Monthly Archives: June 2024

Copa America – 2024

Leave a reply


“Grab your burgers, hot dogs and root beers because, for the second time in its history, Copa America is being held in the United States. But what is this Copa America, I hear you ask? It’s only the longest-running continental football competition, one that has played host to some of the greatest legends of the game including Lionel Messi, Pele, Diego Maradona and Neymar. This summer, across 12 American cities and 14 stadiums, South America’s finest — including Brazil, Uruguay and a Messi-led Argentina — will compete again to take the title of ‘Champions of South America (and Others)’. To round out the numbers, the United States, Mexico and a few other North and Central American countries have been invited to join the fun, too. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Georgia and Albania’s presence at Euro 2024 is sign of eastern resurgence – Jonathan Wilson

Leave a reply


“On 14 July, the European champions will be crowned in Berlin. No one really expects a former communist country to win in the city whose division once symbolised the cold war but perhaps, finally, 35 years after the Wall came down, the eastern part of the continent is beginning from a football perspective to regather its strength. Not including Germany (two players in their provisional squad were born in the east), 11 of the 24 teams at the Euros will be from the former Soviet bloc, as opposed to eight in 2020 and 2016. Even including the two hosts, Poland and Ukraine, five of the 16 were from the east in 2012; there were five in 2008, 2004 and 1996 and four in 2000. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Euro 2024: F – Turkey, Georgia, Portugal, Czech Republic

Leave a reply


Turkey Euro 2024 squad guide: ‘The Little Airplane’, silky playmakers and calls from Erdogan “The manager: The Little Airplane, as the 5ft 8in (173cm) Vincenzo Montella became known in his playing days because of his arms-out goal celebration, quickly achieved lift-off as Turkey manager after getting the job last September. The opening goal of his reign, by Baris Alper Yilmaz the following month, was historic in more ways than one, because it condemned Croatia to their first ever home defeat in a European Championship qualifier. Then in November, Turkey surprised Germany in another away game, coming from 1-0 down to win 3-2 in a Berlin friendly. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Georgia Euro 2024 squad guide: Kvaratskhelia in attack but defence is untested “The manager: If you lead a national team to their first major tournament, it is a fair bet that you will be adored. Former France full-back Willy Sagnol took over Georgia at a difficult time four years ago, when they had narrowly failed to qualify for Euro 2020 after losing to North Macedonia in their Path D play-off final. The game was delayed and played without fans because of Covid-19 restrictions, leaving Georgia without their vociferous home support. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Portugal Euro 2024 squad guide: The complete package, if the balance is right “The manager: After falling short of winning a title with one country’s ‘golden generation’ of players, Roberto Martinez is now tasked with going one better with another set. Martinez led Belgium to the top of FIFA’s world rankings and kept them there for more than half of his six-year tenure but, across three major tournaments, they couldn’t go that final step. They lost to World Cup winners France in the semi-finals in 2018 and European Championshipwinners Italy in the quarters in 2021. Martinez’s reign ended horribly in 2022 with an embarrassing group-stage exit from the Qatar World Cup, bowing out after drawing 0-0 with Croatia when the only target Romelu Lukaku hit was the dugout in a post-match rage. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Czech Republic Euro 2024 squad guide: Expect unadulterated no-thrills football “The manager: ‘The pressure was already enormous. Sometimes, I didn’t understand it myself.’ Those were the words of Jaroslav Silhavy, who stepped down as Czech Republic head coach in November after successfully qualifying for Euro 2024. In his place came the experienced Ivan Hasek, 60, a former midfielder who captained Czechoslovakia to the World Cup quarter-finals in 1990. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Euro 2024: F – Belgium, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia

Leave a reply


Belgium Euro 2024 squad guide: Talisman Lukaku, Bakayoko one to watch – but Courtois left out “The manager: Marc Wilmots and Roberto Martinez finished empty-handed despite having Belgium’s golden generation in their prime. Now, Domenico Tedesco has the task of trying to claim the national team’s first major silverware with its remaining stars now the wrong side of 30 and their successors still growing into their potential. Belgium are yet to lose a game since Tedesco took over in February 2023, with the new man typically setting up his team in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Ukraine Euro 2024 guide: A strong squad and La Liga’s top scorer – but the war weighs heavy “The manager: There was an element of destiny to Sergei Rebrov becoming Ukraine’s head coach. Andriy Shevchenko had a go, leading his country at the last European Championship, but his former strike partner and fellow national hero took over in 2023. If it was a sentimental appointment, you can understand why: if ever a national team needed an emotional connection to its manager, it is Ukraine right now. The war with Russia is into its third year and they have not played a genuine home game since March 2022. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Romania Euro 2024 squad guide: Iordanescu has a settled defence but Coman could star “The manager: The name of Romania’s coach might ring a bell. Probably not from his playing career: Edward Iordanescu was a journeyman midfielder who shuttled around a series of relatively minor Romanian clubs. Maybe not even for his coaching career either: he won the league with CFR Cluj in 2021, but otherwise there’s not much that would stand out to an outside observer. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Slovakia Euro 2024 squad guide: A familiar blend of experience led by a former coffee-seller “The manager: There can’t be many more unusual stories in international management than Francesco Calzona. Calzona didn’t have much of a playing career to speak of and, in fact, split his younger days between amateur football and selling coffee. He eventually became part of Maurizio Sarri’s coaching staff at five clubs, including his most successful years at Napoli, which is where the seeds of his appointment as Slovakia manager were sown. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Euro 2024: D – France, Netherlands, Poland, Austria

