At the end of the tournament, I would like to hear an honest comment from Michel Platini. A great athlete, a talented coach, a cunning official, and now just a corrupt, crook and outcast, surely has a lot to say about the event, to which he put both hands and head in addition. Now we are not talking about an expanded format that added intrigue, but seriously reduced the overall level of competition, but about the role of the individual. Platini was a real Claude Monet from football, he created, gave aesthetics and admired graceful ease, simultaneously stabbing an incredible number of goals. Now there are almost no such artists on the field, and those that exist are chained in steel chains of tactical schemes. The victory of the national team of Portugal, capable of gnawing success without the main star is the quintessence of current values in European and world football. The Pyrenees deserve their triumph, who argues? We pressed, pressed, endured, used a rare chance - well done, everyone cares about port wine for the health of Fernando Santos. He is the most useful participant in the Euro, not Antoine Griezmann. However, paying tribute to the unsightly, but extremely competent specialist, it is absolutely impossible to admire him, like Otto Rehagel twelve years ago. The German, however, had no other way to ascend his Greeks, and the Portuguese deliberately turned the team into a squad of trained soldiers who turned out to be the best among the worst.
Celesao led in the score for exactly 72 minutes. To the tournament. For 7 games. Just think about those numbers. They freeze your brain and make you wipe your smile off your face unless you’re sleeping in a T-shirt with the name Ronaldo. Admittedly, the captain's injury in the final somehow quietly swung a pendulum of sympathy in the Portuguese side. Like Marvel's avengers, Santos' warriors had someone to avenge. As a result, 109 minutes of dull "Bodalov" on the field with the treacherous ringing of the barbell from the blow of the Frenchman Gignac, and a decisive volley from a man little known even at home. His name is Eder, if anything, but will you remember that name a year later at the 2018 World Cup? Hardly. And this is not the fault of a modest forward, a Guinean by origin, but the fault of football itself, in which there is less and less football. If we dissociate ourselves from personal sympathies, it is easy to trace the similarities between Fernando Santos and Atletico coach Diego Simeone. And they both have a heart-wrenching style, and each has enough defenders among the people. The composition of their teams, they say, so to speak, just bet on the result and then in the same pragmatic spirit. Is there too much pragmatism now? It's a fucking sport! What strategies? Where are the goals, where is the passion, where is the desire to enjoy and give it to the audience? Is it all gone forever?
The Portuguese have become a unique champion not because they have many advantages, but because they have fewer shortcomings than everyone else. The trio of Euro favourites - Spaniards, Germans and French - have failed their missions, but the reasons are different. “Red Fury” never learned to play anything other than the annoying “tiki-taki”, and Del Bosque did not want to hold a full-fledged generation change, calling for a rare gray lineup. Bundestim noted unusual for themselves the ability to give birth to mistakes on the spot, and some of its members should try themselves in volleyball – for sure it will work. The hosts of the tournament walked the distance businessily and qualitatively, but in their achievements they can only bring the victory over the Germans and interesting tactical discoveries by Didier Deschamps. There was no question of any championship acumen, although smart Griezmann deserved a trophy no less than Cristiano. In the list of "disappointment" with full right go the English, whose coach apparently entangled in his own fingers and preferred to show everyone his back - throw stones. But, of course, all in the negative field outperformed ours together with the Ukrainians. There is nothing more shameful than finding out whose team performed worse and more scandalous - no one will ever forget such a loser. Neither of them deserved even a drop of sympathy, but simply forced to state a long-known idea: with such neglected national farms to go to major tournaments – people laugh.
Meanwhile, there were positives at the Euros - Iceland, Wales, Italy. The most northern participants of the tournament performed in such a way that for the first time since the memorable eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull to talk about their country. Hereditary Vikings died on the field, laid out 150%, amazed with excitement, and their victory over the British – forever in the register of the main football sensations of all time. Welsh, of course, quoted higher, but in any semi-final they were not expected. But we waited. Gareth Bale and Co. delighted the eye, brushed aside the dogma of British “fight-and-run” farther away and truly lit the hearts of everyone who had not yet lost their taste for spectacular play. Scuadra Azzurra before the start of the Euro caused only skepticism and ridicule - who did this Conte bring? Turns out he brought gladiators. Maybe not the most skilled and stellar, but very trained. In the shortest possible time, the mentor of the Italians taught the wards a compact game, developed their best qualities and disguised weaknesses. Well, the 38-year-old Buffon game deserves a special mention. For a good 15 years, this goalkeeper does not fall out of the top of the best, and it seems that he managed to conquer time. The semi-final tears of this man from the men imprinted in memory forever, and I want to sincerely wish Gigi without injuries. Russia is waiting for you, Mr. Buffon.
