Defeat, sterile game and encouragement

The European Championship started on Friday evening in Munich and until the middle of July it will be the center of interest of hundreds of millions of football fans in Europe and beyond, and of many others, for whom sport is more or less out of focus, but will simply succumb to the pressure of the media and the frenetic environment. . Public pressure and fan euphoria are particularly present in countries participating in the European Football Championship (abbreviated as EURO), especially in the Balkans, where "the whole nation is a national team". And so it was again euphoric and full of nationalist outpourings on Sunday evening, when the Serbian national team was defeated by England in its first appearance. It was similar in the neighborhood, but more on that next week.

photo: ap

It was shown again that the team of coach Dragan Stojković-Piksi is far from the team that triumphed in Portugal at the end of 2021, and the coach himself made a full circle and after a series of great results, he returned the national team to where he found it - in mediocrity and barrenness. . And regardless of the fact that many found encouragement in the minimal defeat against England, it is hard to imagine that such a pale Serbian national team, now and with public disagreements between the coach and the captain, will manage to reach the second round through the duel with Slovenia and Denmark. We have already seen and heard something similar a year and a half ago, after the defeat to Brazil in the first match in Qatar.

Again, it is sporting to believe in upheavals, especially when it comes to football, and especially that the Serbian team has potential, and we cannot but leave room for the hope that the coach is capable of pulling it off, and that the players are physically and mentally ready to rise above the average and become a faster and braver team, which can reach four points in the next two games in the group, with Slovenia and Denmark.

THE ORGANIZERS ARE RUBBING THEIR HANDS

The European football championship in Germany is the seventeenth in a row and the third mastodon - with 24 national teams. This means that the winner will be reached through 36 games in the first phase and another 15 in the elimination phase, and this again means that a huge amount of money will be collected, hard to imagine for the promoters of the competition at the end of the fifties of the last century, even though football was already popular around the world. planet and quite professionalized in Western Europe.

In ten cities - Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dortmund, Leipzig, Gelsenkirchen, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf - 51 matches will be played, attended by a total of 2,7 million spectators. Almost all the tickets have long since "sold out" and since they were the most expensive so far (from 150 to 400 euros), the organizers from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) are rubbing their hands with satisfaction, because they will cover the financial losses from the last European Championship, which was played a year late. and under pandemic measures.

From tickets, television and other rights, sponsors and patrons, UEFA will earn a total of nearly two and a half billion euros, and it is calculated that the net profit will amount to 1,7 billion. A good part will be transferred to the host and the football associations of the participating countries, and the clubs that provided national team players will also benefit. In total, UEFA will distribute 331 million euros to the participants: each association will receive 9,5 million based on participation, and the figure will increase with points won and a better ranking, so that the new European champions, with all the victories, could earn 28,5 million euros. 240 million euros will be distributed to the clubs from which the national team members come - about 140 million for the clubs whose players are performing at the European Championship and 100 million for the clubs whose players participated in the League of Nations and the qualifiers.

UEFA will pay the hosts a little less than 70 million euros, but in Germany they calculate that the total own investment of over 650 million euros will be compensated from various revenues, starting from the spending of hundreds of thousands of fans who will come from many European countries. However, many Germans fear the gathering of large numbers of people and put safety before earnings and entertainment, not only because of the war a few hundred kilometers east in Ukraine and the one in Palestine, but also because of the mutual hatred of nationalist fan groups, especially Balkan ones. But for now, the German police and law enforcement agencies are keeping the situation under control and quickly remediating excess situations.

LAST MEDAL OF THE DECEASED COUNTRY

Some participants of the UEFA Congress in 1958 warned that the championship of European countries would cause nationalistic passions, but the desire prevailed for Europe to finally have its champion, as South America had for several decades, and even Asia since 1956. . More than the outpouring of nationalism, the delegates of the UEFA Congress were concerned about the narrowing of the dates for club competitions, which, apart from war and post-war troubles, was for a long time the main reason for delaying the foundation of the European Nations Cup.

