POL Chelsea Debate: England’s next manager, pre-season tour
By George Perry
What are some of your closing thoughts on Euro 2016?
Ejoh Celestine: UEFA Euro 2016 was a pleasant surprise. The tournament demonstrated the value of team ethic over individual brilliance.
The fact that a team that only managed to qualify from the group stage as best losers and won just one of seven games in regulation time eventually went on to win the tournament reminds me of Chelsea’s 2012 UCL victory.
Less fancied teams like Iceland, Italy, Wales and Portugal prevailed against the more popular England, Spain, Belgium and France. Portugal’s victory, along with Chile’s in Copa America, is a perfect vindication of the importance of a good defence.
Ayushman Basu: Football never ceases to surprise me. I thought it would be a one-sided match – which, by the stats, it was – and France would win it comfortably. Instead, Portugal won it in their ‘written in the stars’ fashion. On the balance of the play France deserved to win it at home, but football is cruel (heart goes out to Greizmann!). For the neutrals and the Portugal fans this Euro has been brilliant.
Siva Sankar: It was a funny tournament. Quality and tactics overall were not great, but the surprise packages of the tournament have shown that a good team will triumph individual quality.
Iceland, Italy, Wales, Portugal all had a set game plan and a goal to achieve. They beat out teams with better individuals. Germany were an impressive team because of their comfort in playing multiple styles.
Overall it was entertaining although there were quite a few more-than-a-bit-boring matches in the lengthy group stages.
Andre Carlisle: Well that was a bit crap. Portugal won four matches, and two in 90 minutes. Despite having Ronaldo, a rebirthed Nani and the scintillating Renato Sanchez, Portugal played ‘Steve Buscemi-in-a-beauty-pageant’ football.
Some managers sabotaged their teams. Belgium’s Marc Wilmots never came close to fielding his best on-form side. Germany left all their forwards at home. France’s Didier Deschamps thought it was a good idea – in a final – to place an attacking midfielder worth +£100 million in a defensive holding position.
Given the overall mess, a sans-Ronaldo Portugal was the only team ugly enough to be the tournament’s rightful victor.
Daniel Mcclue: I originally wanted and predicted France to win, but there was something about seeing Cristiano Ronaldo stretchered off in tears that made Portugal’s victory quite poetic.
As an Englishman, the less said about our tournament the better.
From the Chelsea fans’ point of view it was the perfect tournament. The players looked to be regaining some form, there were no injuries and the incoming manager put on one hell of a show. After the season Chelsea had and the craziness to come, it was nice to have some respite.
Ajitesh Rasgotra: Entertaining, without being entertained.
A minority of fans caused trouble off the pitch, but the majority came together in a refreshing reminder of how diverse individuals can come together and enjoy themselves (shout-out to the Irish). The football was pretty dire, though.
Barrett Rouen: Euro 2016 had the right amount of Cinderella stories and romance that an international tournament is supposed to have. The drama held at a pretty decent level the whole way through the tournament.
I always love when a team upsets all these pundits who blabber on and on about “beautiful” football being only one certain type of football. I think they are so full of it that it’s coming out of their ears. Beautiful is winning matches however you can and against any odds.
Congratulations Portugal. Good tournament, not great, but good.
Elkebir Lamrani: Euro 2016 got the final it deserved: a painful and slow death, with a bang at the end, much like most games of the past month. Portugal held onto dear life many times and eventually, somehow, won.
All in all though, France may have the best young talents in Europe, but Portugal had something that Les Bleus didn’t : experience.
Next: What does England need in a manager?