It is believed that a healthy dose of cynicism makes life easier. So at Euro 2016, millions of fans had to breathe more comfortably than before - the goals were outnumbered. The common phrase “everyone has learned to play football” is of course from the evil one. That is, you can learn something, but you can also lose the feelings that made you first turn your eyes to kicking the ball. The game doesn't go downhill, no, but it's different. The last Euro gave bad feelings about the excessive focus of teams on a bare result, and the current one brought these concerns to life. In the course of the tournament, you constantly had to hear about the riots in the cities, careless organization, dull tactics and the unimportant form of most stars. Moments of enlightenment, such as the fantastic heads of Modric, Hera or Shaqiri, rarely happened to the hurtful, and full-fledged discoveries can be attributed only to the young Portuguese talent of Renato Sanchez. There were no real sensations at the championship - mathematics and some particularly emasculated physics reigned. Is this what football is like in the twenty-first century and will continue to be like this? Time will tell, but in the meantime, you just want to hold the French championship with the world, and turn to it only if you want to refresh the memory of rare incendiary moments, like post-match penalties of the Italians and Germans.
European Championship 2016 This, without any epithet, is a grand continental holiday. And this forum on French soil is of enormous historical significance. And not even because the number of teams qualified for France increased, but because this European Championship was the last time the Euro was held in one country. Then it will be scattered throughout the cities of the old women of Europe.
We got to this championship and our guys... Well, whatever you say now, somehow and for some reason everything comes out in mocking tones and colors. But I will try to be as impartial and objective as possible. Although I know in advance that I will not succeed... But I will tell you about the Russian national team for the last time.
French team - hostess of the tournament! And she started her reception with the Romanians. I have never seen such a great match before! I was eagerly absorbing every episode of this exciting action game. To the credit of the referee of the opening match did not pull the hosts, as it often happens. And that's super great!!! The French with the Romanian national team showed dashing football, unrestrained dedication, order and class. We tried to match the opponent and guests.
So the French national team fell in love with themselves. I tried to keep an eye on her. And in most cases, I was able to do that. But I've had an old love. This is a great German team ! The Germans, as they had previously trained, dominated (or tried to do) every opponent. Do not allow serious failures while playing your football. German car.
Of course, the routine of my life became such that I could not physically follow every match. At least because some of them were still working. Not only that. I also had evenings that I missed. And sometimes our local grids would decide for me whether I would watch the match or not. It was strange for me that sometimes I completely forgot about a match. For example, for me, the result of the group stage – the match “Portugal – Hungary” (3: 3) was an opening already at the playoff stage.
This Portuguese team She was ridiculed for not winning a single match in regular time against anyone. (Wales was ahead at the time.) The result of these ridicules will be gold and the Cup for the team Kri Ro. But what kind of match will it be? With France itself! Remember what I said about our power grid? I watched how Cristiano Ronaldo was injured and turned off the lights. I said in my hearts that I hope that the final of the Euro Grid will be watched in hell as punishment, and I went to bed. The winner was a team that has not yet won this tournament. The parallels drawn with the completed Champions League are also not accidental.
The Russian national team The problems of this team are systemic and they did not begin today or yesterday. Our national team has fallen into a functional pit from which it is impossible to get out. In a country that is mired in corruption, you can make money on football without leveling the situation. Everyone's fine. It suits the limit on legionnaires - a natural and logical stopper of football. The lack of a salary ceiling. There is no education in people who are public (Golovin: "Shame for the result?" Why should I be ashamed? They are playing and I am ashamed. The natural and usual extreme mood with the favorite - England - played a cruel joke for us. We managed to score a random goal and make a draw. And then there was a calming of the players in the match with Slovakia (1: 2) and an absolute capco-casting in the match with Wales - 0: 3 and go home. It's the same as always.
And yet, this series is a month long, I give the highest score! France, as a country that accepted everyone, is not to blame for Russian problems.