Leave a reply


France Euro 2024 squad guide: A squad of stars. Proven winners. All other teams, beware “The manager: Didier Deschamps is the third longest-serving manager of a European nation and has overseen France’s return to the top of the world game. He was appointed in 2012, in the aftermath of a chaotic World Cup in South Africa two years prior. Blessed with an outstanding talent pool, he has turned France into a team to be feared again. His winning mentality was forged by a hugely successful playing career, which saw him win the Champions League twice, with Marseille and Juventus, before his crowning moment at the World Cup in 1998, where he lifted the trophy as captain of the national team on home soil. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Netherlands Euro 2024 squad guide: Big names like Van Dijk and De Jong, but still lacking firepower “The manager: When Koeman arrived for his second term as Netherlands manager, replacing a 71-year-old Louis van Gaal who had just completed three spells, it caused little excitement. Koeman returned to the role off the back of failures in his last two club roles — at Everton and Barcelona — though his short spell in charge of the national team between 2018 and 2020 was more successful than might have been remembered. After missing out on qualification to the 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cup, the 61-year-old ensured a no-drama qualification for the delayed finals of Euro 2020, though stepped down to take over at Barcelona before the tournament. He also led the Netherlands to the final of the first Nations League in 2019. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Poland Euro 2024 squad guide: Few strengths beyond a fading Lewandowski and a very tough group “The manager: Michal Probierz likes a 3-5-2 — and a controversial remark. Probierz was a promotion from within. In September 2023, he was coach of Poland’s under-21s when Fernando Santos was dismissed. Santos, who led Portugal to their unlikely Euro 2016 success, was not popular. His team were not good, either. A friendly win over a very poor Germany was a rare high point of a nine-month reign and Santos was sacked following an awful 2-0 defeat to Albania in their European Championship qualifying group. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Austria Euro 2024 squad guide: Revitalised under Rangnick and eyeing upsets in Group D “The manager: After working in club football for the best part of four decades, his six months managing Manchester United in the 2021-22 season appear to have put Ralf Rangnick off. Over the past two years, he has shifted into the international game for the first time, preparing Austria for a close-to-home European Championshipjust over their northern border and, whisper it, appears to have positioned them in something approaching the ‘dark horses’ category… if they can get out of a really tough group also containing France, the Netherlands and Poland. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Euro 2024: C – England, Denmark, Serbia, Slovenia

Leave a reply


England Euro 2024 squad guide: More justifiable tournament favourites than ever before “The manager:  This will be Gareth Southgate’s fourth major tournament with England. No manager has taken the team to as many since Sir Alf Ramsey. Whatever happens in Germany, Southgate is the most consequential England manager of the modern era and this will be the tournament that defines his legacy and his future.  His contract expires at the end of this year and if England disappoint in Germany, that will be the end of his eight-year tenure. He may leave with a sense of not quite fulfilling the resources available to him, but if England win — or get close — this summer, then a contract extension is on the cards and one last attempt at the World Cup in the U.S. in two years’ time. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Denmark Euro 2024 squad guide: A lack of evolution fuels doubts hanging over Hjulmand’s side “The manager: Kasper Hjulmand has been in the job almost four years and is now leading Denmark to what will be, slightly surprisingly, their first back-to-back European Championship appearances since they competed in the 2000 and 2004 editions. However, his popularity is on the wane and the mood surrounding him is not what it was back in 2021. Denmark’s progress through to the semi-finals of those Euros certainly occurred under exceptional circumstances following Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest during their opening group match on home turf in Copenhagen, but it also created a swell of goodwill around the team which would actually flow into Danish football as a whole. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Serbia Euro 2024 squad guide: Tactical issues, a defensive shortage and an unpopular manager “The manager: Dragan Stojkovic is not popular. This is the second successive tournament that he has taken Serbia to. Nevertheless, his team have been in a lull since Qatar, where they failed to win any of their games (against Brazil, Cameroon and Switzerland). They qualified for Germany in second place, but they still lost home and away to Hungary, displaying tactical issues that continue to compromise their talent. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Slovenia Euro 2024 squad guide: Oblak and Sesko give these underdogs real bite “The manager: If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Whether that is Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek’s motto, it certainly applies as, in his second spell in charge of his homeland’s national team, he has got them to the Euros at the third attempt. His first crack at the job — which began in 2007 and included their qualification for the 2010 World Cup — ended in 2011 following the failure to reach the following summer’s Euros. He returned in late 2018 and while he was unable to guide the team to Euro 2020, they won Nations League promotion to its second tier in 2021 and are now off to only their second European Championship, after their debut in the 2000 tournament. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Euro 2024: B – Italy, Spain, Croatia, Albania

