Euro 2008 looks set to go down as one of the most exciting tournaments for years with top class football being played by a number of teams. However it also looks set to be remembered for various bizarre decisions regarding team selection, and squad selection. The world of international management wouldn’t suit famed tinkermen like Rafa Benitez and Claudio Ranieri as there seems to be a staunch loyalty displayed by the majority of those in charge. Club form seems to be way down on the list when it comes to picking the final X1 and that has never been more evident than in Austria and Switzerland. I may be proved wrong with some players but there are some decisions which have baffled the footballing world.
Luis Aragones was chastised for omitting Raul from his squad for Euro 2008, particularly because the man who took his place was uncapped, unfancied forward Sergio Garcia. However, as well as angering the Spanish people, especially residents of Madrid, and bewildering many pundits, he also failed to follow a footballing tradition by including the nation’s talisman. Every time a major international tournament comes around, there is much debate about the squads and almost every nation has one specific debate – whether to select the national hero and the experienced head. This championship has probably taken this debate to a totally different level. Of the 16 nations in Austria and Switzerland, 6 demonstrate fully the reasoning behind going with the old head. However over the last week the 6 players have been used to different degrees and to the most part, sparingly.
At this championship there has been a classic misuse of the older players from one extreme to the other. Whilst Raymond Domenech fields his veterans whatever the situation and probably never considers leaving them out or substituting them, other managers, including those in charge of the host nations, haven’t used experience to their advantage. Austria’s only goal of the tournament so far was scored by 38 year-old talisman Ivica Vastic. Vastic has also probably been their most impressive player. However, he hasn’t started either of their group games and has played just half an hour in each game. For a team with such little talent it is a mystery why Joseph Hickersberger has failed to start with the most talented player available to him. The Swiss coach Kobi Kuhn realised his mistake earlier than his Austrian counterpart but it still wasn’t enough.
The pairing of Hakan Yakin upfront with captain Alexander Frei was expected to be the best chance for the Swiss to qualify but Kuhn inexplicably chose to leave Yakin on the bench for the curtain-raiser despite him being the top scorer in the Swiss League, preferring Marco Streller, who put in what must be one of the most innocuous footballing performances ever. With Frei ruled out through injury, Yakin came into the side for their second group game and scored after half an hour. However with just five minutes to go and the game heading for a stalemate, Kuhn removed Yakin and Turkey scored. In the final group game Yakin was once again handed a start and scored a brace but it was too late as the Swiss had already exited the competition.
The selection of Alessandro Del Piero in the Italian squad was very similar to that of Yakin in the Swiss group. Like Yakin, Del Piero had rediscovered his best form and after a tremendous season in Serie A, he had finished as top scorer with 21 goals. He was left on the bench against Holland until the 64th minute when the Azzurri were already two goals down. His introduction did make a difference and he was handed a start against Romania, along with the captain’s armband. He performed well again before being replaced with ten minutes to ago and during that time Italy would have been eliminated from the tournament if Gianluigi Buffon hadn’t pulled off one of the best penalty saves ever seen.
Only Henrik Larsson and Sergei Semak have been first choice. After playing 90 minutes in the first game, setting up a goal in the process, Larsson was once again selected to face Spain. After a good display he was taken off with three minutes to go and the score at 1-1 heading for a draw and Spain scored in stoppage time. Lars Lagerback had taken off his most experienced player, the man most likely to nick a goal and the best player at his disposal to hold-up the ball. It is hard to criticise Lagerback as he has generally used Larsson in the correct manner but it would have been wise to take into account what happened after Kuhn removed Yakin and Donadoni took off Del Piero just days earlier.
The most extraordinary selection was made by Guus Hidiink. The Dutch coach came into the tournament with a new captain and a man who had been exiled from the national fold for the whole qualifying campaign. Despite his lack of action under Hidiink, Sergei Semak was included in the squad and selected to captain the side. After a resurgence in Russian football, it was expected that youth would be the basis of any Russian success but Semak was given the job of inspiring the side to victory. Although his performances haven’t been excellent, his desire and experience were essential in helping his young comrades to get over the hammering that they took from Spain. If Semak had more quality and was more renowned, his selection would be making waves further afield than just Moscow.
The final surprise inclusion was that of Oliver Neuville in the German squad. Despite helping his club side Borussia Moenchengladbach get promoted, he wasn’t tipped to be selected. However he benefited from Joachim Low’s bizarre decision to take only two centre backs to the championships, allowing Neuville to sneak into the squad as the fifth striker. However he hasn’t appeared in either of Germany’s first two group games and his case is symbolic of how many old-timers are used by international managers. They are often selected to win public support or get the country talking about the national side. Pundits see the selections as gambles which demonstrate the quality of the manager. However, when it comes down to it, players like Vastic are left on the bench because the coaches aren’t brave enough to fully utilise them. When they are started, they are taken off with the clock running down, at the point when they can be most needed to hold up the ball. This tournament has shown that the ‘golden oldies’ of football are essential to every international side but only when used in the correct way. If only Lars Lagerback had left Henrik Larsson on for three more minutes against Spain, perhaps then everyone would be talking about his use of the Swedish talisman as the perfect example to follow.
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