Mexico 1970. Spain 1982. Brazil 2014… fantastic festivals of football, every one. But not the best ever. Because the best international tournament ever played wasn’t a World Cup.
Nostalgia, so the saying goes, isn’t what it used to be. Neither, some might add, is football.The Euros started back in 1960 with just four teams and four matches. No wall charts or skipping off work needed that year. Now with 24 teams, to ensure Uefa’s coffers are amply stocked, this summer’s tournament, which starts on 14 June, represents the other extreme. Bolder or baggier? You decide. The child in us hopes this one might go down as one of the greats.
And they don’t come much bigger than Germany in 2000. Group A might have looked the group of death on paper, but when it came to the reigning champions, it was more the group of end-of-life care. Die Mannschaft was between generations, evidenced by Lothar Matthäus still starting at the age of 39. Ever heard of Erich Ribbeck? He won’t be in the management hall of fame. Training procedures were, according to Raphael Honigstein, “amateur hour”.
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