The Euro 2024 dilemma
The line-up for the UEFA European Football Championship (Euro) 2024 is complete. Wins in the recent playoff finals for Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia mean it’s all systems go for the tournament, which kicks off in Munich on Friday June 14 and concludes exactly a month later in Berlin.
Twenty-three visiting teams plus the hosts, Germany, will compete for international soccer’s second-biggest prize. For some of the players it will be their first experience of a major tournament and for some, even though they won’t know it, it will be their only major international tournament. This is especially true of some of the so-called minnows who have qualified, like Albania and Georgia.
The early favorite to win the competition outright is England, a miserly +300 with most bookmakers, but France is not far behind and is as short as +333 with William Hill.
An injury now, especially a serious one, could end their tournament before it even begins
But with such a huge event on the horizon, it does present a conundrum for some of the players hoping to represent their countries in June. An injury now, especially a serious one, could end their tournament before it even begins. This is doubly tricky for those players whose domestic teams are competing for trophies as the 2023-24 season reaches its climax.
Expecting 100%
There’s an old footballing adage that says the players who make half-hearted challenges are the ones most likely to end up getting hurt, so there is a very real dilemma at play here for those whose hearts are set on being part of Germany 2024.
For the managers and coaches of Europe’s domestic teams this is not an issue. Or shouldn’t be. It’s not their job to protect players on behalf of the national team coaches, and so they will expect 100% from every one of their players, regardless of any June internationals.
Yet, while these players are all professionals – very highly paid ones in most cases – they are also human and, for many, the chance to represent their country on the big stage is an even greater honor than winning a trophy at club level. And so the club v country debate comes into play.
The club v country conundrum
There is, in reality, no opportunity for players to be wrapped in cotton wool or freewheel through the final two months of the season when so much is at stake. Therefore it comes down to moments and those split-second decisions when a player has to choose between, say, a full-blooded tackle or to concede possession.
Like I said, club v country. It is, however, easier for some to ‘hide’ than others.
there is no way manager Carlo Ancelotti is going to permit England star Jude Bellingham to shy out of a tackle
Real Madrid, for example, is still in with a realistic chance of a Champions League, La Liga, and Supercopa de España treble, and so there is no way manager Carlo Ancelotti is going to permit England star Jude Bellingham to shy out of a tackle or opt to not track an opponent. The in-form Madrid star is certainly strong enough to perform on both stages though:
Ditto Man City boss, Pep Guardiola. With his team chasing a domestic/European treble of its own, if Rodri decided, for once, not to make a last-gasp block on the edge of the City box with an opponent about to shoot, he too would feel the fury of his manager.
Interestingly, and perhaps related, during the recent round of internationals there were a huge number of player withdrawals through ‘injury’ across the board, with England manager Gareth Southgate losing five players before his squad assembled and then another five during the break. Evidently, some players are already making that choice of club over country.
Hand wringing for some
For the superstars at the sharp end, particularly those playing for clubs in Europe’s blue riband club tournament, there is no hiding place.
Whether the same applies to those playing, for example, in the Kategoria Superiore (Albania’s top division) or Georgia’s Erovnuli Liga is open to debate, although those internationals do still risk the wrath of their own managers if they offer anything less than 100%.
players will undoubtedly do their hand-wringing over this matter in private
This is, of course, not a player conundrum that will be played out in public, and no such debate will be had in media interviews, but players will undoubtedly do their hand-wringing over this matter in private.
So, while there is plenty to play for as the domestic season nears its conclusion, for the superstars of European football, there is also understandable nervousness.
Which big names, if any, will miss out?