Denmark V Wales and Italy V Austria the last 16 begins

 

Welcome back, we have reached the knock out stages of the Euros and the fun and tension are about to ratchet up a level or two. We had a glimpse of that in the last round of the group stages, when the possible opponents for EnGerLand in their last sixteen game changed over and over again and had four different teams filling that spot during a crazy evening of football. 

What has been served up so far has really been no more than an amuse bouche, something to tickle the palette, increase our appetite for what is to come in the last sixteen.

First up, we have a clash between two sides who play in red, the Vikings of Denmark against the choir boys from the valleys of Cymru, which is the proper way of spelling Wales at least in Welsh. Welsh is a language which is a complete mystery to anyone not born in Wales and probably to most of them as well. 

Who has not heard of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch station? The longest railway station name in the world. It actually means, The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio’s of the red cave,”

It is a name which sums up the Welsh rather succinctly, and here I want to make it clear that I love the Welsh, we had a Welsh neighbour growing up and despite the fact that he was the deputy headmaster of my High school and a French teacher to boot (go figure) he was a lovely gentle man.  As Tom Jones sings, "it's not unusual to be loved by anyone"

However, they do come across as a bit slow and long winded, as would be expected from a people who prefer the company of sheep and are really much better at Rugby football than Association football to give them their formal names.

The Welsh are nevertheless a passionate and patriotic nation, the crowd signing the national anthem before a game is a very moving spectacle, one I enjoy immensely.  Here they are signing it before a game three years ago, notice how you can only hear the music for the introduction, the rest is done by the crowd.

Land of My Fathers

With the inclusion of twenty four teams in the tournament, it means we have some very small countries population wise. The population of Wales is only just over three million souls and Denmark has less than six million. The Welsh have had to be inventive to widen the pool of players available for selection and a grandparent is enough to qualify a player for selection.

Of course, the story that has dominated the Euros so far was the heart attack suffered by the Danish star Christian Eriksen during their first game which we mentioned in one of the group previews.

This type of incident can go two ways, and thankfully Eriksen is at home having managed to foil the plans of Hel the Norse god of death. He is recuperating after having had a pacemaker fitted and is backing his team mates from his bed.

The incident has galvanized and united the Vikings and they have a wind at their backs that could push them far, like one of their longboats on a raiding mission.

These are two teams and nations that are just really harmless and nice, and one would want both of them to succeed up to a point. In footballing terms, I did not pick the pitmen to go through and although they have shown strength of character in reaching this stage, I have to back the Vikings to advance to the next stage and bring a smile to the mermaid in Copenhagen harbour. On the other hand, one of my many brothers-in-law has Welsh blood so out of my loyalty to him, I hope the Taffs somehow find a way through.

Two to watch out for in this game are Aaron Ramsey, the boy from Caerphilly which is famous for its cheese and the famous comedian Tommy Cooper, who died live on stage, with people thinking that the heart attack he suffered was part of his act before realizing to late that it was real.  Why do I mention this, because there is a supposed curse connected to Ramsey, that every time he scores somebody famous is going to die.  

Kasper Schmeichel the Viking goalkeeper is the son of Peter, who was in goal in 1992 when they last won.

What can I plunder tonight ?

Who can I kill tonight ?

The second game of the day is the battle of the Brenner pass, between the lederhosen clad men of the Austrian alps with the gelato makers of the Italian alps.  

The Romans first developed the route through the lowest pass in the Alps as a way into Northern Europe, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa used it on his numerous incursions into Italy. Hitler and Mussolini met there to celebrate the signing of their pact of steel in 1940, but unusually for neighbours there is not a lot of enmity between the two countries.

This Italian team is interesting, after failing to qualify for the World cup in 2016, they have completely rebuilt the squad in the image of their manager, Roberto Mancini who was a fist in a silk glove as a midfield player in his day. The team is full of verve and power as one would expect from the land of the Maserati and Lamborghini,

Mancini making cool look easy

Mancini hasn't lost his skills https://twitter.com/sportstoryguy/status/1406654241012260865?s=20

Italy has found yet another top class goalkeeper to follow in the footsteps of Zoff and Buffon, in Gianluigi Donnarumma who at the tender age of twenty two, which is very young for a goalkeeper, is already one of the world’s best.

Another very unusual point worthy of mention, especially in these days of the global game, is that twenty three out of the twenty-six players in the squad play in the Serie A, the Italian top division. You will be hard pressed to find any of the other leading nations with so many home based players. Two of the three exceptions are their Brazilian born players who both play at Chelski.

I think this a definite advantage as they all know each other’s way of playing intimately.

I have written before about the impact of religion on the way teams play football in Europe. Austria is a strange case. Historically the divide in Europe was that most of Southern Europe and France was predominantly Catholic and most of Northern Europe, Protestant. This always, strangely enough, came through in the way they played with the Catholic countries generally being more flamboyant than their dour Protestant counterparts.

Austria is the odd one out. Austria is a Catholic stronghold but that has been suppressed because of their Germanic nature. They are boring to watch, and in fact, this is the first time they have successfully negotiated the group stages in four attempts in the Euros. It is also  the first time since the World Cup in 1954 that they have advanced through to the knock out rounds.

The designer clad men, in their Armani suits, should be far too good for the bell ringers from Austria. The Austrians will be trying to take a leaf out of Michael Caine's book and perform an Italian job. 

Two to watch out for in this game are Domenico Berardi who has been lighting up the games for the gondoliers with his dazzling skills and David Alaba, the Viennese enforcer who will be trying to extinguish the aforementioned Berardi.

Domenico Berardi

David Alaba, will want to avoid a Freudian slip

Check back On Sunday for the previews of the windmills against the Skodas and the clash between the Brussel Sprouts and the navigators, a match up I thought would be the final, yet another wrong prediction.