasn’t always household names in these teams. When injuries wreaked havoc on our starting line-up, I recall the likes of Trevor Sinclair, Danny Mills, Darius Vassell, Aaron Lennon, even Owen ‘ambiguous-accent’ Hargreaves, who went from, “why the hell is he there?”, in 2002 to, “oh, he’s the only one who can score a penalty”, in 2006.

Either way this was a team that brought us many brilliant and horrible memories,

but it was rarely dull, and we were always invested in them. In the end they didn’t deliver, and by Euro 2008 some actually enjoyed the tournament more because the stress of watching England wasn’t a factor for once (cheers McClaren). 2010 was seen as the last chance for this talented group to prove themselves… but it wasn’t to be. The manner of defeat was even harder to watch, with the 4-1 defeat to Germany the horrible conclusion to an awful tournament. And thus the new feeling of pessimism began to accompany England at a major tournament.

ENGLAND Now we come full circle to France again for a major tournament in 2016. Where’s a song? Forget ‘Three Lions’ and the classic ‘World In Motion’ by New Order (who doesn’t enjoy John Barnes rapping?), at this point I’d even take Ant and Dec’s ‘We’re On The Ball’ as a catchy song for the summer… and I suppose ‘Goldenballs (Mr Beckham To You)’ at least made me laugh.

I can’t quite see the mood of the country being dictated by the results of the team like in the past.

Despite some promising players, we haven’t really had a next-bigthing since Wayne Rooney, who himself hasn’t delivered at a major tournament for a while and his best days are arguably behind him. Lately the England team has often been a bit flat, and hard to get behind. I don’t care how many goals we score against Moldova, it’s about how we do in the major tournaments and it’s still hard to know what to make of this England team, especially if Roy Hodgson is still picking players like Jack Wilshere who have been injured all season.

Are we being pessimistic to say they won’t do well, or just realistic? A lot of draws, a lack of passion, lack of big names. It’s gotten difficult to really care, and worst of all nowadays you find yourself dreading an international weekend, because at least in the Premier League it all seems to matter a bit.

beat us in the Group Stages at a canter.

But there is hope. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Marcus Rashford. These are all players of great promise, and if we build a team around players like them who seem to be showing genuine passion then this could kick-start a little more passion from the fans. You see empty seats at Wembley nowadays, what better way to fix that than to play for the fans and make them want to watch you? We can go from Rooney in 2010 grumpily saying, “Nice to see your home fans booing you”, to screaming, “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?” to a jubilant crowd of supporters.

Regardless of the opposition, we qualified for Euro 2016 with aplomb, and our 3-2 away victory against Germany recently is not to be sniffed at. The biggest story this year has been Leicester City’s That Frank Skinner song talks about that shock Premier League win, led by Jamie tackle by Moore and when Lineker Vardy who rose from the lower divisions scored… Well I remember that Beckham to become an England international. free kick, and when Owen ran around Don’t put him on the wing, get him up Argentina, and Heskey… HESKEY! I refront, who better to make sure we’re all member it all, but I can’t say I remember having a party? Because even if we have anything that we did at Brazil 2014. I become pessimistic, none of this is to guess there was that time when Raheem say that we don’t want to believe in Sterling shot against Italy and it looked a them. lot like it had gone in but it hadn’t…. wow, I recommend checking Optimism may be misis that the best we out the Vauxhall TV adgot? It’s all just been guided, but I will always vert before Euro 2012 so forgettable. take that over boring pes- with that Noel Gallagher song, where everyone’s The biggest worry of simism, and I really hope lining up across the counall has been watching that this young England try next to the England Wales qualify for Euro team can surprise us, and team to face the opposi2016. Their players tion. It’s a great idea, and in doing so make us and fans all seem to once again got me excithave that passion foolishly dream again ed for a major tournathat we are lacking; ment - and that was in they seem genuinely 2012 when we were still booing Jordan delighted to be there. Add a genuine Henderson coming on as a sub… We do world class player into the mix in Gareth have some potential genuine talent to Bale, and if we’re not careful they could showcase this summer. If they perform

Above: Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy were the

two top goalscorers in the Premier League last season Left: The England team come out for the second half in a Euro 2016 qualifying game

well, without fear and showing a little passion, our perception of the England team could change completely.

It is of course about winning, but it’s also about the manner in which they play. We want them to do well, and we want to believe that they care as much as we do.

All it needs is a little push, and we will all be back on the wonderful, unpredictable, torrid bandwagon that is England maybe, possibly, nearly, not quite doing well at a major tournament. It could be frustrating, it could be brilliant, but either way it would be nice to at least feel something.

Dare I say it, while this new England team is far from a finished article, we are at least seeing some youthful talents who could well be big for us in future. I’d say that we have been made pessimistic by failure when we should have been succeeding in the past, so what better way to address this than to succeed when we expect them to fail? In fact, why wait for the future, why not seize Euro 2016 as the opportunity to get a nation behind you again, singing about Three Lions on the shirt again and sending the Twitter trolls back into their caves.

All it would need is a little passion and heart, an unlikely run to the knock-out stages of the tournament and we’d all be behind them again. And could we win a penalty shoot-out, just once?? Optimism may be misguided, but I will always take that over boring pessimism, and I really hope that this young England team can surprise us, and in doing so make us foolishly dream again.

17

WALES

GROUP B: Wales Bale or bust?

By Michael Cox In sealing qualification for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, Chris Coleman’s warriors have written their names in the national history books as the Welsh Dragons look ahead to their first major tournament in 57 years.

times across the ten qualifying games and finished joint top goal scorer in the group with Bosnian hit man, Edin Dzeko, including the only goal of the home tie against Belgium.

After finishing second behind Belgium and four points ahead of third placed Bosnia in qualifying Group B, Wales still have a long way to go before they can be Shaun McDonald (AFC Bournemouth), affiliated with the title of a football naAndrew Crofts (Gillingham), Tom Bradtion. shaw (Walsall) and Lloyd Isgrove (Southampton) were the most notable Chris Coleman initially named a 29-man provisional ensemble ahead of their pre- absentees from the squad and have all been part of recent Wales squads. tournament friendlies before facing SloMcDonald, in particular, has not been vakia on June 11th in their first group given enough playing time under Eddie game of the tournament.

Howe in the Cherries’ maiden Premier Coleman faced a tough task as six playLeague season and will be disappointed ers were axed to form a final 23-man to miss out. shortlist ahead of the summer tournaAaron Ramsey has come under fire from ment. the Arsenal faithful on a number of occaGareth Bale was an obvious omission sions this season but has been nothing from the pack; the 26-year-old will carshort of a hero for the national side. The ried out club duties on and up to the 28th midfielder netted twice in Wales’ qualifyof May when Real Madrid lined up ing campaign and both proved to be deagainst city rivals, Atletico Madrid, in the cisive, getting his side first off the mark UEFA Champions League final. in a 2-0 home win over Andorra and a 30 away triumph over Israel.

Wales’ talisman found the net seven

WALES POPULATION: 3 million THE STAR MAN: Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale is essential to any Welsh success at the tournament ONE TO WATCH: Ben Davies is the unsung hero of the team THE GAFFA: Chris Coleman THE BEER: Double Dragon EVERYFAN ODDS: 90/1 to win PREDICTION: If they play to their full potential, Wales should progress from the group, but any further is unlikely

18

Birmingham City winger, David Cotterill, secured his place in the final shortlist after impressing in the late stages of the season, scoring twice in the Blues’ final three league fixtures.

The Dragons’ attack is regularly spearheaded by the boisterous Hal Robson-Kanu and Coleman will be pleased to hear of the Reading forwards’ recovery after suffering a minor injury in April. RobsonKanu has registered five goals and six assists in

all domestic competitions from wide positions and was one of only four Wales players to hit the mark in qualifying.

Joe Allen and Andy King have started just 17 games between them in the Premier League this season and will be ready to fly out of the traps if called into action. Allen, particularly, was a key figure in the qualifiers and will likely line-up against Slovakia in the Wales’ opener.

Nine of the 11 Welsh qualifying goals were of Bale and Ramsey’s doing, and an injury to one of the two could prove diabolical to Coleman’s regime who has adopted a 5-3-1-1 formation throughout the last two years. Bale’s ability to stretch defences and ticket to roam where he may please is something that Wales cannot replace and without him, you can rip up your slip for Welsh to progress to the knockout phases.

Wales have completed an incredible milestone to qualify and could progress from the group stage with fellow British hopefuls, England, if they play to their potential.

Twelve years ago, the bookies placed Greece at a 150/1 punt to win the 2004 European Championship. EveryFan make Wales a 90/1 punt to coronate this years competition, is that worth a bet?

Stranger things have happened.

SLOVAKIA & RUSSIA

GROUP B: Slovakia

top form if Slovakia hope to progress to the latter stages of the tournament.

Slovakia find themselves in a tough group, involving home nations England and Wales, as well as World Cup 2018 A guaranteed hosts Russia. Although England fans will certainly be expecting a victory against three points? them, Slovakia are more than capable of a shock. As well as beating Spain in qualifying, Slovakia knocked four-time world champions Italy out of the 2010 World It’s fair to say Slovakia will not win Euro 2016, but nor will they roll over. They are Cup in an enthralling match that ended 3-2 in their favour. They then went on to not travelling to France with the intennarrowly lose 2-1 to eventual finalists the tion of leaving early. Appearing in their first European Championships after their Netherlands in the following round. creation as a state in 1993, they recorded Wales will also find themselves up against it versus a compact and resolute impressive victories such as a 1-0 win in Kiev and a resolute 2-1 win over Spain, on side that boast a mean defensive record, their way to qualifying automatically for conceding less than a goal a game during their qualifying campaign. the tournament.

By Felix Tasker

SLOVAKIA POPULATION: 5.4 million THE STAR MAN: Napoli captain Marek Hamsik holds the key to the Slovak attack ONE TO WATCH: Manchester City academy product Robert Mak is an unknown quantity THE GAFFA: Jan Kozak THE BEER: Zlaty Bazant EVERYFAN ODDS: 175/1 to win PREDICTION: Sneak through Group B in 3rd place, but spirited defeat in the round of 16 afternoon.

Expect a nil-nil or two and a Martin Skrtel threat from set pieces, but with the extended format this year there’s no reason to believe that Slovakia cannot secure a spot in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Quick and inventive in attack and led by the fearsome Martin Skrtel in defence, most of their attacking play comes through Napoli star Marek Hamsik.

Hamsik started every game in Serie A this season, providing 6 goals and 11 assists and helping Napoli to a second place finish. Averaging a goal every other game in qualifying, and the only player in the side who can claim to have genuine world class talent, he will need to be on

As well as household names Hamsik and Skrtel, watch out for former Chelsea youth academy product and Puskas award winner Miroslav Stoch. As Stoch showed by beating Neymar and Radamel .