Finally, at the already mentioned Congress, a decision was made to start the competition, but, like the first World Cup, the first European Championship was phallic, because the powerful football associations of England, Scotland, Italy, West Germany, Holland and Sweden did not join. 17 national teams participated and fought for the final tournament of the best four according to the cup system. In honor of the creator of the idea, the long-time general secretary of the French Football Association, Henri Delaunay, and as France reached the semi-finals, the first Cup of European Nations was held in Paris from July 6 to 10, 1960. Along with the hosts, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Hungary were in the competition, and in the end the Soviets triumphed in the final, beating the Yugoslavs by a goal (2:1).

That premiere, as well as the EURO from 1968, will remain recorded as the scene of the greatest achievements of Yugoslav football, especially the Rome tournament from 56 years ago and the second silver medal, which is the last major success of the football national team of the deceased country, since until the formation of Ivica Osim's team before the collapse of the state, it was far from the reputation of the fifties and sixties, when it was at the top of world football. And right before the breakup of Yugoslavia, we had a national team that was on the podium, but the separation of Slovenia and Croatia, and then the sanctions on Yugoslavia, i.e. Serbia and Montenegro, prevented the powerful team from staying together and participating in the 1992 European Championship in Sweden. Instead of Yugoslavia, Denmark went to the championship, the runner-up from the qualification group, and created one of the biggest sensations in football history. The Danes were accommodated in the camp intended for the Yugoslavs, they were driven to the games by a bus with the name of Yugoslavia written on it, and in the end they lifted the victory cup instead of the Yugoslavs.

RADANOVIĆ!

European championships have enriched football history, they are remembered like the mentioned Danish epic and many games, goals, reversals and everything that makes football the most popular game. The first five final tournaments, ending with the championship held in Yugoslavia in 1976, gathered four national teams, from 1980 to 1992 eight competed, from 1996 to 2012 the number increased to 16, and this is the third championship with 24 participants. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia in the early 57s and the subsequent expansion to some Asian countries, the number of UEFA members grew, and with the mass and increasing popularity of football, UEFA's income grew, as well as the prize fund it distributed: from 1996 million in 196 , over 2012 million in 331, to today's XNUMX million euros.

Finally, the Football Association of Serbia will leave the European Championship, since in five consecutive qualification cycles, from 2004 to 2020, the national team failed to reach the finals. After the first three European Nations Cups, we had two participations in the final tournaments and two runner-up titles (1960 and 1968), then we placed in the top four in 1976 and won the home team, but in the end we finished in fourth place, disappointing for the time , but great from today's perspective. Under the name SFRJ, we performed in France in 1984, among the top eight, and experienced a real shipwreck (three convincing defeats in the group). And yes, we mentioned that sad episode - we qualified for the championship in Sweden in 1992, and because of the war and sanctions, Denmark played instead of Yugoslavia.

After that, our national team performed only once more at the final continental competition - at the championship in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2000, under the name SR Yugoslavia. The powerful national team was led by the legendary Vujadin Boškov, and after a difficult passage from the group stage, it "disintegrated" in front of the home Netherlands in the quarterfinals (6:1 for "Tulips") and recorded one of the heaviest national team defeats in history.

However, many beautiful pictures and videos from the performances of our national team in the qualifiers and in the final tournaments remained engraved. The first goal at the European Championships was scored by Milan Galić in Yugoslavia's great victory over France in the semi-final match in Marseille (5:4), and Galić was also the scorer of the first goal in the first final, which was eventually won by the USSR. The final from 1968, between home country Italy and Yugoslavia, is the only ever repeated final in the history of European and world championships. In mid-June 1976, at the Maracana in Belgrade, the Yugoslav national team demolished the current world and European champions, the SR Germany team, in the first half of the semi-final, and led 2:0. 4). To this day, the "crazy" match of the last qualifying round, played in Split at the end of 2, and Ljubomir Radanović's goal for the victory over Bulgaria (1983:3) and placement at the EURO in France, are still remembered and transmitted to new generations. The set also remembers the furious passage through the qualifications for EURO 2...

ICONIC GOALS

And Dragan Džajić's goal in Rome in 1968, in the semi-final match with England, then the world champion, took us to the final and goes beyond our limits because it is among the iconic images of European championships, such as the goals of the German Gerd Müller in 1972, the goal of the Dutchman Mark Van Basten in the 1988 final, golden goals in the 1996 and 2000 finals, the decisive shot by the Czech Antonin Panenka in the penalty shootout in the final in 1976 and the famous parable that was later named after him, Michel Platini's goals in France's campaign in 1984, the surprises prepared by Czechoslovakia, the already mentioned Denmark, Greece and Portugal...

