It’s been a long wait for the 2020 European Championships have been more than worth it. Goals have been plentiful and the games entertaining. Cagey high-stake games have been a rarity. In a year where there has been so much pain and misery-the Euros have been a much-needed reprieve. There has been enough shocks to keep the underdog loving neutral happy while we have also been treated to some big performances from the favoured teams. We’ve seen the favourites France exit the tournament at the last 16 in dramatic fashions to their Swiss neighbours while we saw an inspiration Denmark overcome a truly traumatic start to their campaign to storm to the semi-finals. The opening game of the tournament saw Roberto Mancini’s impressive Italy trash a hapless Turkey side 3-0. The Azzuri’s attractive brand of high intensity football has seen them reach the final-where they will face England. It’s set to be stellar final between two hugely impressive sides who deserve to be where they are. Both countries have their stories to tell. Italy were one of the countries hardest hit by the Covid 19 pandemic. Horrifying stories of people dying in their homes from Covid 19 due to the health service being overwhelmed emerged early in the pandemic when the virus was spreading like wildfire. It has been a year of suffering for all but on the football field Mancini has tranformed a side who failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. They are strong defensively with the evergreen partnership of Cheillini and Bonucci while their attacking game has come on leaps and bounds. Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Chiesa have been particularly eye-catching. England, meanwhile, are hardly the neutrals favourite but Gareth Southgate and his team will feel they have their own narrative. As an Irishman who will be hoping the Italians lift the trophy in the end it is quite difficult for me to talk about this England team without sounding slightly bitter. However,even the most harden ‘anyone but England’ supporter can appreciate that Gareth Southgate seems like a very nice man while Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford have both proven themselves to be wonderful human beings and have shown up a complete lack of leadership and decency at the heart of the British government.
It would be quite absurd and really wrong to write an article about how great Euro 2020 has been without mentioning what happened on day 2 of the tournament in Copenhagen. Cristian Eriksens collapse shook the footballing world. I could hardly bare to watch sitting in a cozy living room in Dublin. It’s difficult to imagine quite what the players on the field that day were experiencing. Denmark went on to lose the game 1-0. Despite this tournaments overall success-Uefa’s role in this incident should not be forgotten. They should have handled the situation with the compassion and understanding it deserved. Instead-they forced the players and staff of both teams into a truly horrible dilemma. While the organisers of the tournament once again let themselves and the participants down-the Danish players did themselves and their country proud. The rendition of ‘der er et yndigt land; in the following game against Belgium was powerful. The Danes lost the game in the end but went on to beat Russia in the final game to reach the knockout stages and became the first side to do so having lost their first two opening games. It was quite clear that their teammate Eriksen was at the forefront of the playes minds throughout their campaign. However, it should also be acknowledged that they were an extremely enjoyable and exciting team to watch in their own right. Henrik Damsgaard, Eriksen’s replacement in the side was outstanding in his sides run to the semi-finals and was one of many young players to prosper at this years tournament. Left back Joakim Maehle really announced himself to Europe as he marauded down the wing in every game. There is something truly wonderful about a relatively little known player drawing the plaudits the way he has done.
This tournament has been more than just fun-its been heart wrenching and emotional. We have seen some truly spectacular games. Spain’s 5-3 triumph over Croatia in the round of 16 as well as Switzerlands victory on penalties against France, which came after a dramatic 3-3 draw where the Swiss fought back from 3-1 down were probably the best of the lot. There’s been very few thrashings. Games have been tight and competitive and every country has contributed towards the tournament as a whole. As the world slowly starts to recover from the impact of Covid 19-this was a truly wonderful reminder of what football could be like with fans in the stands. I’m very much looking forward to tonight’s final as a and hope for a fitting end………as well as an Italian win to what has been really exciting few weeks.
TheGoonerStation 