This Euro was a very average tournament

A football tournament is more than the sum of all the games and their quality. This realization, as banal as it may sound at first glance, expresses what kind of European Championship the 17th edition of the competition in Germany was. An event that, at least for the host country, made almost everything else seem irrelevant, even at the moment when the German national team was eliminated from the tournament.

Everyone was pleased with the positive comments that the guests gave the host. This was necessary, because the self-image of being able to guarantee a brilliantly organized tournament has long since disappeared in Germany. The reference was the 2006 World Cup, which is considered the gold standard among international football tournaments in its combination of atmosphere, perfect organization and sporting quality.

The 2006 World Cup is glorified

Of course, there is a lot of idealization involved when it comes to the 2006 World Cup, which was labeled a summer fairytale in Germany. The 2024 European Championship is certainly not one of those, and it is by no means disrespectful to say that the European Championship was an all-round average football tournament. It was organized to a reasonable extent. The numerous delays caused by the dilapidated state of the Deutsche Bahn drove some visitors crazy, but in the end, leniency prevailed.

The quality of the competition was appealing, but by no means outstanding. Too few teams had actually made an effort to offer attractive football, and the German team was one of the few exceptions. Their elimination in the quarter-finals after a spectacular match against Spain came at least one round too early; the atmosphere would have been different had the Germans stayed in the competition longer.

The fact that the Germans sparked at least a certain degree of enthusiasm had to do with the fact that they had come out to play spectacular football. Only Spain was more serious about its offensive efforts than the Germans. The fact that the Spaniards even managed to win the title in the end was a conciliatory conclusion, at least for football aesthetes.

Tournament favorites like England and France approached the game like an administrative act – everything was geared towards the result, as efficiently as possible. Avoiding risk was the top priority, and such an approach is always inconsiderate of the spectators. Both teams showed very clearly that things can be done differently when they are challenged, when they fall behind. The fact that these teams again came very far, as they have in previous tournaments, shows one thing above all: major competitions are more than ever the domain of so-called tournament teams.

The Teutonisation of football is progressing

The Germans used to be considered the prototype of such a team. Knowing how to dose their strength, when it is time to slow down, and always having the opportunity to improve – the Germans once mastered this to perfection. Now it is the English and French who have long since left the old model behind; their performances are always accompanied by the accusation of not making enough of the resources available.

But it is also true that title-winning, destructive teams do not leave any memorable moments behind – who remembers the French performances at the 2018 World Cup, in contrast to the ease of the Spanish in the years from 2008 to 2012, who dominated world football with their combination play. In this respect, the European Championship in Germany showed a kind of Teutonization of football – at the very moment when the original was trying to shed its old image.

The VAR drives coaches crazy

It is gratifying that the aesthetes at least got their money’s worth. There was enough frustration in many games, after all, caused by the interventions of the video assistant, the VAR. For example, the latter’s interventions drove coach Kasper Hjulmand and his brave Danes to fury when he showed on his mobile phone, completely exasperated, how close the offside position had been in the round of 16 against Germany. Of course, you can also take the technocratic standpoint and say that the rules are what they are.

But if the referee can no longer understand it with the naked eye and only slow motion can clarify it, then the positive aspect of the VAR is no longer worth much. Even though it may have led to the right decisions in some cases, the disadvantages outweighed the disadvantages at this Euro. It was also evident that it contributes to weakening the authority of the referees, particularly impressively in the quarter-final between Germany and Spain. If the hoped-for effect of having fewer discussions than before is reversed, then it is time to bury this measure.

It is difficult to imagine that this will happen. UEFA, like FIFA, has taken this path so consistently that there seems to be no turning back. What is more likely to happen is what path-dependent companies do in such moments: they will increase the effort and staff numbers in order to prove that the measure is ultimately the right one.

UEFA is certainly capable of taking action

Such stubbornness is to be blamed on all associations that practice this. But this tournament has also shown that UEFA is certainly capable of taking action if the will is there. It should be credited with banning Turkish player Merih Demiral, who had displayed the Grey Wolves’ emblem on the football pitch. In doing so, UEFA referred to its own house rules, according to which political gestures have no place in the stadium.

It would be desirable if UEFA continued on this course, but it would also be advisable to refrain from launching political messages at all costs as long as it seems opportune. The chauvinistic behavior of the Turks has certainly shown what consequences the politicization of a sporting event can have.

So it wasn’t a consistently cheerful tournament. It will be remembered differently than the 2006 World Cup. The 2024 European Championship was a highly average competition in all its facets. Which, for once, isn’t such bad news.