Euro 2016 Archives ⋆ An Old International

A Cut Prize Manager

After a surprisingly short Euro campaign in which England were beaten by Iceland, the FA, surprise, surprise appointed Sam Allardyce as new manager. While Allardyce has made it clear that he always wanted the job and that it is the best job in English football, the salary for his services is reported to be less…

The last big Tournament?

With Portugal the winner of the Euro 2016, a short reflection on the state of Europe as it was mirrored in football during the past four weeks. That was that. Portugal stunned France to take home the trophy from Saint Denis in a tepid affair of a final. While the French still had the swagger…

Where is Götze?

This question asked by my son during Germany’s semi-final defeat at Euro 2016 has summed up the German tournament. Not just in highlighting the development of the player himself over the last two years since scoring the goal to win the World Cup. It also highlights a lack of centre forwards in German football. There…

Tiny Whiny Ronaldo

Euro 2016 has so far not been a hugely exciting tournament. No team suffered a thrashing like Spain did at the hands of Holland at the Brazil World Cup two years ago. The surprise so far surely were Belgium who appeared tame against Italy on Monday night and Austria who were unexpectedly beaten by Hungary…

Football, Riots, Hypocrisy

The first days of Euro 2016 already gave enough material for discussion. This is the first in a series of observations from the tournament that’s happening right at my door step. According to which media channel you consume, the Euro 2016 so far has been an orgy of violence and riots or been a festival…

The Writers’ Game

Just before the EURO 2016 gets underway for real, the French Sports Writers Association hosted the German national writers’ team in Paris as a warm up for EURO 2016. The match was a game of German organisation vs. French improvisation. There are stories that are simply unbelievable. Playing for your country is one of those.…

Euro 2016 – Preview

We are now just weeks away from another tournament that will take a strong hold on football fans in Europe and maybe globally: Euro 2016 in France. For the second time the tournament will be hosted by France; the last edition in 1984 saw Michel Platini guide his team to overall victory. On their way…

Does bigger mean better?

The Euro 2012 was the last tournament to be played out with 16 teams. In four years time, when the gravy train stops in France there will be 24 teams competing for European football glory. However, Michel Platini seems to go even a step further in 2020. The Euro is growing The obvious point is…

When a draw is like a victory

France scored late but they scored and thus came away with a draw that feels like a victory against Spain in a game that no one gave France a chance. The New Broom: Didier Dechamps Ahead of the game, L’Equipe and other media saw the game as ‘Mission Impossible’ for France. On the day of…

Italy: Germany’s Bête Noire

As the quarterfinals at Euro 2012 have come to a close on Sunday night, the semi-final between Italy and Germany will be a chance to get revenge for Jogi Löw’s team for defeat at the same stage at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Italy meanwhile can cement their status as bête noire for German…