The ‘beautiful game’ has been made to look so ugly by England and France, making a victory for the most exciting team in the tournament imperative
After England had turned in yet another “woeful” performance against Slovakia in the last 16 of Euro 2024, Gary Neville called on manager Gareth Southgate to implement a drastic change in approach.
“Getting over the line and winning is all-important in tournaments,” the former defender said on BBC Sport, “but it’s unrealistic to think you can go through a month of a tournament playing like we are, and get through to [the final].”
Unfortunately, Neville was wrong. England are now just one win away from the tournament-decider in Berlin, after another horror-show against Switzerland in which they once again managed to force us neutrals to endure 30 more minutes of mediocrity by scoring late on with their first shot on target.
Worse, still, France are also still in the running – despite being incapable of scoring goals from open play. Just like England, they are far less than the sum of their parts because of the debilitating negativity of their coach, making them even more difficult to watch.
Netherlands have been easier on the eye, at least at times, but were it not for the Euros’ ludicrous format, Ronald Koeman & Co. would already be out, having finished third in their group. Truth be told, they barely would have been missed. This is not a vintage Dutch side steeped in the country’s proud history of Total Football.
The onus, then, is on Spain to save a tedious tournament that has done little other than hammer home the fact that football is suffering from a self-inflicted crisis of quality.
‘Ugly path to aim for the title’
England and France fans are perfectly entitled to savour the lead-up to the semi-finals. These are exciting times for both sets of players and their supporters – but deeply disturbing for the rest of us.
‘Good football’ is an undeniably subjective term and beauty unquestionably lies in the eye of the beholder, but passion, pride and patriotism are often enemies of impartiality and should not be allowed to cloud one’s judgement.
For example, Johan Cruyff wanted to see Netherlands win the 2010 World Cup – but not after witnessing the roughhouse tactics they employed in the final against Spain, with the Dutch legend seeing such a brutally defensive display as an embarrassing betrayal of the country’s footballing philosophy.
“On the Thursday before the game, they asked me from Holland ‘Can we play like Inter? Can we stop Spain in the same way [Jose] Mourinho eliminated Barca [from the Champions League semi-finals]?'” Cruyff told El Periodico.
“I said no, no way at all. I said no, not because I hate this style – I said no because I thought that my country wouldn’t dare to and would never renounce their style. I said no because, without having great players like those of the past, the team has its own style.
“I was wrong…. And it hurts me that Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title.”
England and France have been guilty of the same shocking levels of cynicism in Germany.
‘Sh*t on a stick’
Pundits can dress it up whatever way they want, talking about resilience, bravery and togetherness – but what these two great football nations have achieved at the Euros is not some sort of defensive work of art; it’s what Jorge Valdano called “sh*t on a stick” – which is unforgivable given the tools with which both Deschamps and Southgate have been blessed.
They can call upon some of the best footballers in the game today and yet their matches have been almost unwatchable. Indeed, when Ralf Rangnick, the coach of a wonderfully dynamic and adventurous Austria side, said that “I’ve seen other games when it was difficult to even stay awake”, we knew exactly which teams he was talking about.
Of course, both England and France would argue that the ends justifies the means and one can be sure that Southgate will be celebrated as a hero in his homeland if the Three Lions finally end their 58-year wait for a major international trophy – but it would be extremely damaging for football if either he or Deschamps ends up with his hands on the trophy, because it would legitimise their shameful strategies.
‘Less and less attractive’
Deschamps remains indifferent to the criticism, stating on the eve of the semi-final with Spain if that football fans find France boring, they just “watch another game” – and that’s fine, that’s his prerogative. He’ll feel he’s in Germany to win, not entertain.
The problem is, though, that so many coaches now care so little about the spectacle, at what is a very delicate time in the history of the game becaust it feels as if we’ve reached a tipping point, the moment of over-saturation. There are more matches but fewer great games at the business end of the season.
The standard of play is also arguably higher than ever before and yet, paradoxically, there is less room for creative talents. So, what happens in people don’t just “watch another game”, but another sport? Even the great Ronaldo says he prefers to watch tennis these days because he finds football “boring”.
He’s not alone in that regard. Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa argued last week, “Football has more and more spectators but it is becoming less and less attractive. What made this game the best game in the world at the time, is not prioritised today.
“Then, this process will be finished. No matter how many people watch football, if you don’t ensure that what people watch is something pleasant, it will only benefit the business. Because the business only cares about how many people watch it. But, in a few years, the players who deserve to be watched will be fewer, and the game produced becomes less enjoyable and this current artificial increase in support will end.”
‘Sending these guys to the slaughterhouse’
The Euros is a perfect case in point. The expansion to 24 teams has been a disaster, diluting the quality of the competition and placing ever more pressure on players. This is the modern game, though. More games means more money for the organisers, meaning player welfare doesn’t enter the equation.
As Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri told La Repubblica last season, “They are sending these guys to the slaughterhouse without anyone intervening. This is football now: take the money and run.”
The net result is an ever-increasing amount of injuries caused by a disgracefully congested schedule. It’s no coincidence that several top players didn’t even make it to the Euros having been struck down by the dreaded ACL tear, while even some of those that did turn up have looked utterly exhausted. Indeed, there’s a very real risk of Barcelona and Spain prodigy Pedri becoming a poster-boy for burnout after he suffered yet another injury before his 22nd birthday in Germany.
Fatigue no excuse
In that context, one could attempt to defend Deschamps and Southgate by pointing to the fact that many of their star players are coming off the back of gruelling club campaigns – and that tiredness is responsible for their sub-standard showings.
However, while fatigue is undoubtedly a factor in the declining quality, it cannot be used as an excuse for England and France’s terrible tactics.
Deschamps has admitted himself that a solid defensive base is his priority, and he will always err on the side of caution. His tactics aren’t influenced by the level of talent at his disposal; his attitude is always safety-first, because he feels that an international manager doesn’t have sufficient time to develop a sophisticated game plan, so he focuses on keeping things simple and getting the basics right.
The thing is, though, that Deschamps has acknowledged himself that there are other “other ways” to win major tournaments – and the hope is that Spain will prove that point this week.
‘Football is spectacle’
La Roja have been a joy to watch at the Euros. With the peerless Rodri pulling the strings in midfield alongside the revived Fabian Ruiz, short, precise passing is obviously an integral part of their game, but Spain are not a classic tiki-taka team.
There has been a refreshing directness about them, too, as they look to get the ball to the feet of Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal as quickly and as regularly as possible. These are precisely the kind of players that Bielsa was talking about, thrilling talents that are at risk of extinction, because they are either completely overlooked by conservative coaches or shackled by systems and strategies that prioritise pragmatism over panache.
Luis de la Fuente, though, has essentially implemented a style of play aimed at getting the best out of his most exciting players – can either Deschamps or Southgate really say the same?
Spain have also shown real grit, determination and defensive diligence when required, most notably in the one truly great game we’ve seen at the Euros so far, against Germany. It really should have been the final, and we can only pray that its victors end up lifting the trophy, because ‘The Beautiful Game’ really could do with a win right now.
As Cruyff once wrote, “The public and the players should enjoy football. Football is spectacle. If not, it’s not football.” It’s “sh*t on a stick” – and that’s certainly not worth watching, let alone celebrating.
Source goal.com
