Tag: Euro 2016

The galvanizing madness of Antonio Conte propels Italy past Spain

Spain dismantled Italy in the Euro 2012 final, winning 4-0 to claim their third consecutive major trophy. Two years later at the 2014 World Cup, both nations made shocking exits in the group stage with one win and two losses each. At this point, Spain decided to stay the course with the firmly entrenched and historically successful Vicente Del Bosque, but Italy made a change, replacing Cesare Prandelli with Antonio Conte. And two years after that, Italy have now beaten Spain 2-0 in the Euro 2016 round of 16. And this reversal of fortunes is largely down to the men in the technical area.

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Steve McClaren illustrates the delusion of superiority that contributes to England’s failure

Despite claims that England’s loss to Iceland is “one of the greatest shocks in the history of soccer,” anyone who has watched Iceland over the last couple years or England over the last 50 should have been able to predict the result of their Euro 2016 knockout-stage meeting.

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Thierry Henry tries to play it cool as he gets a ribbing for Ireland handball incident

Ireland’s Euro 2016 knockout stage opener against host nation France got off to a karmic start as they were awarded a penalty in the opening minutes that Robbie Brady converted to give them an early 1-0 lead. This gave the BBC studio team of Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Rio Ferdinand a chance to rib their colleague — Thierry Henry, the man whose infamous handball for France helped keep Ireland out of the 2010 World Cup.

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Shakira, Peter Crouch take credit for Xherdan Shaqiri’s Euro 2016 wonder goal

Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri scored a brilliant overhead kick before his side lost to Poland on penalties. It invited a warranted amounted of praise, but it also inspired some jokes. 

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DT Exclusive: Pep Guardiola’s attempt to boost Raheem Sterling’s damaged confidence

A pair of underwhelming performances to start Euro 2016 earned Raheem Sterling a place on the bench and an excessive amount of criticism both from the press and social media. This has left the 21-year-old Man City player suffering a crisis of confidence. According to the Guardian, incoming City manager Pep Guardiola made a point to call Sterling in an effort to lift his spirits and reassure him in the midst of a difficult period. The following is a transcript of that conversation. 

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Unhinged Eric Cantona shouts about Will Grigg, condoms, and Brexit

Eurosport has given Eric Cantona the platform to claim the title of “unofficial commissioner of football” and he is using this opportunity to rant about Euro 2016 in varying states of undress. In this video, Cantona expressing his Xavi-like displeasure with the state of the pitches in France, sings Northern Ireland stadium banger “Will Grigg’s On Fire,” and considers the possibility that Mario Götze is his illegitimate son.

It’s proof that we need Cantona to be the next FIFA president.

Albania players get cash bonus, diplomatic passports for Euro 2016 showing

Albania just missed out on reaching the knockout stage of Euro 2016 in their first appearance at the competition as one of just two third-place teams to be eliminated. Their win over Romania with their only goal of the tournament ensured that they went out on a positive note and it also helped them secure some fabulous parting gifts from their own government.

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