Falcao to the prestigious award in 2012 with a stunning right-footed volley from range, he is capable of moments of magic. Not the most consistent player, however he possesses great pace and agility and on his day can give full backs a torrid

GROUP B: Russia

how likely are the class of 2016 to repeat this success?

Russia qualified for Euro 2016 following a tricky start under former head coach Fabio Capello. Capello was given the Comrades or boot after this distrastrous start to qualifying, only winning against minnows question marks?

Liechtenstein and in an abandoned match against Montenegro in their opening six games. He was replaced by Leonid Slutsky, who at the time was mounting a Since the dissolving of the USSR in 1991, Russia’s sole claim to fame at major foot- title charge with CSKA Moscow. Slutsky managed the two jobs perfectly, with balling tournaments came at Euro 2008 Russia winning all four of their remaining when Guus Hiddink guided Andrei Armatches and CSKA Moscow winning the shavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and co to league title. When looking at the manthe semi-finals. It could be argued the ager’s style, Slutsky’s CSKA side are enomens could favour Russia again this year, as the old Soviet Union’s only foot- tertaining to watch with their crisp passing moves and incisive counter attacks – balling triumph was the 1960 European and this more expressive approach has Championships held in France – but just been a breath of fresh air in the Russia side since the departure of the clunky Capello.

By Dean Laughton

Zenit St. Petersburg striker Artem Dzyuba was Russia’s top scorer in qualifying with 8 goals. Dzyuba is a classic target man who can also bring others into the game, and at 6ft 5in in stature he can be a handful for any defence. Another player to look out for is nippy

Krasnodar striker, Fedor Smolov. Smolov was the top scorer in the Russian Premier League with 20 goals in 28 games, and his tremendous form will put pressure on Dzyuba for a place in the team’s starting line-up.

Russia will however have to cope without key midfielder Alan Dzagoev, who was ruled out with a cruel injury setback on the last day of the domestic season. This means that the duty of providing some creative flair has fallen to 21 year-old Oleg Shatov. Shatov is a quick and tricky winger who is quickly establishing himself as a key player for Russia.

RUSSIA POPULATION: 144 million THE STAR MAN: Zenit striker Artem Dzyuba has had a prolific domestic season ONE TO WATCH: Alexander Golovin could spring a surprise or two THE GAFFA: Leonid Slutsky THE BEER: Baltika EVERYFAN ODDS: 70/1 to win PREDICTION: Should progress from the group but unlikely to better their Euro 2008 performance

19

GERMANY

GROUP C: Germany Die allerbesten?

By Matt Cowdock “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win” So said Gary Lineker in 1990 and this quote, now something of a cliché when it comes to the English perspective on German football, still rings relatively true 26 years on. ‘Relatively’ in the sense that while they still possess monumental talent and short odds for major tournaments, things aren’t necessarily as rosy as they seem in the Germany camp.

But despite this potential discord, Germany remain football’s great thoroughbreds. With three European Championship titles and four World Cups, it’s no surprise that the Germans are somewhat predisposed to winning. As a result, Die Mannschaft now go into major tournaments as one of, if not the, favourites to win and this year’s European Championships in France are no exception. Their pedigree is such that while they rarely underachieve, it is also difficult for them to overachieve; they simply achieve.

Case in point, Germany have not once finished outside of the top three in a major tournament under Joachim Löw.

Speaking of whom, it would be criminal not to mention the impact of the Germany manager. Since his appointment, he has instilled a fool-proof footballing philosophy for the modern era. As assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann, Löw reportedly grew frustrated with how long the players held on to the ball and, since his promotion in 2006, has cultivated a more fast-paced system — pass-and-move football at a high intensity while retaining Klinsmann’s offensive style. And boy has it worked. In his ten year reign, Löw boasts the best win percentage of any German manager ever as well as the highest goals-per-game ratio since Sepp Herberger’s pre-war stint.

paign may largely come down to how well deputies such as Mario Gómez, Shkodran Mustafi, Leroy Sané and Jonas Hector can step up at major tournament level, although in fairness the first of those three is no stranger to the European Championships. Nevertheless, this will be a very different squad than the one which triumphed in Brazil and despite posing a constant threat in any competition, the ultimate prize is not an unequivocal guarantee this year.

Indeed, despite topping their qualification group, the process appeared a little more arduous than usual. Failure to hold on to the lead against the Republic of Ireland was compounded with a shock defeat in the reverse fixture, while Germany were also sunk by their Group C opponents Poland, who finished just one point shy of top spot after pushing Löw’s team all the way to the final matchday.

Furthermore, their friendly form in the lead up to France has been rather shambolic, having lost four of the last six as of the time of writing. Essentially the main worry for this group of players is that they are not impervious to bad performances in the way that crops led by Philipp Lahm perhaps were; however, there is a reason that this more unknown quantity remain tournament favourites in the bookmakers’ eyes.

What almost always impresses is the attention to detail Germany have in their tournament approaches –performance analysts insist that their World Cup win was tailored by technology.

What’s more, in the past ten years the Germans have five However, for all their consistency, Germany are at the end of a transitional peri- times stifled the best players on the planet in major tournaments: od after three notable retirements postthree times suppressing Cristiano World Cup 2014. Without the likes of Ronaldo and twice foiling Lionel Miroslav Klose, Per Mertesacker and Philipp Lahm in their ranks, Germany will Messi. This meticulousness means that Germany rarely, if lack both the experience and seniority ever, succumb to individual brilwhich their World Cup-winning squad liance and nothing less should be possessed, and the success of their cam

20

expected this summer.

Above all else, Germany enjoy the luxury of possessing arguably the best overall team. While there are the aforementioned question marks over the defence, the constantly improving Jerome Boateng is expected to make his return in time for the competition. Further forward, any midfield engine room containing Toni Kroos is a force to be reckoned with, particularly when used in conjunction with the mesmerising attacking options at their disposal. If he can set a platform for the likes of perpetually brilliant Thomas Müller and Arsenal’s court wizard Mesut Özil then we can expect a very profitable tournament indeed for this group of players.

If friendly form is anything to go by then this team still have a long way to go until they click into an appropriate gear. Luckily for Germany, friendly form is rarely anything to go by – if they approach this tournament like they have done the previous four under Löw, then don’t be surprised to see Die Mannschaft lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy on the 10th of July.

GERMANY

POPULATION: 81 million THE STAR MAN: An outstanding season with Arsenal sees playmaker Mesut Özil as the man to make Die Mannschaft tick ONE TO WATCH: Young Schalke winger, Leroy Sané (Honourable mention goes to Jonas Hector) THE GAFFA: Joachim Low THE BEER: Dortmunder Union EVERYFAN ODDS: 7/2 to win PREDICTION: Perpetual tournament heavyweights, Semi Finals at least

NORTHERN IRELAND of Freed from Desire by Gala. All three of the attackers scored in the farewell match inside Winsor Park, where O’Neill’s men beat Belarus, extending the unbeaten run to an enviable eleven games (six wins and five draws). The additional options the two young talents can provide may prove crucial to a side that at times can look woefully bereft of guile and imagination.

Landed in Group C alongside Germany, Ukraine and Poland the first task on the agenda is solidifying a defensive unit that must repel word-class attacking threats. Predators like Muller, Lewanpoor twenty minutes from implosion and dowski and Konoplyanka. The men lookthe rest all look much of a muchness. In ing to demonstrate that they are equal this void Michael O’Neill, the Northern to the task and protect the Hamilton Ireland manager, will look to spring a goalkeeper Michael McGovern, will most sporting surprise. likely be Craig Cathcart (Watford), JohnWithout the illustrious names that the ny Evans (West Brom), Gareth McAuley England squad can boast or Wales’ (West Brom) and Chris Baird (Derby) with match-winning genius Gareth Bale, able deputies coming in the shape of Year of the underdog Northern Ireland have compensated by Manchester United’s Paddy McNair and utilising an unshakable team spirit marveteran Aaron Hughes who currently is ried to a work ethic of Trojan proporwithout a club. tions. The story of qualification is so fanDecades from now future generaThe objective of the midfield will unciful it sounds like something from a tions may look back at 2016 and redoubtedly to form a second defensive J.R.R Tolkien novel; having not qualified phalanx whilst still having the energy to member it as the year of the underfor a major tournament since the 1982 make regular sorties into opposition terdog. Leicester winning the Premier World Cup, with a squad comprised ritory. Southampton’s Steven Davis will League is an achievement that will mainly of lower league players with a be expected to set the tempo for fellow forever be seared into the confew scatterings of mid-table Premier midfielders Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), sciousness of football fans, throw in League stars the task of qualifying once Oliver Norwood (Reading), Shane Ferguthe fact that the upcoming Europe- again looked beyond the small nation. son (Millwall), and screener Corry Evans When you factor in an Championships looks set to be (Blackburn Rovers). Jamie that the talisman and the most open International tournaWard (Nottingham Formain goal threat Kyle rest) and Stuart Dallas ment in living memory and there is Lafferty played more (Leeds) can be relied upthe real opportunity for yet another fixtures in the Interon to enter the fray on upset. national arena than either flank as the game on the domestic front Germany and Spain look considerably progresses and opposiyou start to underdiminished, hosts France always look a tions tire. The injury instand just how colossal an achievement duced absence of West Brom’s Chris it was for the fifth seeds to top Brunt and his explosive left-foot will be their group amassing a laudable keenly felt. Not only is the Baggies man twenty-one points – a feat never versatile enough to be deployed in a before performed. number of areas, covering a multitude of POPULATION: 1.8 million Aside from the fact that O’Neill different sins, he is also a natural leader THE STAR MAN: Kyle Lafferty overis clearly a shrewd operator, he capable of inspiring those around him. has also benefited from the occame a near non-existent club season Even the most optimistic of fans would casional kiss from Lady Luck, a to make himself his nation’s difference reluctantly admit that the chances of romance that looks set to conprogressing to the knock-out rounds are maker tinue blossoming. The overreligoing to require a Herculean effort.

ONE TO WATCH: Will Grigg recently ance on Kyle Lafferty is a clear However, this group of players have issue, but one that looks set to scored his first international goal and made their reputation by being a side be less worrisome with the that laughs in the face of convention and heads to France to prove he is ‘on fire’ emergence of two striking talcuts a track to tread their own path. The THE GAFFA: Michael O’Neill ents Connor Washington of Northern Irish population are already in THE BEER: Clotworthy Dobbin Queens Park Rangers and Wigan dreamland and with the expansion of the Athletic’s Will Grigg, the man EVERYFAN ODDS: 500/1 to win tournament there is every chance that responsible for the season’s best O’Neill and his men can confound the PREDICTION: Spirit and endeavour will chant “Will Grigg’s on fire, your doubters and allow their nation to enjoy not be enough—fall at first hurdle defence is terrified” to the tune a few more hours of peaceful slumber.

