EURO 2016 EDITION THE UNDERDOG’S TOURNAMENT

Recent events and the sheer number of non traditional finalists at the 15^th edition of the UEFA Euro Cup 2016, strongly suggests that this will in essence be an “Underdog’s” tournament.

A dejected Oranje on elimination, will have to content with watching matters on TV

For starters, power house and former champions Holland’s elimination at the Euro cup qualifiers sent massive shock-waves, then Claudio Ranieri and Leicester’s seismic miracle shook the world of sports thusrealigned the tectonic plates with their unprecedented and prior unforeseeable English Premier League triumph , while Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid have practically been repeating and sustaining a David versus Goliath[s] theme and often coming off the better fighting two colossi, every season for the last few, in Spain’s La Liga and also at their two recent UEFA Champions League final appearances. These two have surmounted lofty scales upsetting old precedents while defying humongous financial disparities and disadvantages.

Ranieri and Simeone's recent successes will not have gone unnoticed

All these factors have colluded to give virtually the largest collection of underdogs at any soccer event of global significance, plenty of hope and a sense of “Yes we can”! With Albania and Iceland qualifying for their first international tournament ever, can they upstage the odds along with Switzerland, Romania, Slovenia, Wales, Northern Ireland, Austria or Hungary? Can they pull off an “Obama” and make this truly the year of the underdog?

Germany, who’ve always qualified for all tournaments they set out to reach, hosts France, Spain- the incumbent, former multiple world champions Italy, a vastly talented Belgium and to some extent England, all have to contend with this paradigm shift and each will essentially have to reorient their thinking if not their game in order to cope with this new “threat”.

Le Bleu, home crowd favourites

In Group A, France screams out as clear favourites and parades practically the most portent, most dynamic attack at these finals. Coach Didier Deschamps is simply spoilt for choice and must be gleaming at the sheer prospects of unleashing this beast.

Morgan Scheidelin, Yohan Cabaye, N’golo Kante and Mamadou Sisokho offer several possible midfield combinations from deep. 

Upfront, widemen; Dimitry Payet, Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial offer portent possibilities while Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann each presents a different proposition with Giroud as the traditional striker due to his size while Griezmann has sheer pace and precision. Paul Pogba is the team's dynamo. This is one team that everyone expects to score plenty of goals.

Defensive frailties are their Achilles heel, with the aging wide pair of team Captain Patrice Evra and Bacary Sagna vulnerable on the counter from pacy opposing forwards. With the world class hands of Hugo Lloris calming nerves in goal, the spine of this team is solid but the absence of Verane and Kurt Zouma will be deeply felt. The untested central defensive pair of Christophe Jalle and Samuel Umtiti must be giving most fans of the beloved Le Bleu sleepless nights.

As hosts, a lack of competitive qualifying matches rendered Deschamps unable and therefore unsure of his best combination, having tried several formations and has settled for a 4-3-3 lately. With so many speedy forwards, if he could only muster the courage to play a 3-5-2 it could perhaps cover for the teams weaknesses without compromising their attacking instincts.

History beckons, the triumphant French team of '84

Two factors that might see the French overcome opposition are; their home ground advantage with their hordes of fervently fanatical supporters ensuring the underdogs don’t attempt a football version of the “Bastille’s prison break” in their own back yard. Also, if history is a better pointer it goes without saying that France has always performed strongly as hosts, twice winning the Euro in 1984 Captained by Michel Platini, and the World Cup in 1998 led by Zinadine Zidane’s wizardry.

Zidane with the ultimate prize in '98

Albania and Switzerland will both look for ways of upstaging France as group leaders and make them meet their “waterloo”. Switzerland overall is the better of the two with Swiss champions Basel even making headways in the UEFA Champions league and the Europa in recent years while the national team made it to the last World cup in Brazil. They are technically France’s biggest threat in the group who boast a mix of youth and experience.

Stoke City and former Bayern Munich via Basel forward, Xhedran Shakiri otherwise known as “the Alpine Messi” is the heart of this team and can win games for them at the scuff of the neck if need be, with his endless bag of tricks and audacious goals coming in handy. He along with another Swiss of Albanian descent and recent Arsenal acquisition, Granit Xhaka as well as Vellon Berhami are part of a very strong Swiss spine which also boasts of a young powerful Cameroonian born striker Breel Embolo, nicknamed the new Drogba. Team Captain Lichtesteiner brings with him a huge wealth of experience and leadership from his Juventus base in the Serie A.

Switzerland's Albanian connection

Loyalties will surely be tested when the Swiss meet Albania as the Xhaka brothers, Granit and Taulant will line up on opposite sides and should make for interesting headlines.

Albania’s qualification, though coming as a shock and having a fairy tale quality about it, was not a fluke nor down to luck as many would readily assume but is credited to the foresight,  hard work and organizational abilities of Italian born naturalized Albanian, Coach Gianni Di Biassi.

Taulant and Granit Xhaka, blood brothers with opposing loyalties

Di Biassi has obviously cleverly executed a perfect “Italian job” by getting this perennial also runs to do endless running, play as team and remain tactically compact. Di Biassi’s preferred formation is the 4-3-3 which transforms to a 4-5-1 at the snap of a finger, coupled with plenty of high pressing attempting to force opponents into committing errors in transition with the counter attack their main weapon. 

Di Biassi has revolutionized Albanian thinking

They are very difficult to break down as Portugal and Norway can attest, both of whom suffered the ignominy of having their coaches resign after shock defeats, and France during an international friendly. They are largely an unknown quantity that has used the underdog tag and the element of surprise to their advantage

Albania's sheer guts and determination

The hard and endless running of striker Sokol Cikalleshi is their main weapon, with a cool head and set of clinical legs when given a chance.

Cikalleshi, Albania's dangerman in full flight

Romanian football has gone into a deep decline in recent years and their national team basically epitomizes the fall in standards. Compared to Romanian teams of yore who drew plenty from the successes from military side SteauBucuresti during their golden era, which instantly draws memories of Gheorghe Hagi, Marius Lacatus, IleuPopescu and Dumitrescu, the current generation is a pale shadow in comparison. Lucian Sanmartean who plies his trade for Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia is their most “portent” weapon. Similar to Albania, they rely on strong defensive formations, closing the channels as well as high and low pressing. On a lighter note, they conjured the meanest defense and only conceded 2 goals during the qualifiers.

Romania's team victim of national mismanagement

Romania’s fall is testament to the endemic corruption that abounds in the running of their domestic game as well as its national politics.