EURO 2020
EURO 2020 AWARDS As the dust settles from Italy’s Euro 2020 success, Stephen Donovan looks at those who went home with the individual honours PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA Faultless throughout Italy’s path to victory, Donnarumma showed exactly why he’s a world-class goalkeeper, not least when making two decisive saves in the shootout to beat England in the final. An imposing figure between the posts, he ultimately emerged the hero and has proved the natural successor to Gianluigi Buffon.
champions Portugal, and a committed Hungary side backed by full crowds in Budapest. After some fascinating head-to-head battles, they advanced as group winners and seemed as if they were going through the gears before unleashing their full prowess in the knockout stages. But then came the sensational penalty shootout defeat by Switzerland and the manner of it, which sent shockwaves across Europe. At that moment, it felt like anything might be possible. Belgium looked formidable in breezing through the group stage with a 100% record and then bringing Portugal’s title defence to an end courtesy of Thorgan Hazard’s superb strike, only to fall victim to irrepressible Italy as their golden generation again came up short. There were disappointments too for Germany, losing to old rivals England in the last 16 in coach Joachim Low’s final act, and the Netherlands, who fell apart against the Czech Republic in their first major tournament since the 2014 World Cup. The Dutch were at least involved in one of the best matches of the group stage as they overcame Ukraine late on despite surrendering a two-goal lead. That was one of a clutch of pulsating encounters sprinkled across the four weeks, including Germany’s thrilling 4-2 win over Portugal, Sweden clinching top spot in Group E with a last-gasp goal against Poland, and the gripping first semi-final between Italy and Spain where both teams maintained phenomenally high standards for the entire 120 minutes. And who could forget memorable Monday? June 28 was surely the most extraordinary day of action in European Championship history, as two astonishing last16 games produced 14 goals, non-stop drama, and two scarcely-believable comebacks. Spain somehow allowed a comfortable 3-1 lead slip against Croatia before prevailing 5-3 after extra time, and then came the infamous demise of France. It looked like Les Bleus had rescued a tricky situation when Karim Benzema’s double and a wonder strike from Paul Pogba punished Switzerland for missing a penalty which would have put them 2-0 up just moments earlier. It seemed like game over, but the Swiss deservedly hit back in the final 10 minutes and went on to win as Kylian Mbappe capped a campaign to forget by failing with the crucial spot-kick. It was an absolute classic. Pogba’s sublime curler was one of the goals of the tournament along with Andriy Yarmolenko’s beauty against the Netherlands and a screamer from Denmark defender Andreas Christensen in their thumping win over Russia, but the best of the lot was Patrick Schick’s breathtaking 50-yard effort against Scotland. The Czech Republic striker went on to be one of the stars of Euro 2020, with his five goals matched only by Golden Boot
16
SOCCER360 SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2021
winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who became the leading scorer in the competition’s history and equalled the world record of 109 in international men’s football. Italy hero Gianluigi Donnarumma was named Player of the Tournament, but many of the other standout performers were full-backs, just to illustrate how effective they are in this day and age. Leonardo Spinazzola was a constant weapon for the Azzurri until being cruelly struck down by injury, Joakim Maehle was equally relentless for Denmark and scored twice, and nobody caught the eye more for the Netherlands than Denzel Dumfries, who was essentially an auxiliary striker. The abiding memory of Euro 2020 is that it was a finals like no other. Every host city brought a different atmosphere and flavour, and most importantly it caught fire on the pitch. There was extra time aplenty, more own goals than in all the previous Euros combined, strength shown in extreme adversity, and very worthy champions at the end. After 51 games and 142 goals, Italy showed that they’re the real deal once again.
ABOVE: Underdogs Czech Republic made it to the quarter finals. BELOW: Pre-tournament favourites France suffered a shock penalty shootout defeat to Switzerland in the last 16
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: PEDRI A special mention to Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard, but the meteoric rise of Pedri continues to astound. It feels crazy to believe that he has only one season of senior football behind him, but now the 18-year-old has become just as indispensable to Spain as he is for Barcelona with his dynamic midfield performances. COACH OF THE TOURNAMENT: ROBERTO MANCINI Several coaches enhanced their reputations at Euro 2020, but Mancini’s transformation of Italy since taking charge is nothing short of phenomenal. With a neat and expansive style of play, he’s built a side that feels almost impossible to beat and instilled a fearsome mentality that carried them all the way. TOP SCORER: CRISTIANO RONALDO Despite Portugal being eliminated in the last 16, Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to claim the Golden Boot and a bunch of records. His five goals all came in the group stage, the most impressive being a skilful finish against Hungary as he moved well clear as the top scorer in the competition’s history.
‘‘JUNE 28 WAS SURELY THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY DAY OF ACTION IN EUROS HISTORY, AS IT BROUGHT 14 GOALS, & TWO SCARCELYBELIEVABLE COMEBACKS’’
REVELATION OF THE TOURNAMENT: RAHEEM STERLING Many England supporters felt that Sterling wasn’t worthy of a place in England’s starting XI for the Euros, but coach Gareth Southgate kept faith with the Manchester City forward and he truly delivered. Three goals and a succession of top-drawer performances saw Sterling deservedly named in the Team of the Tournament.