10 out of 10
Since the final whistle of the 2012 European Football Championship, which was jointly hosted by Ukraine and Poland, fans of the Old World turned their eyes to France, where the 15th sports forum was to be held, promising to become an event of historical scale. In order to increase the entertainment and excitement around the tournament (read – double the profit of UEFA), the organizers expanded the number of participants of Euro 2016 from 16 to 24 teams, which automatically elevated the Championship held in France to the rank of the largest. Traditional qualifying marathon expected favorable for most unstable national teams changes, the main of which was that from now on from the group straight to the Championship goes immediately two teams, and the third will fight for the right to get to the forum through traditional play-offs. Innovations did not please recognized European Grands like Germany, as quite a significant part of the matches both on the fields of France and in the subsequent Championships threatened to turn into an absolutely passable spectacle, upsetting both fans who expect strong emotions from the game, and the Grands themselves, who came to fight for the Henri Delaunay Cup with the most worthy rivals. However, the discontent of the local Federations and some eminent coaches did not matter to UEFA, and from now on, the national teams of half of the countries of the continent fought for the most prestigious trophy of the Old World, which in the end bore the impression of exactly the opposite nature. The expansion of the countries participating in Euro 2016 allowed the Championship to maintain one insignificant, but very funny trend: every four years, teams that previously could not break into the main draw of the competition were mandatory for the forum. The previous championship was marked by the debut at Euro 2012 of the national team-hosts of Ukraine, and the French tournament lured a whole bunch of newcomers to their fields at once - Iceland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Albania and Slovakia.
Traditionally, the path to the European Championship has been difficult for Ukraine, whose national team has never before entered the Euro through the fire of qualification, repeatedly remaining a step away from getting to the much-coveted event of a whole four years. Qualifying matches in France at first did not foreshadow the team of Mikhail Fomenko special troubles. The only strong rival of the qualification was rightfully considered Spain, the current winner of the Cup and by tradition one of the strongest teams in the world, capable of giving a decent rebuff even in the most deplorable state. However, the heaviest blow awaited Ukraine not in matches with recognized favorites, but in games against modest Slovakia, which rose from oblivion and knocked out both the Fomenko team and the guys of Vicente del Bosque. The Ukrainian national team put themselves in a critical position, and still managed to gather their spirits, having survived the rest of the matches with a proudly raised head, which allowed the team to take the final third place in the group and play a successful two-match duel against Slovenia, which ensured Yarmolenko, Konoplyanka, Pyatova and the company for the first time in history to get to the Euro with their own forces, without the help of third-party factors. The long-awaited success, to which the teams of Ukraine went for 25 years, was not overshadowed even by the fact that without changes in the rules of UEFA, the Fomenko guys would hardly have played at the Championship. The whole country was literally counting down the minutes before the trip of the national team to France, the hype around Euro 2016 in the territory of the blue and yellow flag was actually incredible and threatened to beat the hysteria around the 2012 home championship. An intriguing draw threw Ukraine into Group C, where its rivals were formidable Germany, the current World Champion, uncompromising Poland and fearless Northern Ireland, before the start of the Championship, considered the weakest team of Euro 2016. Preparations for the trip to France instilled faith in the fact that the Ukrainian guys will be able to at least get out of the group from second place, losing the championship to the German machine. Joachim Lev, however, all the rosy thoughts about the quality of the team Fomenko evaporated in the second match, when it became clear that the team has no character.
Germany - Ukraine
On June 12, 2016, the debut match of the blue-yellow team took place on the fields of France. No one doubted that the game against Germany would be difficult, and yet Ukraine tried to move forward, created dangerous moments and, if possible, pushed the Germans to their own goal, giving fans hope for a positive outcome of the game. The first half was held in an equal game, not taking into account the missed ball from Mustafi, but the final part of the match has already flown under the dictation of the Germans, who do not stop until the final whistle. Unable to keep in line from the beginning to the end of the match, the Ukrainians missed the second goal in the second half, and held it by the captain of the Germans, recovering from injury Bastian Schweinsteiger, barely came on as a substitute at the very end of the game. The Fomenko team could not recoup, turning its eyes to the future, which was overshadowed by even more helplessness.
Ukraine - Northern Ireland
On June 16, in Lyon, the Ukrainian national team faced an annoying blunder that threatens to cling to the most shameful page in the history of the team. The match against the Northern Irish promised to be a natural triumph for the Fomenck team. According to the pre-launch forecasts of the whole Euro, the modest Irish guys were obliged to take the last place in the group and go home without undue delay, but they had their own plans on this occasion. Instead of remaining batting boys, they challenged Ukraine with two unanswered goals. In addition to the loss, the game was marked for the Ukrainians by the final loss of chances to reach the playoffs, putting the Fomenko team on its knees first among the rest of the Championship participants. The annoyance of this circumstance was only the depressing quality of the team, who lost the strength to fight and did not want to prove their own worthiness.
