EXTRA TIME

Two In Claret And Blue

Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) and Declan Rice (West Ham) preparing for the Euro 2020 final on Sunday

July 10, 2021 at 7:27 pm Leave a comment

First Brexit, Now This

Gareth Southgate’s side has marched through to the final, where Italy await, and created shockwaves across the continent in the process. For decades England have always been seen as the team who fail to deliver at the big moments. But this time it’s different.

Among journalists from various European countries, French author Pierre-Etienne Minonzio (above), wrote what he feels about this English team in The Telegraph:

“Personally, I’m completely amazed by England. I love English football culture. I’ve covered England since 2015 and I’m fascinated by the weight of history that England feel. There’s a line in the Great Gatsby – the last sentence – that says: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” It always felt like that with England – being thrown ceaselessly back into the past.

“I reported on the Iceland game at the EURO 2016 in France and I saw it there – when they went 2-1 down, England knew it was over, even though there was still an hour to go. You could see the players thinking ‘it’s happening again’; the curse had struck.

“But now this England side have overthrown the weight of history. Huge credit to Gareth Southgate, the man responsible for this, he has changed the state of mind for the players. It was obvious in 2016 that it was over but against Denmark they stayed calm, said ‘OK, that’s fine’ and they won. Incredible. So impressive.

“I’m totally fascinated by their coach, it’s so impressive. And I ’m quite in love with these players too.

“At the end of the day, football is for the kids, and now they have these role models to look up to. It’s wonderful. If you are a young English player you know you can make a difference now.

“It’s such a diverse team. It’s the same as France in 1998. When we won the World Cup it was exactly the same, everyone came together, all races, all people. I mean, don’t get too carried away; three years later, Jean-Marie Le Pen reached the second round of the Presidential election – but it planted a seed and had a huge influence on the next generation.

“One thing to remember is: you’re in a final. Enjoy this. It doesn’t last forever. Things change so quickly in football, you have to savour moments like these when they come round.”

July 10, 2021 at 5:21 am Leave a comment