In spite of winning only one of their seven games at Euro 2016 inside 90 minutes, and although they lost Cristiano Ronaldo midway through the first half, Portugal were crowned European champions for the first time on Sunday. They beat France 1-0 with a goal in extra-time.
There is so much to talk about this year’s tournament which for the first time included the participation of 24 teams: terrorist threats, hooligan violence, the performances of small nations and the usual football drama every fan has grown accustomed to.
The Malta Independent spoke to three veteran journalists - Henry Calleja, William Vassallo and Charles Vella - to see what they thought of this year’s tournament.
Did Portugal deserve their win?
HC: This tournament has shown that all predictions add little value. On the day, I thought that France was going to win football is simple - the team who scored the most wins, and in this case it was Portugal. If there was a reason for Portugal not to win, it was the fact that Ronaldo wasn’t playing. They made all the effort possible to defend as much as possible but eventually they scored the most important goal.
WV: The actual final round win was well-deserved, but if I take the entire tournament on the whole I would be inclined to say no.
CV: Considering their games, they didn’t really deserve it even when you look at their results. Winning one game out of seven and at the 90th minute is a little off.
Was there a point during the tournament which particularly impressed you?
HC: I saw in this tournament that most of the teams during the Group Phase won in the last 10 minutes. This showed that teams were ultimately very well prepare athletically.
In the second phase, teams which were supposed to win comfortably eventually started doing so with minimal scores. Most of the stars did not impress, such as Ibrahimovic or Rooney. They didn’t dominate as they were expected to.
WV: The small teams were impressive due to their impact considering the lack of support when the number of teams was increased to 24 this year. And there were a number of individual moments when we saw great football as well.
CV: Perhaps the game between Italy and Germany, since both teams kept going strong until the last penalty.
What was the best game of the entire tournament?
HC: This tournament has shown that the level of playing has gone down because the larger teams didn’t play as expected while the smaller teams impressed.
WV: It is difficult to pinpoint one. Hungary vs Portugal was impressive due to the number of goals which were scored. It was great to see Italy dominate Spain to eliminate them; and even the 4-0 result of Germany vs Slovakia was an impressive result.
CV: I will have to say it was the Italy vs Germany game because, as I said before, both teams just kept going and it was clearly the most exciting game up until the very last second.
Who was the best player?
HC: In my opinion, a player who impressed a lot was Gareth Bale because he knew that he was playing with a team which had limited resources but, as the star of the Welsh team, he was leading the way constantly. He was running around the entire pitch to get the ball rather than waiting for passes knowing he was the star. He also scored one of the best goals in the entire tournament.
WV: I would say the French Antoine Griezmann if I didn’t take the final into consideration, but Rui Patrício, Portugal’s goalkeeper was potentially the best. He was part of a strong defence, but he ended up being Portugal's hero because despite their way of playing, they still managed to advance thanks to their defence.
CV: Antoine Griezmann was the best because he was smart and opportunistic with a number of goals under his belt. There were a number of ‘bigger’ players which didn’t impress at all. If Griezmann wasn’t the best, he was definitely up there with the best.
How did the smaller teams fare?
HC: Wales and Iceland kept their heads held high throughout the match even when they lost. Nobody expected anything and they got far despite their less than favourable odds.
WV: I wouldn’t say that they fared well, but I can say that there were a number of people who thought they would be overwhelmed. That being said, Wales, Iceland and Hungary kept up with the others and they did quite well in comparison with public expectations.
CV: The small teams were very impressive considering Wales haven’t competed at this level for around 50 years. Iceland also impressed me when you keep in mind the small population of the country and then they went on to eliminate England. Seeing these teams reach this level is impressive in itself.
What was the largest disappointment of the tournament?
HC: This tournament did not offer a single new system for the game. The majority played just like the teams would play at club level; before there would be new systems which coaches would develop like the 4-3-3 or the WW. Something else that disappointed me was that I expected much better from England because they played badly in all the games. They should have changed their coach Roy Hodgson after the last competition, not now. It is too late now.
WV: That has to be the rock bottom which England reached. There was so much hype for their participation after winning a string of matches leading up to the competition. Now they have disappointed in three consecutive tournaments. Their manager didn’t seem to have motivated the players at all, apart from the fact that people know England don’t play for their country. I’m sure they all forgot all about it the following day.
CV: I expected better from the Russians at the beginning, but they didn’t even qualify to the second stage. On a personal level, I also expected Italy to keep going but they ended up being eliminated on penalties.
Do you think that the entire Russian hooligan saga will affect the 2018 World Cup in Russia?
HC: That was the only bad spot in an otherwise very well-organised, disciplined and well-attended tournament. We were all worried that terrorists in France would have spoiled the whole tournament, but it turned out that there was no act of terror in France. When it comes to hooliganism, the Russians should be ashamed of themselves. If they do this again in their country, it would be even more shameful.
WV: I believe Russia will make a strong effort in the years leading up to the World Cup to avoid the same issues from breaking out again.
CV: I don’t believe so because you need to remember that it was simply a small group of people who caused a stir. The worst part is the negative impression they gave others of Russian football. I believe that, on the whole, it won’t have a large impact on Russian football in general.
How has football changed over the years, keeping this last UEFA tournament in mind?
HC: We saw no new system for international play, as I’ve previously mentioned. Let’s take the Italians for example. Conte kept a Juventus defence, the other players were properly disciplined and they gave a good show. My suggestion is thatat the end of the first phase a second draw of lots is carried out to avoid teams 'planning' the journey ahead and trying to avoid the bigger guns. As it turned out, Italy won their group but had to play against reigning European champions Spain. There were other teams who preferred to end up in second or third place not to have to face stiff opponents. I think that to avoid all this chess-work, teams should be subjected to a second draw.
WV: I have seen a trend where teams are obsessed with ball possession; the constant passing back and forth in order to retain possession even annoyed spectators at various moments. There is still the same excitement as before, especially the knock-out sessions, but teams are constantly thinking that if they have the ball, the others can’t score. When you see 68 percent possession, it really means nothing in the end.
CV: The change in the number of teams was a good step because it increases competitive levels and gives more chance to smaller teams like Wales and Iceland. The more teams we have, there is more chance for better playing and more surprises. The game itself hasn’t really changed much because it all depends on how teams adapt to circumstance.