Euro 2024 has run its course, and now is the time to reflect; celebrate if you’re Spanish, dust yourself off if you’re English, but above all, reflect … because that is where you start on the road to improvement.
24 nations began the tournament with high hopes and a range of expectations, from the ultimate glory to escaping the group stage; some succeeded, and some fell flat on their faces.
Once they cross the white line, it comes down to the players, of course, though a canny manager can change the course of a game with a perfectly pitched half-time talk or with clever substitutions.
The winners were coached tirelessly on the training grounds, with strategies, tactics, and those perfectly orchestrated moves we see played out on match day. So to those coaches who found success, congratulations, chaps!
And here are our Fab Four.
Luis de La Fuente – Spain
Euro 2024 winners Spain were the best team throughout the tournament but, the SBOTOP Euro 2024 betting odds ranked La Roja behind hosts Germany, France, and England at the outset; and Spain beat all three in the knockout phase, all by a 2-1 score line.
La Roja has the most exciting young players on the planet, and De La Fuente can take plenty of credit for that. He has been with the Spain set-up since 2013, coaching the U19s, the U21s, and the U23s before taking over the senior squad in 2022.
Real Sociedad stars Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored the winner in the final against England, and Mikel Merino, who scored the last gasp winner to dump hosts Germany out of the competition, won the U21 European Championships under De La Fuente’s guidance.
The manager explained his philosophy, saying, “I come from a grassroots background. Our commitment, to the people we trust in the youth system is not a pose, it’s a conviction.”
He masterminded a semi-final win over France, and it was then 16-year-old Lamine Yamal who scored a stunner to level an early strike from Les Bleus before Dani Olmo bagged the winner. The future is certainly bright for La Roja.
A shout-out to England manager Gareth Southgate, who guided England to back-to-back Euro finals and made some good substitutions as his team improved through the tournament; but once again, the Three Lions simply failed to roar loudly enough.
Ronald Koeman – Netherlands
After navigating a tough group along with France and Austria, Koeman led the Netherlands to wins over Romania and Turkey, and his team were playing some exciting football before narrowly losing out on a final place.
Koeman was incensed after the Oranje lost to England in the semi-final, criticising the use of VAR which, after Xavi Simons had given the Netherlands an early lead with a sumptuous strike, England were helped back into the game when the technology over ruled Felix Zwayer—the on field referee—who had waved away penalty appeals.
Harry Kane blazed a shot over the bar and was then caught by Denzil Dumfries’ trailing foot, and VAR mystifyingly awarded a spot-kick, which, of course, Kane converted.
Ollie Watkins scored a 90th-minute winner for the Three Lions, and the Oranje were out; but they can feel very unlucky. Koeman complained: “He kicked the ball and the boots touched. I think we cannot play properly and this is due to VAR. It really breaks football.”
A top-four finish for the Netherlands exceeded expectations, and it was so close to being even better.
Vincenzo Montella – Turkey
The unlikely choice for the most exciting team to watch landed with Turkey, who provided some fantastic Euro 2024 highlights with their all action and attacking displays.
The emergence of Real Madrid youngster Arda Guler in this tournament was one of the highlights, as he starred in Turkey’s 2-1 win over dark horses Austria in the Round of 16.
That stunning victory was Vincenzo Montella’s 12th game in charge of the Turks; the 50-year-old only took over last September, and there were calls for him to be sacked as recently as March, when Turkey were beaten 6-1 by Austria in a friendly.
This time around, with star Hakan Calhanoglu missing, Montella stitched to a 3-4-3 formation with Guler acting as a false nine and the fluidity of the system allowed them to play with five defenders out of possession to nullify the Austrian threat and outwit Rangnick’s men.
Narrowly beaten in the quarter-finals by the Netherlands, Montella far exceeded expectations; and he’s a naturalised Turk now!
Murat Yakin – Switzerland
My last pick is Switzerland boss Yakin, who guided his team to some superb performances; denying hosts Germany a perfect record at the group stage and eliminating 2020 champions Italy.
And, after leading his team to the quarter-finals, Yakin has just been awarded an extended contract by the Swiss Football Association.
Having knocked out Italy with a convincing 2-0 win in the Round of 16, Yakin was confident his side could beat England, and they nearly did, leading with just ten minutes to go and eventually losing out on penalties.
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