GROUP C: Northern Ireland

By Ben Delaney

“Will Grigg’s on fire, your defence is terrified”

NORTHERN IRELAND

21

POLAND & UKRAINE

GROUP C: Poland Also-rans or serious contenders?

By James Foggin Poland may be ranked as 50-1 outsiders to win Euro 2016, but they will arrive in France this summer with no intention of simply making up the numbers. An excellent qualifying campaign ended with Poland sitting just one point behind group winners Germany, with the highlight being a 2-0 home win over the world champions. Their reward? a reunion with Germany in Group C alongside Ukraine and Northern Ireland.

Poland’s poster boy Robert Lewandowski has had another terrific season spearheading the Bayern Munich’s attack, but the Poles are no longer a one-man-show. Lewandowski may have accumulated 15 goals on the road to France, but fellow

frontman Arkadiusz Milik notched up an impressive 7 from his 13 appearances and will be able to occupy defenders with his imposing stature, allowing more space for Lewandowski. Behind the strikers, manager Adam Nawalka will be hoping that his midfield can be martialled by the defensively minded Grzegorz Krychowiak, who has impressed this year at Europa League winning Sevilla, and is said to be the subject of a £34 million bid from Manchester United. The back four boasts experience with the likes of Torino centre back Kamil Glik and Borussia Dortmund’s Lukasz Piszczek, but fans of English football will be much more familiar with the selection of goalkeepers. With the team yet to establish a real number 1 from Wojciech Szczeny, Lukasz Fabianski and Artur Boruc, it will be interesting to see who is in the starting spot when the tournament kicks off.

Unlikely underdogs

By Matt Cowdock

The final group stage fixture against Ukraine looks to be pivotal, as victory there could give them second spot in their group, and a likely faceoff against Switzerland in the round of 16. If they can pass that test, then who knows how far Poland can go in the knock-out stages?

POLAND

POPULATION: 39 million THE STAR MAN: Undoubtedly Robert Lewandowski, probably the best In a recent interview, manager Nawal- striker at the tournament ka said, “I picked players that I know ONE TO WATCH: Lewandowski’s very well, players I believe in”. Alt- partner in crime, Arkadiusz Milik hough they sit an uninspiring 27th THE GAFFA: Adam Nawalka in FIFA’s world rankings, the THE BEER: Zywiec country may be starting to beEVERYFAN ODDS: 55/1 to win lieve that this group of players PREDICTION: Knockout stages, percan do something special haps even a semi-final appearance this summer too. They lost just once in qualify-

a just as big an influence this summer.

GROUP C: Ukraine

ing for Euro 2016, scoring more goals than any other team in the process – and with a world-class player like Lewandowski in their ranks, Poland will be able to change games in the blink of an eye.

Once again qualification wasn’t hugely straightforward for Ukraine; their group was topped by Spain with Slovakia in second. But they did manage to defeat play-off challengers Slovenia with relative ease, advancing to the finals 3-1 on aggregate. Their Euro 2016 campaign kicks off in earnest on 12th of June with a challenging fixture to say the very least: they face World Champions and tournament favourites Germany. While their remaining group games couldn’t possibly be any harder, they don’t exactly represent ‘gimmes’. Fellow Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland boast arguably the best centreforward in the world in Robert Lewandowski, while surprise Group F toppers Northern Ireland won’t roll over easy either, especially if a particular Northern Ireland attacker manages to render the Ukrainian defence terrified.

winger Yevhen Konoplyanka, who has just helped Sevilla to their third Europa League title on the trot, and perennial Tottenham and Liverpool target Andriy Yarmolenko, both of whom make up the bulk of the Ukrainian goal threat.

So despite a modest-at-best sprinkling of star quality, Ukraine will provide a stern test for their Group C peers. It’s unlikely they’ll advance past that stage, but they’ll also live in hope that their great striking shaman, Andriy Shevchenko, will be imparting his superlative wisdom from the sidelines to both Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka.

UKRAINE

POPULATION: 45 million The retirement in 2012 of talismanic forTHE STAR MAN: Andriy Yarmolenko ward Andriy Shevchenko came after his is Ukraine’s main goal threat native country of Ukraine had co-hosted ONE TO WATCH: Olexandr Zinchenthe last European Championships. MoreHowever Ukraine aren’t short on talent ko earned a late call-up at the exover, it marked the end of an era for the themselves: their captain and mostpense of more experienced players nation and team who hailed him a deity capped player ever, Anatoliy throughout his illustrious career.

THE GAFFA: Mykhaylo Fomenko Tymoshchuk, was a Champions League THE BEER: Obolon After a brief and unsuccessful foray into winner at Bayern Munich and, aged 37, EVERYFAN ODDS: 125/1 to win the world of politics, Shevchenko took will be hoping to imbue some of his vast PREDICTION: Their game against up the role of assistant coach to current experience into his younger squadmates. manager Mykhailo Fomenko, and the Northern Ireland is vital to escape Other names of note include Sevilla Synyo-Zhovti will be hoping he can have the group—but they should do it

22

TURKEY

GROUP D: Turkey Passionate dark horses

By Jed Woodcock Few people gave Turkey any hope of qualifying for Euro 2016, let alone doing well at the tournament, following their dismal start to the qualifying campaign.

The Turks qualified as the Best 3rd Placed Team in qualifying, behind group winners Czech Republic and runners up Iceland.

The ‘Crescent Stars’ have a history of poor qualifying campaigns, failing to qualify for an international tournament since 2008, despite possessing a team with an abundance of talent. The Turks will be hoping to replicate their gutsy performances at both the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2008 where they defied expectations to return to a proud nation.

club managerial career, including Galatasaray’s UEFA Cup victory over Arsenal in 2000.

Despite the poor start to their qualification campaign, the fighting spirit of the team emerged yet again, picking up form just when it mattered. Under Fatih Terim’s third tenure, the team have undergone a resurgence, not losing a fixture since November 2014, winning their last three fixtures in qualifying without conceding a goal. This alone should show the depth of talent that the Crescent Stars have at their disposal.

TURKEY POPULATION: 75 million THE STAR MAN: Barcelona man and Turkish captain Arda Turan ONE TO WATCH: Youngster Yunus Malli will hope to replicate his form from Mainz THE GAFFA: Fatih Terim THE BEER: Efes EVERYFAN ODDS: 90/1 to win PREDICTION: If they make it out of the group stage, this passionate side will be tough to beat. Watch out for late late goals

Already proven on the international stage is one of the young stars of Turkish football, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who has appeared 15 times for his ancestral Turkey, scoring four goals. The 21 year old, who represents Bayer Leverkusen at club level, plays across midfield and is well known for his outstanding free kicks and long shots.

The Bayer Leverkusen star who has been linked with Barcelona and Manchester United has emerged as one of the Bundesliga’s most highly-rated youngsters over the last 18 months and will be key to Turkey’s success.

only means that an extra eight teams have qualified for the tournament, but that 16 out of the 24 teams qualify into the knock-out stages, with the top two in each group and four best third-placed teams securing progress to the next round.

Following their near decade of hurt from failing to qualify for an international tournament the nation’s hopes rest on the The belief and conviction in Turkish footshoulders of this young national side who ball after the success of coming third in The star man in Turkey’s resurgence have already proven to be full of passion the 2002 World Cup was broadcasted is Arda Turan. The 29 year old captain has and desire. Through the individual skill of and carried into the next generation of turned out 86 times for the national some of the stars in the squad, coupled young Turks. This next crop of players, team, scoring 16 goals in the process. The with the unbreakable team spirit and including a 21 year old, Arda Turan, qualiBarcelona man, who has recently been never say die attitude, there is no reason fied and outperformed yet again on the cleared to play following the lift of Barthat this Turkish team can’t upset a few international stage six years later in 2008. ca’s transfer embargo in January, has top sides and have a successful camFollowing an opening defeat by Portugal, been ever present in Barca’s push for the paign, reminiscent of their performances the team beat Switzerland and Czech La Liga title since the beginning of the at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2008.

Republic, both secured by late goals, to year. The £25 million man will be key to progress to the knock-out stages of Euro Turkey’s success after already being cen- This time, can they go a step further? If 2008. Another late goal by Turkey came their bitter rivals and neighbours Greece tral to his former club, Atletico Madrid’s in the 123rdminute of the quarter finals, could do it in 2004, why can’t Turkey 12 La Liga triumph in 2014. which saw their game against Croatia years later? A place in the final of the head to penalties. Turkey went on to The Euro 2016 draw pitted Turkey in showcase event in European internationbeat Croatia 3-1 to progress to the semi- Group D against qualification rivals Czech al football awaits. finals. However, their heroic run came to Republic, Croatia and the 2008 & 2012 an end, again, this time suffering the Champions Spain. The new format not heartbreak of a late winner from Germany’s Phillipp Lahm in the last minute of the match. Yet again, the overperforming Turks returned home as heroes and to jubilation from the proud football nation.

The team is led by 62 year old tactician, Fatih Terim, the same manager who managed the team to the Euro 2008 semi-finals, known for his aggressive style of football. The Emperor, as he is affectionately known, does not lack any winning experience, lifting six league titles and seven cup competitions in his

23

CZECH REPUBLIC & CROATIA

GROUP D: Czech Republic

This interesting phenomenon looks set to continue, as manager Pavel Vrba leads his side to France having topped one of the most taxing qualifying groups. Overcoming the likes of Holland, Turkey and up-starts Iceland to accrue an enviable twenty-four points, the Czech Republic go into this summer’s tournament buoyed with the knowledge that they can compete against some of the continent’s best sides.

France. While they eventually succumbed to a newly reunified Germany in the final, ever since the Czechs are seen as a strong outside bet for any major tournament they are lucky enough to qualify for.

the knock-out stage is far from a guaranteed procession.

GROUP D: Croatia

džukic. Throw in fellow Galactico Mateo Kovacic and you've got one of the most formidable attacking line-ups in the competition.

CZECH REPUBLIC

POPULATION: 10.5 million THE STAR MAN: Petr Cech, proved at Arsenal that he is still one of the planet’s best goalkeepers ONE TO WATCH: Borek Dockal, the The little team that could...

