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When the curtain comes down on Euro 2016 tonight, those who love this magical thing called football will be left with a bulging archive of memories and lifelong tales to tell. Memories of stunning goals, improbable saves, shock upsets, Cinderellas slaying Goliaths and goose-bump scenes from the stands.
It was a tournament that reminded all of us just why we love this beautiful game.
There were ugly moments too, on and off the pitch. The Russian fans, whose team was one of the worst performers in Euro 2016, brought with them the aggression of the Vladimir Putin era. It seemed they were less interested in their lacklustre team than in getting drunk and donnering the hell out of fellow fans. There was relief all round when the 2016 World Cup hosts left town after two losses and one draw.
The goals
What is a football tournament without those special goals that you discuss around the water cooler, at the taxi rank and, of course, at the pub?
Frenchman Dimitri Payet’s 89th minute long-range gem in the opening game against Romania had everyone putting it down as a goal of the tournament contender – with just one game played. There were more to come: Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri’s bicycle kick, a slick heel from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale’s pinpoint free kick.
The saves
Goalkeepers get a raw deal when it comes to awards and general appreciation.
They may regularly get the man of the match award, but when it comes to recognising the overall heroes, it is outfield players who stand a better chance.
Predictably, Germany’s Manuel Neuer and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon led the way in producing spectacular saves.
Cinderellas punching hard
If you had predicted that Iceland would make the quarterfinals of Euro 2016, you would have been laughed out of town. Same if you had predicted a semi-final berth for Wales – who last qualified for the World Cup in 1958 and the Euros in 1964.
You would have been sent to the loony bin if you said Northern Ireland would make it to the last 16 and that Albania would go home with their heads held high after beating Romania and making France and Switzerland sweat.
Everyone fell in love with the Cinderellas and backed them when their home team was not playing. The support was rewarded with performances that punched way above weight.
The one-day-is-one-day flops
England promised that its 2016 squad was yet another golden generation, the team that would give them their first silverware since their 1966 World Cup triumph.
Yet again, this generation was as much of a disappointment as those before. Their coach turned out to be another grandfather who was almost as clueless about the modern game as Shakes Mashaba. Okay, that’s unfair on Roy Hodgson. No national coach deserves such a comparison.
But what stands the English in good stead is the talent in their youthful team. In the hands of a more adept and daring coach, they could pose a threat in 2018.
The Belgians went into this tournament sitting second on the Fifa rankings. Rich with stars who adorn the colours of global giants like Tottenham Hostspur, they were considered among the favourites. They played excitingly in the group stages, losing only to Italy and then hammering Hungary 4-0 in the last 16.
But then they were exposed by a highly charged and tactically savvy Wales, who trounced them 3-1.
As commentators pointed out, the Belgian team that went to France was not a team but just a grouping of talented individuals.
The heroes
At the end of the day, sport is about achievement and heroism. Three names stand out in this tournament: Gareth Bale, Dimitri Payet and Jérôme Boateng. Going in, the Welsh had been written off as a one-man team that could be dealt with by containing Bale. But then Bale proved to be more than the engine of the team. He was their inspiration that gave them self-belief. The harder he worked, the more his team mates upped their tempo.
Payet was a bit player in the French side, not considered good enough for a regular call-up by Didier Deschamps. But his extraordinary 2015/16 season at West Ham made him impossible to ignore. He proved his worth by being the most influential player in the star-studded French side. Bursting into tears after scoring that opening-match goal said everything about what donning the jersey meant to him.
Save for the silly penalty concession in the quarterfinal against Italy, Boateng has been the piston in the purring engine that is the German team. He has been all over the field: commanding the back, doing creative work in the midfield and harassing defenders and goalkeepers. His grass-cutting goal against Slovakia – his first international one – will be in contention for goal of the tournament.
The spirit
You have a heart of stone if you did not have a lump in the your throat when the Icelanders applauded their heroic team with the trademark Viking thunder clap celebration after their quarterfinal ouster, and when you saw the Welsh belting out their Land of my Fathers national anthem when their own heroes collapsed at the semi-final stage.
Euro 2016 will be remembered for the festive spirit in the stands in almost every game, but it is the fans of these supposed minnows who will forever stand out in memory.
Fond farewells
International competition gives us the infrequent opportunity to watch Sweden’s talented Zlatan Ibrahimovic at work.
The 34-year-old retires after this tournament and we will miss his stylish play and his witty comments in the buildup to and during the 2018 World Cup. Fortunately, we will witness him in Manchester United colours next season, where he and the Special One will entertain us with their shamelessly narcissistic post-match comments.
Also to be missed will be one of the greatest men of the game, Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque. The great man led Spanish football through their greatest period.
He won the World Cup for the first time in 2010 and in 2012 he retained the Euro crown, which he had inherited from his predecessor. He had intended to leave after the disastrous 2014 World Cup campaign in Brazil, but ego got the better of him and he stayed on to restore his reputation in this year’s Euros.
What he got instead was a humiliating send-off with his charges woefully underperforming in France.
