Euro 2016 Diary – A football celebration & late strikes

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  • PARIS, France – After six games in six days, across six cities, it’s time to reflect on a memorable first week at Euro 2016. I’ve taken trains, planes and automobiles around France to witness some fantastic football, unbridled joy and some unlikely upsets. I’ve said “je ne suis pas un hooligan” (I’m not a hooligan) more times than I can remember and been on enough bouncing public transport carriages to last me a lifetime.

    A FESTIVAL IN FRANCE

    I’ve admired the optimistic outlook of supporters in both victory and defeat and heard some amazing chants – ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire’ obviously the highlight. I’ve heard Swindon fans talk to Swedes about their mid-table finish in League One and Italians discuss whether Leonardo Bonucci can hold a candle to Paolo Maldini with a group of Belgians in Marouane Fellaini wigs.

    Aside from a mindless minority in Marseille, it has been a celebration of different cultures, not a clash of them. It’s been a pleasure to experience such a festival of football – the ambience in each city always convivial, the fan zones always packed, the stadiums always deafening.

    There were superb debuts for Wales and Iceland, while Northern Ireland gained a first win at their second attempt, while there has been debut despair for Albanian fans, resplendent in their plis hats but despondent in defeat to France and Switzerland.

    ICELAND MELT HEARTS

    Iceland’s 1-1 draw with Portugal was probably the highlight of week one. Those who had travelled from Northern Europe – and my goodness there are a lot of them – were all so utterly delighted to be watching their team at a first major finals. The Icelandic invasion created an incredible atmosphere that helped the 42,000-capacity Stade Geoffroy Guichard live up to its nickname, ‘The Cauldron’.

    For the Icelandic journalists too it was a match to savour. The smattering of them sitting alongside me in the press box talked of regularly covering football games attended by less than 1,000 fans, while Iceland’s national stadium seats just 15,000.  It was no surprise then that they cheered as wildly as those in blue, white and red when Birkir Bjarnason swept his equaliser past Rui Patricio.

    After the game, Cristiano Ronaldo’s behaviour was the subject of much criticism and rightly so. Was he expecting Iceland to go gung-ho against the group favourites and leave themselves open so that he could bang in a few goals? Kari Arnason – formerly of Plymouth Argyle and Rotherham United did a fine job of shackling the Real Madrid frontman and fittingly had the last word.

    “He’s a fantastic footballer but he’s not a gracious human being,” Arnason said after the game. “His comments are the reason why Messi is always going to be one step ahead of him. You wouldn’t expect Messi to say that. It shows we got under his skin…What can I say? Sore loser. Tough s***. What does he expect – for us to play like Barcelona against him? He fannies about and dives around.” (Read more on Arnason’s thoughts here)

    FASHIONABLY LATE

    Dramatic goals have certainly been a common theme at Euro 2016 thus far, with 12 of the tournament’s 30 strikes coming after the 80th minute. It has made for entertaining endings for the neutrals but late interventions are a nightmare scenario for journalists with pieces to submit. Many a backspace button has been pressed in the press boxes of France, with themes of articles thrown out the window.

    ‘France falter in Euro opener’ and ‘Spain’s start title defence with disappointing draw’ were dumped in the recycling bin thanks to Dimitri Payet’s screamer and Gerard Pique’s header. The audible sighs of frustration in the media centre – goodness knows what it was like when Sylvain Wiltord scored in stoppage time in the Euro 2000 final – are soon replaced by debate and dissection.

    Daniel Sturridge’s goal for England against Wales is the only result-altering late strike I’ve witnessed so far in France, immediately transforming Roy Hodgson’s double half-time substitution from a mere ‘positive move’ to a ‘masterstroke’. But it could not trump Graziano Pelle’s 93rd-minute volley against Belgium, the Southampton striker gloriously slathering the icing on Italy’s cake, confirming a victory that had seemed so unlikely prior to kick-off.

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