Sparta Prague midfielder will hope to continue his trend of scoring cruBy Ben Delaney cial goals from mifield If the Czech Republic is to continue their THE GAFFA: Pavel Vrba When you think of Czech Republic footTHE BEER: Pilsner Urquell ball the first memories for most would be perennial dark horse trend then they must overcome a highly challenging EVERYFAN ODDS: 90/1 to win their highly successful Euro 1996 camgroup. Fixtures against Spain, Croatia and PREDICTION: Lack sufficient firepaign, a dazzling run to the final which Turkey ensure that a safe passage into saw them eliminate Italy, Portugal and power—group stage elimination Elsewhere, the experienced duo of Tomas Rosicky and Jiroslav Plasil are slowly In winning the Barclay’s Premier League being phased out in favour of a more Golden Glove award for the fourth time youthful, vigorous model in the shape of Veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech has Vladimír Darida, Bořek Dočkal and Josef demonstrated that he is still a goalkeeper Šural. While the midfield will be much of world-class talent. Vrba can also call less aesthetically pleasing than the 96’ upon the experienced unit of Michal variety, there is still enough quality and Kadlec, Daniel Pudil, David Limbersky dynamism to make an impression on the and Gebre Selassie in defence. Marek tournament. Despite the menagerie of Suchy can deputise at left-back but is injuries that have curtailed Rosicky’s caequally adept in shielding the back four, reer, there is still the hope his big-game an option they will likely explore consid- mentality and undoubted technical abilering the vast ocean of attacking talents ity can make the difference one last time. of their group stage rivals.

Cacic has sprung one or two surprises in his squad selection too. Many an eyebrow has been raised by the omission of Dejan Lovren, who is finally beginning to find his feet at Anfield. The Dynamo ZaTwo-time quarter-finalists Croatia head greb production line - this is the same to France in the throes of transition club, remember, that launched the catheir coach, Ante Cacic, has only manreers of Modric, Kovacic, and latterly Alen aged a handful of games - but that has Halilovic (who is beginning to make not deterred hipsters everywhere from waves in La Liga himself) - has generousearmarking Vatreni ("The Blazers") as one ly offered up a couple more live-wires to of the dark horses for this summer's Euthe senior fold, Marko Rog and Ante Coropean Championship. ric.

Checkered chances

By David Cambridge

It's not exactly hard to see why. Led by 129-cap skipper Darijo Srna, Croatia's squad is liberally sprinkled with footballing royalty. Midfield maestro Luka Modric will link up with Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic and Juventus striker Mario Man-

Despite changing their manager, qualifying was largely plain sailing for the Croatians - they suffered only one defeat, a 2-0 reverse in Oslo - but things often prove a little trickier in the competition proper. Having failed to progress beyond the group stage in their previous two tournaments, Euro 2016's expanded format will be a welcome change.

If you were looking for an omen, Croatia's best ever tournament - a thirdplaced berth in the 1998 World Cup - was also achieved on French soil. This time, Vatreni fans will travel more in hope than expectation, but one cliché rings true: they can beat anyone on their day.

CROATIA

POPULATION: 4.2 million THE STAR MAN: Luka Modric, one of the best midfielders in the world ONE TO WATCH: Marko Rog, the starlet has been brilliant for Dynamo Zagreb and could be in line for a big money move this summer THE GAFFA: Ante Cacic THE BEER: Ozujsko If early momentum really is key to staying the distance, Cacic could not have EVERYFAN ODDS: 32/1 to win hoped for a better start, taking on an PREDICTION: Despite a tough unfancied Turkey side in Group D's Parisi- group—quarter final stages at least an curtain-raiser.

24

In the long run, you worry about their squad depth, particularly among the forward ranks where the somewhat streaky Nikola Kalinic would likely deputise in the event of a Mandžukic injury. However they do boast a collection of midfielders that can rival those of Spain and Germany.

SPAIN loss to Slovakia early on during the qualification campaign. However, David De Gea’s superb showings for Manchester United means it will surely be him who starts between the sticks.

GROUP D: Spain Three in a row for La Furia Roja?

By Othman Al-Kooheji You would think that a nation that has won the last two European Championships in a row would be instant favorites to repeat the trick again. However, after a disastrous 2014 World Cup campaign, things haven’t been the same for Spain. Naturally, no team goes on winning forever. After dominating international football since 2008, Spain got caught up by the opposition who successfully stifled their possession based football.

his prime. Then there were the two strikers, David Villa and Fernando Torres, both of whom were shadows of their former devastating selves. Xavi's usual midfield partner Xabi Alonso also announced his retirement from international football after the World Cup. Indeed, it was a time for rebuilding for coach Vicente Del Bosque. A case of out with the old and in with the new. But things haven’t been as smooth as he would have liked.

Possibly the biggest dilemma has been who to play up front.

Diego Costa's underwhelming performances in a Spanish shirt and his constant on-pitch antics has meant that he hasn't even been selected for the squad at France 2016. Neither has Paco Alcacer despite his more than decent record for the national team.

In midfield, the most pressing issue was who would be Xavi’s replacement. Ironically, Spain didn’t have to look far to find his replacement, as Andres Iniesta has shown he is more than ready to take over the mantle as midfield general. Alongside him as a definite starter is the indispensable Sergio Busquets. A list of excellent names could play alongside these two, including the likes of Cesc Fabregas, David Silva and even seemingly lesser names such as Bruno or Koke.

In defence, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique will surely continue their centre back partnership and Jordi Alba will start at left back. As for the right back spot, the competition is intense but the more experienced Juanfran should start.

After a slow start to the qualification campaign, Spain ultimately topped their qualification group with predictable ease.

However, that hasn’t stopped the skeptics declaring this team is behind World Champions Germany and hosts France as favorites for this tournament. For so long the pressure has been on Spain to win every single tournament, so to have a sense of lowered expectations surrounding them this time around may provide a welcome rest bite.

But make no mistake; this sum-

Instead Del Bosque has placed his trust in mer in France, Spain will be gunAlvaro Morata and Aritz Aduriz as his ning to make it a historic third options up front. A special mention European title in a row. So write should go to the old warhorse that is Aduriz, who at 35 years of age is having Spain off at your peril. the season of his life but is unlikely to be in the starting eleven. The more likely option to start would be And it was not just the opposition who got the better of Spain, their biggest en- Morata, despite the fact he has emy were themselves. On paper they still fallen down the pecking order at his club Juventus. This is mainly POPULATION: 47 million had the best squad in the world, but in because he has gained a reputa- THE STAR MAN: Barcelona’s midfield reality many of the nation’s stars were well past their peak. Take Xavi Hernandez tion as a big game specialist, maestro Andres Iniesta for example. Surely one of the best, if not with the latest illustration of this ONE TO WATCH: Celta Vigo’s winger coming in the Coppa Italia final the best midfielder of his generation, at where he scored the winner Nolito has impressed massively during his peak Xavi would control any game at against AC Milan just one hunhis leisure. Alas, father time waits for no the pre-tournament friendlies dred and twenty seconds after one and Xavi was no longer as mobile or THE GAFFA: Vicente del Bosque coming on as a sub. agile as he previously was.

SPAIN

Others suffered the same fate as well.

The alarm bells were ringing long before the World Cup for goalkeeper Iker Casillas, but it was during the tournament that it became blatantly obvious to the entire world that the most capped player in the country’s history was surely past

Until recently, the goalkeeper position also seemed to have been a dilemma with Casillas’ reputation still winning him the starting spot despite some less than convincing performances, including a howler in their 2-1

THE BEER: Estrella EVERYFAN ODDS: 6/1 to win PREDICTION: This Spain team have more than enough quality to make it all the way to the final and could even win the tournament

25

IRELAND

with Sheffield Wednesday loanee Aiden McGeady scoring wonderful goals that turned out to be crucial, including a late winner against Georgia in the first game There is a sense that with the unpredictof qualification. Robbie Brady is a good able Roy Keane on the coaching staff this option on the wing – his left-footed time around, there will be more focus on crosses are consistently accurate and he what happens on the pitch to keep him pops up with a goal or two. smiling. Hitting teams on the break Do you feel lucky? worked for Leicester City in the Premier Despite the availability of decent wingLeague this season - who's to say that ers, a 4-4-2 system tends to blunt Ireland O’Neill's pragmatic, tactical approach of as an attacking force, and the lack of Martin O’Neill will be looking for ceding possession against more techni- attacking intent shown at Euro 2012 was cally gifted sides and utilizing the pace of a big reason for previous manager his side to give a better account striker Shane Long won’t pay off too?

Trapattoni's departure. In a recent of themselves in France than friendly with Slovakia, O'Neill experiGiven the season that Ciaran Clark has they did under Giovanni Trappa- had with Aston Villa, Richard Keogh may mented with a diamond formation. It was one of the team's most impressive attoni at Euro 2012. However a for- make claims for starting alongside captacking displays in a long time, but the midable task awaits the Boys In tain John O'Shea in the centre of dedefensive vulnerabilities caused by a lack fence. The pace and technical ability of Green. of protection on the wings means it Everton right-back Seamus Coleman might be reserved for must-win games.

Their reward for a relatively comfortable make him a valuable member of the The most likely scenario is that Ireland playoff win over Bosnia and Herzegovina squad, and Stephen Ward of newlypromoted Premier League side Burnley will start the tournament with a 4-2-3-1 to qualify for Euro 2016 was a draw into completes an experienced back four. formation. This would allow Glenn one of the toughest groups in the comWhelan and James McCarthy to play the Choosing the goalkeeper is a holding role ensuring Ireland do not get tough call for Martin O'Neill. Darexposed to counter attacks too much. ren Randolph of West Ham was a Wes Hoolahan would act as playmaker, revelation during qualification probably behind Shane Long, who scored POPULATION: 4.6 million when he stepped for the injured a famous goal in Ireland's 1-0 victory over THE STAR MAN: Shane Long will terror- Shay Given. While solid and reliaworld champions Germany back in Octoise defences with pace and direct play ble, he does not have the experi- ber. And will there be an international enced of the now-available Irish swansong to remember for record ONE TO WATCH: Robbie Brady has a veteran Shay Given - although goalscorer Robbie Keane? wicked left foot. Look out for his setdoubts remain over Given’s fitness. It is a good selection prob- That win against Germany showed that pieces and crosses into the box lem to have for O'Neill, but a dif- Ireland can mix it with the big boys. DeTHE GAFFA: Martin O’Neill spite their tricky group, sometimes the ficult one to solve.

THE BEER: Guinness underdog tag works in your favour – just The Irish midfield are best deEVERYFAN ODDS: 175/1 to win look at Costa Rica at the Brazil 2014 scribed as hard-working, steely, World Cup, who topped a group they PREDICTION: It’s a tough call for Ireand determined, but they are were favourites to finish last in. And as land to get out of this group. A win capable of the odd flash of brilLeicester City taught us, anything is posagainst Sweden in their opening fixture liance. The latter was evident sible in what has been the barmiest of during the qualifying campaign, would set things up nicely football years.

GROUP E: Republic of Ireland

By Ronan Mahony

IRELAND

26

petition. Quickly rechristened 'The Group of Death', Ireland face Belgium, Italy, and Sweden in Group E.

BELGIUM & ITALY

GROUP E: Belgium The golden Belgians

By Rob Flannery ‘‘The golden generation’, a desirable label, yet one that carries immense expectation. This Belgium team will be look to fulfil their much anticipated potential, as well as captivate a nation at Euro 2016.

from the Germans, but will go into Euro 2016 in second. Marc Wilmots will be hoping his fearless side can go all the way. Belgium have plenty of quality players, meaning Wilmots’ selection headache will gain little sympathy, here are a few to keep your eye on.

