England with a good man manager and an evidently decent bloke but who, eight years on from his first match, had become unpopular in the national consciousness. Doubts over the attack after only scoring twice in three group stage games, although England did only concede once (a 1-1 draw).
A young attacking midfielder who seemed to carry the responsibility for acting as the antidote to the tactical conservatism and yet still played with freedom. A scratchy last-16 victory after extra-time against unfancied European opposition. Progress that required a late comeback in the quarter-final, albeit against a team that had beaten the defending champions earlier in the tournament.
Have you got the joke by now? Yes, all the above refers to Italia ’90, that cultural cornerstone when everyone fell back in love with the England national team despite pre-tournament protestations that it had lost its way. That, it seems, is the point at which 1990 and 2024 differ. World Cup 1990 brought us all closer together; Euro 2024 has been set upon dividing us, or allowing us to divide ourselves.
To an extent, this is merely a question of timing. Back when Sir Bobby Robson was doing his touchline jig, England’s public were waiting for something to love. The domestic game was in a state of great flux and two-way authoritarian mistrust. The lack of English teams in Uefa competition post-Heysel had created a knowledge vacuum of how English football was played.
Now, simple supply-and-demand economics. Football is a capitalist orgy and a 24-7 event. The domestic game has reached its peak of omnipotence and the Premier League is king of the fiefdom.
Every punter has all the excitement they want all of the time and, thus, if the England team doesn’t excite, it will gain and keep few friends. Add to this: nobody just ignores anything anymore; you must moan about “having to watch”.
The weirdest aspect of this anger is how even facts become debated. Gareth Southgate is the first England manager in the post-truth era. He’s never beaten a decent team (he has). Beating Germany didn’t count because they weren’t good enough. He’s only reached three semi-finals in four tournaments by technicality (England’s most consistent run ever). He’s only faced bad teams and England always beat those at major tournaments, didn’t they? (No).
As England prepare to play only the third semi-final in their entire history on foreign soil, I wonder whether we might look back on this period and agree that people spent too much of it being angry.
Hindsight may give this all a golden tinge. We had a squad full of likeable, talented players who went deep into tournaments and we spent the whole time griping, booing and throwing beer cups at the manager. Odd little country, in many ways.
That is clearly what England’s players think. During time spent with them over the last fortnight, each individual has displayed a mystification at the treatment and criticism of Southgate. They all say he has given them their belief and that he created an environment in which playing for England is an honour more than a chore; it wasn’t always that way.
They’re asking for a little more faith in them and him and with good reason. Much has been written about how World Cup 2018 brought the nation closer to the England team, but this was a miracle of symbiosis: the team looked more happy because they felt the love, the team played better because they looked more happy and the team got more love because they played better.
So we have to ask: what good does this negative focus do? If, on a basic level, we all want this team to go as far as it can in every tournament, is it not worth temporarily parking all reservations? I know you’re desperate to tell everyone online that you fell asleep watching England pass the ball around, but maybe save the 38th rendition of the anecdote for another time.
History rarely feels as if it is being made in the present. Only seldom do you feel the significance of an occasion in real time. The rest is constructed and shaped by hindsight. In 1968, when England travelled to Florence for their first Euros semi-final outside England, nobody thought that it would be their last for 56 years.
We are the lucky ones, with three semi-finals in six years: World Cup 2018, Euro 2020, and now this. Nights such as these should never be taken for granted for we can never know how many of them we shall get. These are the pillars of our football lives, holding up the roof during fallow decades and stopping the rain rendering the whole place condemned.
So try to come together – if it goes well, you will always remember who you were with and where. Try to park your doubts about tactical conservatism.
Try to focus on the positives. Try not to scowl for too long when the ball is passed backwards. Try to remember that it wasn’t like this for too long and try to remember the strength of your desperation and despair back then.
Try to save the worst of your opprobrium for when England are actually eliminated. Try to have faith that they have faith in themselves. Try to…enjoy it? Sorry, I’ve gone too far now.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/l9bA3tQ
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