Leave a reply


Italy Euro 2024 squad guide: Trepidation for a team yet to be moulded in Luciano Spalletti’s image “The manager: Luciano Spalletti was supposed to be on sabbatical. He left newly-crowned Serie A champions Napoli last summer with the intention of spending a year on his country estate in Tuscany. The only vintage Spalletti planned to concern himself with was the latest Sangiovese from his vineyard. Not the 2024 Azzurri. But in August, the president of the Italian FA, Gabriele Gravina, called. Roberto Mancini had quit, citing differences over a reshuffle of his coaching staff. A reshuffle he initially endorsed. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Spain Euro 2024 squad guide: A teenage record-breaker and Rodri in the middle, but the scandal lingers “The manager: Even Luis de la Fuente himself was surprised when he was promoted to take over Spain’s senior team by Luis Rubiales, who had fired previous coach Luis Enrique following Spain’s last-16 exit to Morocco at the 2022 World Cup. De la Fuente was a double La Liga champion at left-back with Athletic Bilbao in the early 1980s. After moving into coaching, he worked with different generations of Spain’s national teams, winning an Under-19 European Championships in 2015, the Under-21 Euros four years later and getting the under-23s to the final of the most recent Olympics in 2021. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Croatia Euro 2024 squad guide: One last hurrah or a tournament too far? “The manager: Zlatko Dalic is the third longest-serving international manager at Euro 2024 and it’s a testament to what he has achieved with Croatia that he remains one of the most popular in his homeland. That would have been tough to predict when he was appointed in 2017, with his previous jobs being boss of Slaven Belupo, Al Faisaly, Al Hilal and Al Ain. He won the UAE Pro League with the latter and a report in Croatia at the time of his appointment with the national team stated he had earned enough money for three lifetimes, let alone one, which was helpful because the Croatian FA didn’t have much to pay him at the time. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Albania Euro 2024 squad guide: A group of unlikely heroes in more ways than one “The manager: Sylvinho! You know, the old Arsenal and Barcelona left-back? Yeah, he’s Albania’s manager. Interesting, right? The Brazilian’s playing days ended in 2010 after a brief stint at Manchester City, then he spent the best part of a decade earning his corn as a coach at Cruzeiro, Sport Recife and Nautico in Brazil, then as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Inter Milan, then Tite’s assistant with the Brazil national team. …”

Euro 2024: A – Germany, Scotland, Switzerland, Hungary

Leave a reply


Germany Euro 2024 team guide: Wirtz and Musiala provide spark but defence is a concern “The manager. It’s strange to talk of a 36-year-old manager or head coach as being in a career recovery phase — and perhaps that is too strong a term — but Julian Nagelsmann is certainly on the rebound after leaving Bayern Munich. Until that sacking in March 2023, Bayern had just seemed like the natural next step of his ascension. It was not to be. Amid grumbling about his clothes, his temper and, in one instance, his skateboarding, the shine came off the penny when he was fired just 18 months on from his appointment. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Scotland Euro 2024 team guide: Greater than the sum of their parts and aiming high “The manager. As the man who took Scotland to their first major tournament in 23 years, Steve Clarke’s legacy was secured the moment David Marshall saved the decisive penalty in the qualification play-off shootout against Serbia in November 2020. Making it to back-to-back Euros has elevated him to certified royalty, but a run into the knockout stages this summer would see him go down as arguably the best manager in Scotland’s history. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Switzerland Euro 2024 team guide: An under-fire manager and an underpowered front line “The manager. Quite a few people in Switzerland are surprised that Murat Yakin is still there. As a playing great for the national team, his appointment in 2021 was welcomed but after being pulverised 6-1 by Portugal in the round of 16 at the World Cup, the last year or so has been a disaster. In their last seven qualifiers, they only beat Andorra and limped to the tournament by finishing second in a weak group. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Hungary Euro 2024 team guide: Solid foundations and Szoboszlai magic cause for hope “The manager. ‘He could be filmed knocking over grandmothers in front of parliament, and people would still love him,’ says one supporter, summarising the popularity of Hungary head coach Marco Rossi. The 59-year-old Italian has been in charge since 2018 — making him the country’s longest-serving coach since the legendary Lajos Baroti in the 1960s, who was the final manager of a golden generation known as the Mighty Magyars. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Ranking the best and worst Euro 2024 home kits: a diaper, a wrestling outfit and a beautiful QR code

Leave a reply

“The European Championships are almost upon us. Where the continent’s best and brightest gather to decide once and for all (or until 2028) who is the top dog. You have probably done all your research on the players and the teams and the tactics, so now it’s time to judge their outfits. And we’ve got some bad news for you folks: this has not been a vintage year for home kits. Too many templates, too many dull shirts, not much to get you excited about. And then there’s the kit that will make the players look like they’re wearing a diaper. So read on, and judge for yourselves…”
NY Times/The Athletic