Starting at the back, it is Tottenham we look to, with centre back Toby Alderweireld showing his defensive quality all season. Alderweireld was an integral figure for Tottenham this season, and will most likely be for Belgium also. His club partnership with Jan Vertonghen will prove crucial when filling the void left by the unfortunate injury to Vincent Kompany.

The furthest the Red Devils have gone in a major tournament was back in the Euro’s of 1980, where they finished runners- Next we cannot ignore last season’s PFA Player of the Year. Eden Hazard. Twelve up to West Germany. In November 2015 months ago he was one of the most they stole first spot in the FIFA rankings sought-after players in the world, and was the catalyst for Chelsea’s Premier League dominance. However this season has been an entirely different story and it took him until the 23rd of April to get his first league goal, a staggering underachievement considering his display in the season prior. Belgium fans will be hoping that Hazard can rekindle his spellbinding form of old and showcase his true ability

GROUP E: Italy Forza Azzurri!

By Manfredi Miyashita The Azzurri of Antonio Conte, the former Juventus and future Chelsea manager, do not exactly arrive at Euro 2016 as a favourite… but then again, when have they ever? The Italians have rarely entered a major tournament as the most likely team to win it, but on many occasions have left victorious. The Italians have always thrived upon this, using their supreme tactical awareness to shape unexpected and outstanding victories.

BELGIUM POPULATION: 11.2 million THE STAR MAN: Eden Hazard, last year’s PFA Player of the Year ONE TO WATCH: Michy Batshuayi is an anthletic mobile striker, ready to make a big impact this summer THE GAFFA: Marc Wilmots THE BEER: Stella Artois EVERYFAN ODDS: 11/1 to win PREDICTION: A fantastic side, brimming with talent, semi-finals are a minimum on the world stage this summer.

Finally we look up top. There is one player that particularly catches my eye, Michy Batshauyi of Olympique Marseille.

The 22 year old has had an incredible campaign claiming 23 goals in 43 matches across all competitions. He possesses pace and power in abundance, and would be somewhat of an unknown quantity for Belgium’s opposition.

Will the Red Devil’s campaign go up in flames? Or can they reach the heavenly heights of their predicted success?

Rossi and Thiago Motta will prove huge- in whatever manner that might be, is in their mentality and history. ly important to the success or failure of the team, with their important ability to Forza Azzurri! screen the defence and effectively build up play.

In attack Lorenzo Insigne represents one of the few players in the squad able to truly create something out of nothing, which makes him a potentially crucial creative element in this Italian side. What perhaps is most surprising, and perhaps even detrimental, to Italy’s chances is the lack of youth in their squad. Italy has the fourth-oldest squad in the tournament, and remarkably just seven of the 23 players in this squad are aged 25 or younger.

ITALY

POPULATION: 60 million THE STAR MAN: At 38, Gianluigi Buffon is still one of the world’s best It is no surprise that the untouchable goalkeepers Juventus trio of Andrea Barzagli, Leoimportant that the squad has a good ONE TO WATCH: Skilful Napoli fornardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini will spirit”, Conte explained before stating in ward Lorenzo Insigne lead the Italian defence. Meanwhile in not-exactly inspiring terms, “If we are THE GAFFA: Antonio Conte the midfield it is safe to say that Claudio able to find this way, it's possible to be THE BEER: Peroni Marchisio and Marco Verratti’s injuries an outsider”. Perhaps it is best then to are a huge loss. They are two players simply expect the unexpected, to not be EVERYFAN ODDS: 18/1 to win that Antonio Conte had relied on surprised if the Italians, once again, defy PREDICTION: Not the best Italian throughout his tenure as Italian head all odds and manage to lift their second side in recent years, but they can’t coach, and in their absence Daniele De ever European trophy. Because winning, be written off So where exactly will Italy stand, amongst the other great nations in this competition? Even Conte has recently been playing down expectations. “It's

27

SWEDEN

GROUP E: Sweden The passion of the Zlatan

By Nima Safai In Group E, a shaky Sweden will be facing the daunting behemoths that are Italy and Belgium, alongside underdogs Republic of Ireland.

Sweden may have one of the more experienced squads in the tournament; however they have two major flaws that have been heavily exploited by opponents in the past couple of years. Firstly the fact remains that few teams will be entering the competition relying so heavily on one player as Sweden are on Zlatan Ibrahimovic. When head coach Erik Hamrén described Zlatan as ‘the only world-class player we have’, you realised what a captain, talisman and national icon he is, but it also spoke volumes of the rest of the team.

As a Danish tabloid so viciously put it: “Sweden’s team is about as interesting as an early morning trip to Ikea“.

virtuoso is neither an innovative or sustainable lineup but it did put Sweden through to the Euros this summer and as Hamrén said himself: “A good cook can

make something fantastic with poor ingredients”. Make of that what you will.

Although there are some younger, more interesting players coming through a bland and boring is what you are going to get. Master-chef Hamrén is likely to stir his pot full of dull ingredients and dish up a meal looking something like this:

Despite his issues with tactics he managed to maintain the sympathy of the Swedish public, but on February 6 it was confirmed that Erik Hamrén will be stepping down from his position after the Euros, regardless of the outcome. Granted, ten pedestrians and a lone but ageing

28

POPULATION: 9.5 million THE STAR MAN: The iconic Zlatan Ibrahimovic pretty much carries this side ONE TO WATCH: Young centre-back Victor Lindelöf has played well for Benfica this season THE GAFFA: Erik Hamren THE BEER: Pripps Bla EVERYFAN ODDS: 125/1 to win PREDICTION: Third place finish in this tough group

Andreas Isaksson; Mikael Lustig, Andreas Granqvist, Victor Lindelöf, Martin Olsson; Sebastian Larsson, Albin Ekdal, Kim Källström, Emil Emil Forsberg is not as clear-cut of a Forsberg; Zlatan Ibrahimovic; Marcus choice as Lindelöf. However, with the Berg. unfortunate death of pacey, levelFor most of you, these names will be headed Swedish wingers (Freddie Ljungberg, anyone?), it’s incredibly thrilling to familiar. Goalkeeper Isaksson had a see a young player like Forsberg play short stint at Manchester City from 2006-08; Mikael Lustig plies his trade consistently and progress in his career.

Now playing for RB Leipzig in Germany, in the SPL for Celtic, left back Martin Olsson has been playing in England since he is continuing to show all the traits that gave him the honour of the Swedish 2006, Seb Larsson is currently enjoying the yearly relegation battle with Sunder- Midfielder of the Year at the age of 21 and I have no doubt that he will continue land and Kim Källström had a short loan to evolve. stint at Arsenal.

However the most interesting names for me are Victor Lindelöf and Emil Forsberg.

Two of the most exciting talents to come through the Swedish football system for many years and both are enjoying great Although Zlatan’s individual performancsuccess abroad. Victor Lindelöf is the es often awes opponents and spectators hard man in a Benfica backline that has alike, the team as a unit rarely impresses. impressed many this the season. In my During the qualification campaign, we view, he’s an easy choice for the starting saw Sweden get outclassed by Austria lineup as we have not seen a defender and then torn apart by a very mediocre like him since the days of Olof Mellberg.

Russian side. After somehow miraculously finishing second in their qualifying group, Ibrahimovic bailed out the Swedish team with brilliant individual performances in the play-offs versus Nordic neighbours Denmark.

Formerly the manager of Rosenborg, Erik Hamrén is the current Swedish head coach has, throughout his career, applied an attractive style of play to his teams, as he did when for Sweden when he took the reigns over 6 years ago. However as time passed and the playing quality thinned he has resorted to playing with two blocks of four with Ibrahimovic floating behind a more orthodox striker.

SWEDEN

As a Swede, it feels pretty pointless to hope for anything but a swift dismissal from the Euros. We have little to no hope for our national team.

My prediction is that we finish third in our so-called “Group Of Death” with Belgium and Italy going through and Republic of Ireland joining Sweden in the misery. At least Hamrén will finish his career as the national team head coach with a sunny vacation in France.

PORTUGAL

PORTUGAL

GROUP F: Portugal The Cristiano Ronaldo countdown

By Francisco Cardoso Pinto Fernando Santos, the Portuguese national team coach, faces big questions prior to Euro 2016: how to get the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo in his last tournament and avoid another disappointment? New blood or international experience?

Tired legs and minds or new and inexperienced ones?

The Portuguese national team record in big tournaments is not stellar. It is difficult to classify it as mediocre if we consider the country’s size but the truth is that there have been occasions when disappointment was the best word to characterise the Portuguese fans feelings at the end of the competition.

Probably the best example of that disappointment came on the evening of the 4th of July 2004, when a packed Estádio da Luz saw its home team lose the final to Greece (Angelos Charisteas, a name forever engraved in Portuguese fans minds). That team was a mix of new (the nineteen year old Ronaldo), old (the 31 year old Luis Figo) and imported (the Brazilian born Deco) talent and, to this day, Portuguese fans speak of those days with true sadness.

The 1966 World Cup in England was re-

POPULATION: 10.5 million THE STAR MAN: Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously a cut above the rest of the squad ONE TO WATCH: Playmaker João Mário was excellent for the U21s last summer and is coming off a brilliant season with Sporting Lisbon THE GAFFA: Fernando Santos sponsible for another disappoint- THE BEER: Sagres Cervejas ment, but in this case, the PortuEVERYFAN ODDS: 21/1 to win guese team were not expected PREDICTION: If Santos gets his squad to shock the football world like they did. selection right—semi-finals When Eusébio was carried off the field in tears after the semi-final loss to the home team, the Portuguese were more proud than sad. They knew they had just made history and even if they did not win it all, they knew they had won the hearts of football fans all around the world.

The so called Portuguese golden generation seemed to promise big things when the likes of Figo, Rui Costa, Fernando Couto and Paulo Sousa won two U20 World Cups in 1989 and 1991. Unfortunately the promise was never fulfilled.

In 1996 a stunning goal by Czech Republic's Karel Poborsky ended the Portuguese dream in the quarter-finals. In 1998 the incomprehensible decision of French referee Marc Batta to send off Rui Costa in the last qualifying match, in Germany, lead the way for a Ulf Kirsten goal that would kill the Portuguese hopes. In 2000 a great Portuguese campaign was interrupted by Zidane’s golden goal in the semis, and in 2002, that generation’s last chance, Murphy’s Law got the best of the team and they came home eliminated in the group stage.

Fast forward to 2016 and the Portuguese find themselves in familiar territory. They got accustomed to saying the best footballer in the world is Portuguese (even if that’s not always the case) but the tradition of coming up short when it matters is still alive and kicking.

