The Euros are on at the moments, the second biggest football tournament after the World Cup. I’ve kept half an eye on the results, and think there is a very clear lesson all of can heed. My examples are England, Portugal and Georgia.
It is fair to say that every tournament triggers levels of unwarranted enthusiasm amongst the English faithful. While this is usually just a welcome relief from dealing with crumbling infrastructure/NHS/economy, this year there was true belief. Not only were powerhouse nations such as Italy, Germany, and Spain coming in undercooked, the Three Lions had their perhaps best team since David Beckham was kicking. Was 2024 the year where it was really “coming home”?
Short answer, no. And I’ll tell you why; it’s the manager. I don’t know much about football/soccer, but even Blind Freddy can tell you that he has fallen into a common trap. When you have a lot of excellent players (and England do), there is a temptation to try and fit them all on the pitch. This means that players are playing out of position, just so they’re on the grass, instead of putting on slightly worse individuals who would otherwise fit into a cohesive structure. The result has been uninspiring football, and only two goals in 270 minutes. This against Denmark (population 5.9m), Serbia (Pop 7m) and Slovenia (Pop 2m). The lesson here is figure out your strategy and tactics first, then pick your team second.
Portugal and Georgia played this afternoon. Portugal is one of the tournament’s (and my) favourite to lift the trophy. Lots of talent, plus Cristiano Ronaldo, despite being almost the wrong side of 40, are a team worth respecting. Georgia (pop 3.7m), on the other hand, have never qualified for ANY major tournament, and came in to event by the skin of their teeth.
Portugal, having comfortable won their past two games, had already qualified, and decided to rest all their key players and bring on their reserves. Georgia, knowing an unlikely win was the only way they could get to their next stage, went all out. Would these different approaches even come close to the gulf in talent?
Yes. Georgia won 2-0, and Ronaldo looked like he was about to blow a gasket. Lesson #2: Motivation and Respect go along way. Just because you have the talent, doesn’t mean that a group of scrappy misfits can’t roll you if you’re not careful. Portugal can clearly still go on to win the whole thing, but losing here won’t do them any favours.
Lot’s to look forward to, and plenty of lessons await.