When the "Ordnung" sleeps - Armenian Soccer

After the EURO 2024 a wave of summaries related to the tournament is overflowing the European media. How can we evaluate it?

Spain became the champion, beating England 2-1 in the final in Berlin. The coach of the defeated team, Gareth Southgate, honestly admitted that the title was won by the best team, which was also better in the final. The Spaniards were better in every match, winning them all! They may not always have been amazing, but were always incredibly effective, able to survive difficult moments and then „killed” their opponents. If you want to achieve something, this is how you have to play.

In purely sporting terms, the championship certainly did not impress. In the second phase of the tournament, in many matches there was too much cautious play, first of all to avoid making a mistake and not losing a goal.

The selection of the best player is always an indirect measure of the level. Knowing UEFA’s customs, one could expect that it would be someone from the winning team. And of course he was, Rodri received the award. For me, this is not an obvious choice. He was certainly one of the most important players of the new European champions. Just like he has for years been a key player in one of the best European club, Manchester City, despite everything I saw him in slightly better shape. So, was he really the best? Let everyone judge for themselves.

There are certainly no question marks when choosing the best young player of the tournament. The winner was Lamine Yamal, because nobody else had been chosen. He was only 17 the day before the final, but he played like an extremely experienced player. Dribbling, running towards the goal, key passes, finishing — all at a really great level. It’s scary to think what he will do on the pitch when he gains experience, although he already has a lot of it for his age. I don’t remember any sixteen-year-old (that’s how old he was almost until the very end of the championship) playing such a significant role at any major tournament (European and World Cups) that I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a lot.

In terms of fans, EURO 2024 certainly turned out well. Full stadiums and a relaxed atmosphere of eternal fiesta everywhere. The visitors were grateful to the hosts that they could drink beer wherever they wanted without any legal consequences. There are countries where alcohol consumption in public places is subject to more restrictive regulations. That’s why I will always remember the fans from the this championship with a bottle of beer in their hands. Especially the Scots, probably the nicest and one of the largest groups (the Dutch were also full of imagination), with whole crates of beer, which they took with them even when traveling by subway.

It is important that there were no major disturbances. Minor incidents always happen at such a large event in front of crowds with blood levels of permille. I myself saw a fight, or rather a scuffle, after the England versus Switzerland match in Düsseldorf. Fortunately, this happened only occasionally, which certainly proves the event’s success in this respect.

A former organization in the broadest sense of the word is certainly not a success. Most of the fans traveled by German railways — DB (Deutsche Bahn), which operated terribly. About 90 – 95 percent of the trains were delayed! Several times I had to go straight to the stadium with my suitcase because the train delay did not allow me to leave it at the hotel.

In Düsseldorf, after the England versus Switzerland match, fans were taken from the stadium by buses to the city center, according to information on the displays above the windshield. But unfortunately they quickly stopped. The security guards told everyone to get off. You didn’t need to know German to understand that this was the end of the journey, because the buses had to return to the stadium for more fans. They were all dropped off near the riverside boulevard — Rheinpromenade, to get rid of them as quickly as possible. They had to walk two and a half kilometers to the nearest tram or bus stop!

In Dortmund, after the Germany versus Denmark match, the police did not want to let anyone into the train station, claiming that the train to Cologne was full. But after long waits they managed to board the train (supposedly overcrowded!) enter without any problems.

The famous German “Ordnung” (order) has long fallen into a deep sleep…