Ronaldo is now 31 years old. He is still playing at his best but it is difficult to believe by the time the Russia 2018 World Cup arrives he will still be scoring 50 goals a year. So, this is Portugal’s last chance to take advantage of having the 'world’s best player' (cough cough).

Through the qualifying tournament Fernando Santos chose to play Ronaldo alongside players like Tiago, Ricardo Carvalho, Danny or Meireles, players who are all in their thirties and past their prime.

The preference of experience over young talent was understandable as the priority was to qualify for the Euros, but once the place in the group stage was sealed, we can’t help asking Mr. Santos a few questions: is this the best team for Euro 2016?

Did you have a chance to watch the U21 European Championships, last summer, Fernando?

Portugal’s U21 national team reached the final (which they lost to Sweden) last summer, and it was largely due to the great talent of a handful of players. Wiliam Carvalho and João Mário grabbed the scouts’ attention although the team, as a whole, was solid and showed that Santos could (and should) take them into consideration.

These last couple of friendlies already give some indication of what Mr. Santos’ intentions are. João Mário seems to have confirmed his place in the team and Wiliam 'the Wall' Carvalho is now battling for the number 6 position with another young prospect, Danilo. Fernando Santos now seems comfortable with the idea that Ronaldo, in this stage of his career, should be a striker in the national team, and there is no other possible strategy than to surround him with the best talent available, even if this means, in some games, having an 18 year old Sanches helping out in the midfield.

Tiago’s, Meireles’, Danny’s, Carvalho’s and even Moutinho’s time is officially over. If the Portuguese don’t want to wake up one day and realise Ronaldo’s time is also over, the time to make the changes is now! So, please, Mr. Santos! From one Portuguese to another: give the kids a chance! Ronaldo’s clock is ticking...

29

ICELAND

GROUP F: Iceland Making Europe take notice

By Jack Rodway What comes to mind when you think of Iceland? Most people would come up with hot springs, volcanoes, the northern lights and even frozen food. Well, now you can add something else to this list – football.

With a population of just 320,000, Iceland have qualified for their first ever major tournament, becoming the smallest nation to qualify for Europe’s premier competition. Replacing Slovenia who took part in the Euros in 2000 and boasted a population of a comparatively gigantic two million back then. Even more remarkably, Iceland have just 20,000 registered football playerssix percent of the population.

If you want to put this achievement into perspective, come the summer the will be on the same stage as Russia, a country of 143 million people, as well as Germany and England with populations of 80 and 53 million respectively.

In a qualification group containing the Netherlands, Turkey and the Czech Republic, Iceland qualified fairly comfortably, losing only two of their ten games which included home and away victories over the Netherlands. It was this success and the agonising World Cup qualifica-

tion play-off defeat to Croatia in 2013, which saw Europe’s big boys look at Iceland as more than just an inconvenient away trip.

In the past you could have been forgiven for only being able to recall Eidur Gudjohnsen when naming top Icelandic players. Now however, the national team can boast the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, a name with which any Premier League football fan will be familiar. As well as Alfred Finnbogason who scored for Olympiacos in a 3-2 Champions League win at Arsenal this season and Kolbeinn Sigporsson, now at Nantes in France, who had an impressive strike rate (46 goals in 112 league games) in his time in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar and Ajax. These are just three of a number of players that have been exported across Europe.

At the time of writing, Iceland sit in 38th position in the world rankings. This is a huge leap for a nation who just four years ago ranked 131st in the world. This rapid rise up the FIFA World Rankings, coupled with qualification for Euro 2016 is quite an achievement, but when POPULATION: 0.3 million you look into it, this improveTHE STAR MAN: Gylfi Sigurdsson is a ment should be seen more as an huge goal threat and Iceland’s best inevitability rather than a shock.

ICELAND

player ONE TO WATCH: Arnor Ingvi Traustason is a little under the rader but has bags of potential THE GAFFA: Lars Lagerback & Heimir Hallgrimsson THE BEER: Viking Gyltur EVERYFAN ODDS: 90/1 to win PREDICTION: Unlikely to make it out of the group

30

In a country that suffers from the harshest of winters with limited day light, the country’s Football Association (KSI) has heavily invested in 30 all-weather football pitches, with seven of them being indoor. In addition, over 110 schools in the country have had small artificial football pitches built. It is this investment that has allowed the game to become accessible to anyone no matter

how remote the area, thus helping the game grow over the past 15 years.

It was not just the improved facilities that helped. Since the turn of the century, there has been a serious and professional attitude towards coaching, with the provision of over 600 B licenced UEFA coaches, nearly 200 with the level A licence and 13 who hold the Pro licence.

That’s a staggering amount when you consider the population size and that there are no professional clubs in Iceland.

On top of this, all coaches are paid, meaning children as young as six are being trained by qualified professional coaches.

The Iceland football season is extremely short, running from May through September (the shortest in world football).

This, combined with the improved infrastructure and coaching, means Iceland has been able create an identity in the way they play the game. A high tempo 4-4-2 formation with an intensity that enables players to quickly close down their opponents. For a generation, coaches have been changing the DNA of Icelandic football – all players are taught that what you do without the ball is of equal importance to what you do with it.

Players must work as hard at retrieving the ball as at attacking the opposition with skill and flair.

Come the summer Iceland may not even make it out of their group, but whatever happens to them during the European Championships we should regard their present achievements as a footballing success story.

So watch with interest as a country with a population the size of Coventry goes toe to toe with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side on June 14th 2016.

AUSTRIA & HUNGARY

GROUP F: Austria For Fuch’s sake

By Aidan Slinn Austria come into Euro 2016 off the back of a dominant qualifying campaign. They topped Group G ahead of Russia and Sweden, dropping only two points over 10 games and notching up 22 goals in the process. Their qualifying campaign, led

by Swiss coach and former international player Marcel Koller, can be considered all the more successful for the fact that Austria had never actually qualified for a European Championship before (their only finals coming in 2008, when they co -hosted the tournament with Switzerland). Koller has reinstated some confidence in the national side and they have had some remarkable results, the most notable being a 4-1 thrashing of Sweden in Stockholm. Despite all this however, Austria are still considered outsiders – but will they turn out to be this tournament’s dark horses?

Austria possesses a genuine world class

GROUP F: Hungary Thirty years of hunger

By Matt Cowdock If one watches the grainy footage of Ferenc Puskás and his Mighty Magyars of the 1950s, it’s fair to say that the current Hungarian team aren’t fit to lace their predecessors’ boots.

player in David Alaba. The Bayern Munich utility man has become one of the world’s finest left backs under the guidance of Pep Guardiola. He has been Austria’s player of the year for five consecutive seasons with 44 caps to his name and he is still only 23 years old. When playing for the national team he has been deployed in central midfield where they maximise the effect of his sheer ability and athleticism.

Portugal at the Parc des Princes. The ‘Wunderteam’ have the ability to turn defence into attack very quickly, a strategy which, if used well, could ensure them a very interesting summer indeed.

Other key members of the squad include veteran striker Marc Janko and Dynamo Kiev’s tough-tackling centre back Aleksander Dragovic. Austria’s captain is the recently crowned Premier League cham- POPULATION: 8.4 million pion Christian Fuchs, who had a remarkaTHE STAR MAN: Bayern Munich midble season at left back for Leicester City fielder David Alaba is a fantastic verin their fairy tale season.

AUSTRIA

Austria also have a couple of young aces up their sleeve: Marcel Sabitzer is a pacey and unpredictable young forward with a lot of potential, and Kevin Wimmer has shown his defensive prowess this season at Tottenham Hotspur.

After such a strong campaign in qualifying, Austria and Portugal are the favourites to make it out of their group. First up for Austria are rivals Hungary, followed four days later by the significant test of

However, manager Bernd Storck’s squad is not without some relatively household names. Trouser-sporting pioneer and ex -Crystal Palace man Gábor Király is still going strong in goal aged 40, managing to keep out Liverpool goalkeepers past and present Péter Gulácsi and Ádám Bogdán. Bursaspor midfielder Balász Dzsudzsák, formerly of Dynamo Moscow and PSV, now captains the team and is indubitably their star player, having played in every qualifying game while fellow playmaker Zoltán Gera was a long-time favourite of the West Bromwich Albion faithful.

But therein lies the problem with this Hungarian team: Having not appeared in familiarity is not enough. a major tournament for While Gera and Dzsudzsák 30 years, Euro 2016 have earned relative success presents untrodden and admiration at their reground for this crop of spective host of clubs, the players who scraped rest are remembered purely through to the newlyfor just being there. This expanded competition team qualified by the skin of via a play-off versus their teeth in a group where Norway. The severe Northern Ireland and Romadeficiency of tournania progressed automatically; ment experience is a group propped up by the also compounded by Faroe Islands and the arguably worst the lack of any real star player for club or Greece side in living memory; a group country.

satile player ONE TO WATCH: Werder Bremen’s Zlatko Junuzovic is perennially underrated THE GAFFA: Marcel Koller THE BEER: Stiegl EVERYFAN ODDS: 38/1 to win PREDICTION: Dark horse, whilst a semi-final appearance is possible

Go to www.boxtoboxfootball.uk to read Oliver Marsh and Liz Manning’s report here they will be watching Austria take on Iceland.

that was, with all due respect, incredibly poor.

So what hope is there for Hungary? In truth, not a lot. In a tournament expanded to 24 teams, the odds of them doing something memorable in their first major competition for 30 years are slim indeed. But if this season has taught us anything about predictions, it’s that they’re futile at best. After all, the manager of that aforementioned ‘worst Greece side in living memory’? A certain Claudio Ranieri. And we all know how his story ended.

HUNGARY POPULATION: 9.8 million THE STAR MAN: Captain Balázs Dzsudzsák is the go-to man, and his attacking guile will be key ONE TO WATCH: Young László Kleinheisler’s directness in midfield THE GAFFA: Bernd Storck THE BEER: Dreher EVERYFAN ODDS: 250/1 to win PREDICTION: Unknown quantity, but could make the Quarter Finals, thanks to limited quality in Group F

31

SCOTLAND’S ABSENCE

Scotland’s redemption on the horizon

By Ben Delaney

have opened our big brown envelope yet received nothing but bad news, the feeling of despair intensified as your pals get in touch informing you of their straight A’s.

Jealousy, we have all experienced it, the warm, panging sensation that leaves you stranded The old adage “I support two teams; with the empty, hollow feeling in Scotland and anyone but England” emathe pit of your stomach. nates from such a sustained period of Jealousy can stem from anywhere, be it a friend buying a new car, phone, or more relatable for Scottish football fans, a glamourous, exotic holiday. For eighteen years the Tartan army have peered over Hadrian’s wall and watched with an envious eye as, biannually, fans of England pack up their replica tops and head to far off climes in search of glory. This tournament will be so much more infuriating, with our other neighbours Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all booking their places. For a Scottish football fan it feels like exam results day, we

32

absence that the only true partisan level of joy you can withdraw from an international tournament bursts from seeing your rivals capitulate. And to be fair England have more than held their side of the bargain; time and time again collapsing, failing to utilise the undoubted talents at their disposal. However, joy of this nature is seldom more than fleeting and pales into insignificance compared to your very own, self-generated success.