Ukraine - Poland
On June 21, Ukraine bid farewell to the fields of France. The final match against the Poles had no strategic significance for the team beyond the battle for prestige and the hearts of the fans. To the credit of the guys of Mikhail Fomenko, they tried to draw conclusions from past failures, speaking against the Poles in a united front. But the inability of strikers to deliver accurate shots and pathological or bad luck, or unwillingness to slam the doors with a noise, led to the fact that in the 54th minute of the game, Poland scored a goal, which was the last in the whole game. The rash actions of the coaching staff of the national team of Ukraine completed the moral defeat of the fans, after which the team returned home with a justly won title of the worst team “Euro 2016” by all indicators.
For three matches at the 2016 European Football Championship, the Ukrainian team could not score a single goal, showed a complete lack of character among the players and the inconsistency of the coaching staff, annoying with their cowardice in choosing tactics. From the point of view of the Ukrainian fan, Euro 2016 deserves a score of 0 points, which is directly proportional to the goals scored by the national team.
P.S. Viva Portugal! The championship has received its winner, and we are waiting for the continuation of the competition.
For a whole month, the whole of football Europe was glued to TV screens, watching the rivalry of the best teams of the continent. It is noteworthy that the tournament was held in a new format, and instead of the usual 16 teams, we saw as many as 24. This regulation allowed to break into the final part of frankly weak teams, such as Albania and Northern Ireland. However, as the championship showed, there were no weak teams here. Except for one...
All Russians remember 2008, when we rightly entered the top 4 teams of the continent. And after 8 years, we went to the bottom, showing the worst football in the tournament. Of the whole team, one can praise only Akinfeev, whom the partners repeatedly threw to the torment of the opponent, making catastrophic mistakes in defense, and who made a considerable contribution to the fact that the score did not grow to double digits.
Patriotism and the desire to play and beat our national team clearly should have learned from the humble Hungarians or Icelanders who created the two main sensations of the championship. The first gave battle to Portugal itself, rolling with them a cheerful draw and deservedly leaving the group from first place, and the second unceremoniously threw overboard ambitious Englishmen, whom many predicted the Euro gold. By the way, there was much more sensation at this championship than at the previous championship, where the favorites naturally won. The current champion, for example, resigned in the first match of the playoffs, not coping with the impregnable defense of the Italians led by the ageless Gigi. And they, in turn, for the first time in their history capitulated to the national team of Germany. The apotheosis of the violation of the laws was the victory of Portugal in the final match with the hosts of the championship. Over the Stade de France, probably, still hovers the ghosts of Lisbon, as if reminding that back in 2004, the Greeks, led by Otto Rehagel, beat the host of the championship – Portugal in the final. And fate has paid them back. However, it is fair to say that under the previous regulations, European Brazilians would not even have left the group. And the net, by the way, compiled in the stupidest way, favored them. But the winners, as they say, are not judged.
Euro 2016 once again showed that the level of teams as a whole has grown, and everyone has learned to play football (not a word about Russia). The same Northern Irish, who were considered obvious outsiders, managed to leave behind a strong national team of Ukraine, and the brave Welsh even reached the semifinals, removing the golden generation of the Belgians in their path.
Comparing this tournament with the last two Euros (it makes no sense to compare with the World Cup, because both the 2010 World Cup and the 2014 World Cup set too high a bar), we can say with confidence that it surpassed Euro 2012, but did not reach Euro 2008. The new regulations sharpened the struggle to the limit, but also affected the entertainment. Most teams played strictly from defense, waiting for the opponent’s mistake and remembering their attacking potential after the thunder burst. If it were not for the bright cutting of favorites (Italy-Spain and Germany-France) and a number of sensations mentioned above, the tournament would have migrated to the category of boring and uninteresting.
8 out of 10
P.S. The three main heroes of Euro 2016. Bronze — Antoine Griezmann (the best scorer of the tournament and the one thanks to whom the tricolor reached the final). Silver — Iceland's national team (Euro debutants, recently hanging out at the level of half-amateurs, but managed to accomplish a feat comparable to the feat of Leicester). Gold — Fernando Santos (Portuguese version of Diego Simeone or Greek, if you like, Otto Rehagel). In other words, the master of the impossible.