And indeed, although the big football nations have won most of the European titles, in contrast to the World Cup, there have been surprises at the European competitions, such as the ones mentioned, and the Netherlands can also be counted there, since they really unexpectedly triumphed in 1988. And for the EP in Germany, experts, bettors, and artificial intelligence count the "greats" as favorites - England and France in first place, followed by the host Germany. Spain and Portugal follow, then defending champions Italy, then the Netherlands and Belgium, followed by Croatia and Denmark. And the market value of the teams is similar to the table of favorites, since the English team is worth 1,5 billion euros, the French 1,2 billion, the Portuguese and Spanish about a billion, the German and the Dutch about 850 million, the Italian over 700, and the Belgian about 540 million, etc. .

But already the first games showed that surprises are possible, so the Slovakian team defeated (1:0) Belgium, which was ten times more expensive and 25 times better rated at the bookmakers, Slovenia took a point from Denmark, Austria gave France a hard time, Albania beat Italy, and a more courageous Serbia she could threaten an unconvincing England. The hosts justified their role as favorites at the opening - the German selection humiliated Scotland (5:1) and once again confirmed that with the new coach Julian Nagelsmann, they are returning to their old ways, and Spain also performed powerfully by "knocking out" Croatia already in the first half (3 :0). A good game was shown by the Netherlands in the victory over Poland (2:1), as well as Switzerland in the duel with Hungary (3:1).

The organizer should be praised for shortening the VAR supervision procedure and for now there were no long interruptions, as was the case at the World Cup in Qatar, so there were no drastic time compensations.

photo: ap

HOW TO FURTHER

And let's see where the Serbian national team is after the first game and the minimal defeat against the most expensive team and the biggest favorite to win the European title. Considering the strength of the rivals, and our situation resulting from the worse results in the last two years and the generally gloomy situation in domestic football, a 1:0 defeat can be characterized as tolerable, especially since there are two upcoming games with, in terms of names and quotas, weaker selections . But the impression is that in the duel with, it seems, overtired England players and their restrained coach Gareth Southgate, it was possible to at least get a point, but with a more determined, faster and braver team. And with captain Dusan Tadić in the starting line-up.

England's winning goal, and then our sterile supremacy in the second half, came from a timid start, handing over the initiative to the rival, and some players not finding their way. The fact that some English players weakened after a warm night at the Schalke stadium in Gelsenkirchen and that the powerful team later withdrew according to the idea of ​​their coach gave space to our national team, but all the "superiority" (as they have slightly longer possession of the ball and two or three half-chances characterized by selector Stojković and many sports commentators), it was barren and reduced to one shot on goal, Vlahović's shot from 20 and a few meters ten minutes before the end. The English selection deadened the game and decided to threaten occasionally, while the Serbian team adapted and most of the players did not leave the "second gear", first of all Sergej Milenković Savić, who deserved to be replaced more than Saša Lukić, which Stojković can be blamed for, although Tadić's performance only from the 61st minute overshadowed everything and caused the most criticism.

photo: ap

While we were among the four or eight best national teams, we had disciplined, fierce and hard-working football players, but also creative ones, who created surpluses with their moves, scored and scored goals. They have been in short supply in our football for a long time, and head coach Stojković allowed himself an unusual luxury when he left Tadić, despite his advanced age, on the reserve bench and kept him for the last half hour. That decision became the most important topic after the game, as the captain revealed in the live broadcast that he did not agree with the "mister" (Stojković), but that he respected the decision, as well as that he is the best player in the team and that he still has a place in the team. first 11

The coach was not right, but he did not deepen the disagreements and we can only hope that by today (Thursday), when they will have a duel with Slovenia (which once again proved to be a very well-coordinated and prepared team), they will establish good communication and that everyone will start and make an effort to resemble the team that, not so long ago, celebrated unitedly, bravely and confidently at the Luž in Lisbon. In the second part of the match with England, the Serbian national team only briefly reminded of those days and raised hope, but in the end, of course, that was not enough for a tie, and it will be not enough for them to win and draw in the duels with the selections of Slovenia and Denmark, which it is now necessary to pass among the 16 teams.