For the upcoming European Championships all that seemed to be cast to the

confines of history as Gordon Strachan constructed a side that made up for its lack of star-power with a combination of; an incredible work ethic, cohesive team structure and an ability to bend and adapt to a number of different systems.

Strong performances away to Germany and Poland and routine wins at home to Gibraltar and Georgia allowed the six million or so Scots to dream of a summer holiday in France. This new found hope was magnified when four out of a possible six points were accrued from the crucial double header against direct rivals for qualification, the Republic of Ireland.

Sadly, this was to be the campaign’s high -water mark as Strachan’s squad, in an all too familiar fashion, coughed and spluttered their way to the group’s end; losing to Germany and more importantly Georgia, whilst drawing to Poland. The sole positive coming in the 6-0 away victory of whipping boys Gibraltar.

SCOTLAND’S ABSENCE challenging but with potential matchwinners like Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie and Watford’s Ikechi Anya, who have already demonstrated their goalgrabbing tendencies. The backs-to-thewall, laborious style of previous manager Bertie Voughts have never felt more archaic.

sistently fled from the challenges of sides that match their standard come the time for competition finals. If England storm to automatic qualification as they will be expected to do, that leaves the door to second slot, and the play-off opportunity that comes with it, exceedingly viable. In a group as fractious and as evenly contested, where points will The draw for the 2018 World Cup has be dropped with the regularity of a been far more comfortable than some of drunkard fumbling their keys, the the wars of attrition faced in the recent chance to finally look out our passports past; drawn alongside Malta, Slovenia, will never be better.

Slovakia, Lithuania and most salivainducing, England. While the group is far from a guaranteed procession there is clearly reasons for optimism.

Slovakia are a side that while decent are far from intimidating. Napoli’s Marek Hamsik is a world-class talent operating in his nation’s engine room, however once you branch out further into the squad their deficiencies appear. Defensive stalwart Martin Skrtel and aged marksman Robert Vittek are both in terminal decline, while Vladimir Weiss, the player for whom the burden of creativity may rest is extremely erratic. The rest of the squad is largely devoid of exceptional talent. A good side who can hurt even the best sides on their day, as the Slovaks demonstrated by defeating Spain recently, but one that should not inspire too much dread.

For us Scotland fans the period of selfreflection has already begun. For the first time in over a decade there is the fresh blossoms of hope on the horizon.

Despite the late disintegration, the feeling that Strachan is building something worthwhile is palpable, the hopes for finally joining our friends on a footballing jaunt are once again realistic.

The defence remains an area of contention as the Tartan army still rely on players of the calibre of Grant Hanley and Alan Hutton, yet youthful talent is beginning to emerge and could make their mark on the squad, interesting talents such as Celtic’s Kieran Tierney and Sporting Lisbon’s Ryan Gauld.

The scoring of goals has always proved

Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta are all sides that are beatable both home and away if treated with the correct level of respect. It is this failure to recognise the talents of nations of this stature that has halted Scotland’s progress time and time again. That leaves only the “Auld Enemy” and as loathed as I am to admit it, this group once again appears rather straight forward for the Three Lions. Far from shying away from the challenge of our biggest rivals and slipping into a submissive mind-set, Strachan cultivated an aura of excitement saying:

“The sun came out just as England were pulled out and the place erupted...

The draw is good for every supporter “ In the last number of years Roy Hodgson’s men have garnered a reputation as something of a school yard bully; more than happy to pummel the geeks and dweebs of their qualifiers but have con-

Above: 20 year old Ryan Gauld has been whet-

ting the national appetite Left: A young fan looks on as Scotland fail to qualify for Euro 2016

The future appears bright but when the likes of Vardy, Davies and Bale begin to strut their stuff and invite their people to join in on their footballing party, it will be extremely hard to supress those jealous feelings. That’s the beautiful thing about football however, tomorrow always offers a shot at redemption.

WRITE FOR US We are entering new territory with Box To Box Football with an exciting first issue of the magazine, whilst still running the website (www.boxtoboxfootball.uk).

Whether you want to contribute a one -off article or become a regular writer then Box To Box Football is for you.

From Algeria to Zambia via England and Spain, from the Premier League to the depths of the Danish 11th-tier divisions, football is a global sport.

Great stories are universal, so no matter where you reside and which league or club interests you, if you have something for us, we’d love to hear from you.

If you are interested in writing for us, please send us an email to: info@boxtoboxfootball.uk

“I support two teams; Scotland and anyone but England” 33

KOSOVO

Kosovo’s Historic Moment

By Ross Highfield The sporting map of the Balkans has changed beyond recognition in the past 25 years, with first the fall of communism and then the many conflicts in the region seeing the geopolitical map of the area repeatedly redrawn.

The Yugoslavia national football team was still in existence in the 1990s, before Croatia, Albania and other constituent nations sought political as well as sporting independence. Serbia-Montenegro competed at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, before Montenegro followed suit and broke away from Serbia later that year. From 2016 onwards, UEFA now has a new member in the region: Kosovo.

independence was declared, and Kosovo’s independence was quickly recognised by states including the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Italy and Albania. More than half of the UN’s member states, and the vast majority of EU members, now recognise Kosovo as a nation.

With political independence achieved and largely recognised, Kosovo has turned its attentions to the world of sport. The nation participated in the European Games in Azerbaijan in 2015 in athletics, and plans to send athletes to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.

Football, though, is one of the most popular sports in the country, and joining UEFA and FIFA became a key priority. In Kosovo came to the world’s attention in 1998-99 when a war was fought between May 2016, UEFA’s existing 54 members voted on the issue of Kosovo’s memberthe Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovar-Albanian rebels of the Koso- ship, with the country joining UEFA after a successful 28-24 vote despite opposivo Liberation Army (KLA), a paramilitary tion from Serbia, which still officially conorganisation seeking independence for siders Kosovo to be an autonomous reKosovo to follow that of Albania, itself gion within its territory. The repercusindependent since 1991. In 1999, NATO sent armed forces into the region to help sions of this vote could go beyond the Balkan region, with Spain in particular the KLA in their fight against Yugoslav voicing opposition to Kosovo’s UEFA control. Still, it was not until 2008 that membership, uneasy about a possible precedent with several autonomous regions within Spain.

nations, notably Switzerland and Albania.

Albania’s captain, Lorik Cana, who has played for Sunderland, Lazio, Galatasaray and Paris Saint-Germain, would be eligible, as would Swiss internationals Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, Admir Mehmedi and Valon Behrami. Norway, Sweden and Finland have also fielded ethnic Kosovars in their national teams.

It is still to be decided if FIFA will allow players who have represented other countries to make a one-time switch of allegiance to start representing Kosovo.

It is also unclear how many of these players would wish to make the switch. National identity is a complicated issue in the Balkans and those of KosovarAlbanian descent representing Albania are perhaps unlikely to want to change, happy to represent an Albanian side who have qualified for the European Championships for the first time. As for those representing Switzerland, Xhaka was born in Basel and Shaqiri’s family moved to Switzerland in the first year of his life.

Quite how players like these feel about their individual national identity remains to be seen.

Albania’s football authorities are more concerned about future talent; the Albanian side has traditionally been made up Kosovo has now also been granted FIFA of both Albanians and players who would membership and is able to play in official now be able to play for Kosovo. In the UEFA tournaments, starting with the future, it is likely that the two nations will qualifying tournament for the 2018 World be competing for players from an early Cup, where Kosovo’s first match will be age, which may weaken the squads of against the Faroe Islands. But how soon both nations. we will see them in a major tournament For now though, the mood in Kosovo is may depend on the ruling of FIFA, and positive, with the country finally gaining the intentions of ethnic Kosovars who acceptance on the world footballing moved elsewhere and took on different stage seventeen years after the UN internationalities. The wars in the Balkans vened to help the country’s fight against created a huge diaspora across Europe the then-Yugoslav forces, and over eight and like many other nations in the region, years after Kosovo declared its indeKosovo has a significant number of eligipendence. ble players who have represented other

34

EURO 2012 REWIND

Euro 2012 Rewind

By Jude Macdonald "Stay home, watch it on TV. Don't even risk it‌ because you could end up coming back in a coffin"

Eagle - the main pub for the England fans. The night ended with a night in Chicago's, which is the most curious nightclub I have ever been in. With the only customers being approximately 3040 England fans, the place felt dead but our voices sang long into the night. The bar was a strange mix of bar and offlicence where you could buy a bottle of vodka and bottle of lemonade for your drinks - and we're talking a bottle of Glen's, not a bottle of Grey Goose!

The day of the game vs Ukraine had been a big one and there was lots of anti Those were the famous words of Sol -Sol Campbell singing, including the parading of a coffin by some England Campbell to England fans before fans outside the pub. We figured everyEuro 2012. A warning that we took thing would be okay as we went to the so seriously that we decided to stadium but it turned out the segregabook ourselves up for an eight-day tion of supporters was a lot stricter than trip to watch the Three Lions in both in Kiev. As four of us had got our tickets Kiev and Donetsk. on the UEFA website, rather than through England loyalty points, we were Sol's predictions, as it turned out, could with the Ukraine supporters one tier up, not have been more wrong and boy diddiagonally opposite the England fans. n't the England fans want him to know.

We moved round the ground to get ourWe left two days after our first game vs selves above the England fans, directly France, where Joleon Lescott earned us above our other mates. Impatience got a point, and headed for Kiev. We spent the better of two of us and we went to the first night partying with the St look for another way around, meanwhile George Knights and our first full day enthe other boys screwed up their tickets joying sing-offs with the Swedes, who and threw them up enabling the three had all their group games in Kiev. Anothothers to join them in the England secer booze-fuelled day followed and we tion. travelled to the game, which to this day I would class as the best atmosphere I Our journey, however, was more probhave witnessed live. England won 3-2 lematic. After leaving the stadium and and the fans stayed behind for around an claiming we were bullied by the Ukraine hour singing and dancing after the game. fans in their section, thinking it would be A special mention to Joe Hart who a fool-proof way of getting in with the acknowledged every rendition of England boys, we were "England's number 1" with a wave during not permitted back the game and even came back out after into the ground until 15 being in the dressing room to celebrate minutes of begging and applaud us after the game. got us back we startTwo days later we headed to Donetsk, a lovely place now unfortunately beset by civil war. The trip would likely have been easier if we had used a plane that was made in the 21st century, though after a rocky ride we touched down (with a lot of force), dropped our bags at the hotel and arrived at the Golden Lion/Golden

like a smarter area and found ourselves in the middle of a large group being escorted to their seats. Conscious of our England shirts we, for some ridiculous reason, figured the best idea would be to go shirtless until we peeled off finding a random door leading to seating. Spotting two seats, we sprinted down and found cushioned seats awaited us. As we slowly sat down and put our shirts back on, we realised that we were in the middle of the hospitality section with people dressed from smart/casual to full suits all around us. We kept our heads down until half time and tried to take our chance...and failed. We ended up back above the England fans and it wasn't long before we were kicked out of that section for joining in with the England fans' songs.

Our original seats awaited us on one of the steepest tiers I have ever been in, though after our celebrations when Rooney had scored the only goal, our presence was not wanted much longer.

Our animation cost us seeing the end of the game, we had worked so hard to see, but was it worth it? Three points and a place in the quarter finals. Yeah, you'd say so. Our night led us again to a muchlivelier Chicago's, where the Danny Welbeck dance move (after his goal celebration vs Sweden) and chants of 'Let's all do the Welbeck' took over. At one point, there must have been 60 England fans doing a conga as it rang out around the place.

Our trip had been an eventful one and although we had to head home the next day, it had all been worth it. As other England fans will rightly tell you, there are always too many stories to put into an account like this, but one thing is crucial to note: no England fans went back in a coffin. The people of Ukraine were perfect hosts, pleasant and talkative to all.

The Swedes in their thousands, were perfect rival fans, inviting numerous England fans to drink at 'Swedish Corner'.

Thanks Sol, but we'll look after ourselves from now on.

ed. We ran through the concourse searching for different doors that may lead to our goal but got little apart from confused looks from stewards. We eventually stumbled across what looked

35

PORTUGAL VS GREECE 2004

When Greece was the word

By John Warrington Only Joan correctly predicted Greece before the tournament started. In the predominantly testosterone filled environs of the FSTV Euro 2004 production office Joan was our studio production assistant. Her knowledge of football was limited to being the ex-wife of a 1970’s top-flight football chairman. She also confessed to being chased for her favours by two well-known (and married) former professional footballers.

But that’s another story.

As one of the few ladies in the team, she got first pick in the sweepstake. Most of us laughed when without hesitation, she chose Greece. The reason she gave for doing so was her daughter once lived there. Had you asked Joan the colours Greece played in, she wouldn’t have had a clue. Meanwhile us ‘experts’ rushed to select Germany, Italy, Holland, France, and Spain. Some (myself included) wanted the hosts, Portugal. A few more, having been persuaded by the law of

36

averages, went for England; the biannual optimists who believed 38 years of hurt was about to come to an end thanks to the latest teenage boywonder, (this time is was Wayne Rooney). Apart from Joan though, nobody wanted Greece!

were eliminated on goals scored and Greece lived to fight on.

Also out were Italy and Germany. Our sweepstake was becoming nothing more than a lottery and Joan’s smile was becoming broader. For the rest of us, the promise of salvation lay with the current Working as part of the presentation team holders. Allez Les Bleus!

I flitted between Portugal and London The French weren’t quite the side they where the studio was based. It was from used to be. Deschamps, Blanc, Djorkaeff there I saw the opening match of the and Duggary had all departed the intertournament in Porto between the hosts national scene. But they still had Henry, and yes, Greece. AfTrezeguet and the dazter a surprising 2-1 zling Zinedine Zidane.

Greece’s coach defeat for the PortuEven though Patrick Vieira guese, Joan upped Rehhagel was born in would miss the game the ante and predictGermany and played through injury, nobody ed these two coungave Greece a prayer, extries were destined in the very first cept Joan and in hindto meet once more sight, Nike (the winged Bundesliga match in the final.

Goddess of victory, not A 1-1 draw against the sportswear giant).

Spain in their next game was followed by The hero was Angelos Charisteas of a 2-1 defeat against bottom of the group Werder Bremen whose second half goal Russia and that should have been that was enough to give the Greeks their first for Otto Rehhagel’s team. Spain though, ever win over France. For those of us needing just a draw against Portugal to working on the production, Euro 2004 go through, contrived to lose a game was fast becoming a Greek tragedy. Or they could have won thanks to a solitary was it a comedy. If so, only Joan was goal scored by Nuno Gomes. Those who laughing. That night it dawned on us only plumped for Spain in the sweepstake the Czech Republic stood between were left dumbfounded. The Spanish Greece and the final. Our last hope of

PORTUGAL VS GREECE 2004 wiping the smirk of Joan’s face rested wanting their country to lose in the final upon the tournament’s leading goalsimply because of an office sweepstake. I scorer, Milan Baros. Fat chance! An extra- remember hoping my face didn’t betray time goal from Tramy bias; I had no intention ianos Dellas, once of of becoming Greece’s Sheffield United, was Greece’s 2-1 win over second most hated Engenough to put lishman, after Lord Elgin!

Portugal in the Greece, horror of all At the media centre later, horrors, into the final opening game was I managed to restore against Portugal who their first ever win in some sanity after a pep had beaten Holland. talk from some of Fleet Twenty two days the finals of a major Street’s finest. There was after they had no way Portugal would tournament opened the tournablow it; a view that grew ment, Portugal and even stronger after conGreece were to meet again and the first ducting interviews with supporters of part of Joan’s prediction had proven to both countries. I just hoped my translabe correct. tor hadn’t stitched me up.

Before I returned to Lisbon, Joan sugI was happy to feed this information back gested she should take the kitty regardto London in my report which also conless of the result because she had foretained one-to-one interviews with the cast both finalists. Nice try, but since I multi-lingual, Luis Figo as well as Crishad gone for Portugal in the sweepstake tiano Ronaldo. Much to Joan’s chagrin, I that wasn’t going to happen; not in a sent nothing back from the Greece camp million years. This was about more than a apart from a few sound bytes from Regame of football; it was male pride verhhagel’s open press conference and brief sus female intuition. It was about skill “happy to be here” type quotes from over luck, and in a football sense it was Theo Zagorakis which rather nicely about attacking bravado standing triumsummed up the theme of my piece – the phant over defiant, defensive and at Greeks were here on a jolly-up, Portugal times brutal organisation. was taking the whole thing seriously.

Portugal had a young, precocious CrisThe game itself was better on the eye tiano Ronaldo and the midfield artistry of than many predicted although to my Deco. They also had the brilliance of consternation, the first period was pretty 2001 World Player of the Year, Luis Figo. even. The way the second half started off Greece had Basinas, then of Panathinaileft me feeling more confident. The hosts kos who later turned up at Portsmouth. attacked as if they had received the rolThey had Charisteas and they had Thelicking of their lives from Phil Scolari and odoros Zagorakis, formerly of Leicester they totally dominated the rest of the City. Most sane commentators believed game. The final stats showed Portugal this would simply be a no contest. had 17 shots to Greece’s 4 and the corner Greece had over-performed just to reach count was 10-1. But the only statistic that the final, but now they would surely meet their match against the host nation. Portugal simply had to turn up to claim their first major tournament victory.

mattered lit like a beacon on the scoreboard. Infuriatingly, inexplicably it read Portugal 0-1 Greece with the winning goal scored by that man Charisteas, leaping high above Costinha to head home a Basinas corner in the 57th minute.

The whistle must have still have been in the mouth of referee Markus Merk (another German) as he blew for fulltime, when my mobile rang. I answered it to the sound of cackling. As I headed downstairs to conduct post-match interviews, I made a mental note to remove Joan from my Christmas card list. Zagorakis smiled and told me he was “happy to be here”. Clearly!

It was well past midnight when my work on the tournament was complete and I was in a cab heading into the Bairro Alto district to drown my sorrows. It was pandemonium. Sipping my Vinho Verde it was hard not to become mesmerised by the unreserved happiness of the Greece supporters. Many Portuguese joined in with the celebrations out of genuine respect at what their conquerors had managed to achieve. I doubt if even the Rio carnival had ever seen more colour, noise and jubilation. But with each glass, my attitude towards Otto Rehhagel’s team and to Joan softened. Four glasses later, she was back on my Christmas Card list.

She had become Hopelessly Devoted to Greece and left me and some of my colleagues feeling like Beauty School DropOuts. Those summer nights in Portugal I look back on as a truly memorable experience even if Greece was the word.

Left: Greek fans celebrate in Lisbon late into

the night Below: Theo Zagorakis lifts the trophy aloft in one of the best underdog stories in international football

The first seeds of doubt crept into my mind when I arrived at Lisbon Airport. The arrivals hall was like a scene from Troy. Greek flags as far as the eye could see and chants of “God is German” in honour of their manager, echoed thunderously.

Many had arrived without a ticket or any expectation of getting one.

They just wanted to party in the city where their country was on the brink of producing one of the greatest shocks in the history of international football. Their faces broad with permanent grins exuded unbridled joy. I began to feel guilty about

37

BADGE OF THE WEEK

Badge of the Week: England

By Oliver Marsh Just how much do we all know about the iconic Three Lions that we like to sing so much about? Because it turns out that this particular badge is nearly a thousand years in the making...

To be precise, the presence of the lion on the badge dates back around 900 years ago to the time of King Henry I, who had a lion on his standard. During his reign he married Adeliza of Louvain, whose father also had a lion on his shield, and to commemorate the marriage he added a second lion to his standard.

Following this trend was Henry II who became King in 1154 and was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine who - surprise, surprise - also had a lion for her family crest. Three was not considered a crowd in this instance, although surely people began to consider some variety in their standards? By the end of the century Richard the Lionheart had donned the Three Lions as a symbol for the English throne, and thus it became forever tied with the Royal Arms of England and would later be chosen for many of the sports teams of the country.

38

PHASES OF PLAY

Phases Of Play:

Group Stage

By Jed Woodcock “I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art”

Creativity not only happens on the field of play, it also takes place inside a sprinkling of minds on the terraces.

“Football is an art, like dancing is an art— but only when it’s well done does it become an art” - Arsene Wenger Football is not just an effort to put a ball into the net. It has an aesthetic dimension—it becomes more than game, but an art. If it was any less than that, would we really still be complaining about ‘boring football’ and Tony Pulis?

Even as a Tottenham fan, I can admit artistry can even be picked up on in Arsenal’s style of play. Whilst walking the ball into the back of the net after passing through every member of the team isn’t always the best strategy for winning a game, I can’t deny it’s beauty.

However, this creativity not only happens on the field of play, it also takes place inside a sprinkling of minds on the terraces. These minds help highlight the art within football with art. Following on from last year’s exhibition in Norwich, Patterns of Play are hosting another exhibition of football art and design this Summer. This time it’s in London and this time it’s all about the Euros.

The ‘Group Stage’ exhibition will take place from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th June, coinciding with the opening weekend of Euro 2016. A brand new series of artwork will be on display, celebrating the heritage of European Championship football including tributes to the players, nations, history, culture and iconic moments of Euro tournaments past and present.

For more information visit the Patterns of Play website at: www.patternsofplay.co.uk

39