Thrilling football is child’s play

You may have noticed I have recently been keeping a close eye on the Under-19 European Championships – and with good reason.

Last week I talked about the incredible 5-5 draw between Germany and England. But if that was thrilling, what about the Spain vs Germany semi-final?

I think, and I say this without a hint of exaggeration, this may well have been the most exciting conclusion to a match in the entire history of football.

As the game headed towards 90 minutes, Germany were 2-1 up, and it looked to all intents and purposes like they were about to eliminate the reigning champions.

But then, in injury time, all hell broke loose.

First Spain scored an equaliser that looked like it was going to force extra time, before going one better and smacking home another goal to give them a 3-2 lead and one foot in the final.

But in the ninth minute of injury time, following a hopeful punt forward by a very desperate Germany, a Spanish player contrived to stick the ball in the back of his own net, making it 3-3 and taking the game to extra time.

And there the fun didn’t just continue, it accelerated.

First Spain made it 4-3, before Germany hit back twice to make it 5-4. Then Spain equalised in the 113th minute, before hitting the winner with 60 seconds to go.

6-5 to Spain. Final whistle! Catch your breath!

So why does this tournament, and the Under-21 tournament too to a slightly lesser extent, throw up considerably more exciting matches than the grown-up version?

My theory is simple: due to their young age the players are still, for the most part, unpolluted by the trappings of the adult game – money, fame, followers, endorsements, sponsorships, and WAGs. It’s not that those things are not present in their lives – some of them are probably already millionaires and dating supermodels – but for most of the lads, glitz and glamour is still not their primary focus.

They are still fresh enough to be playing football for the love of playing football. And they are not yet hampered by doubt and the fear of failure, which hangs over some of the older players; English ones in particular.

The younger players approach these tournaments fuelled by pride, passion and the desire to make a name for themselves. And that lack of stress and personal pressure allows them to play with more freedom which, in turn, makes the games more exciting for spectators.

It’s football in a much purer form, and I think it deserves to be more celebrated than it is.

Innovation overload

As you know by now, the Club World Cup isn’t my favourite tournament – a pointless, player-draining competition with no interest for the neutrals and financial greed as its only reason for existence.

However, I will relent and say the CWC does have one redeeming factor – the fact that is it being used to test, try out and evaluate ‘innovations’ before they make it into proper football.

This is the first time we have seen the new eight-second goalkeeper rule in action, for example, ahead of its worldwide introduction next season. Has it worked? Well, there have been a couple of occasions when referees have enforced it but, as I have said before, it will only be a matter of time before goalkeepers come to terms with it, and it lapses into obscurity.

Meanwhile, we have also seen a new and improved semi-automated offside system in place, with microchips in the footballs allowing linesmen to flag instantly in the case of clear offsides. Anything that reduces the chances of players getting pointlessly injured chasing a lost cause has got to be a good thing.

VAR footage is also being shown inside the stadia, which is a nice touch and will help fans feel slightly better connected with the process. Football would be better without it entirely, but at least knowing what is going on is better than being left in the dark.

There are some totally unique things we are seeing in this Club World Cup that we haven’t seen before… and I hope we never see again

Meanwhile, there are some other totally unique things we are seeing in this tournament that we haven’t seen before. And, to be perfectly honest, I sincerely hope we never see again.

Ref cams? Pointless and pathetic. Good referees should be nearly invisible, not the focus of attention as they run around gathering footage that looks like it was created by a drunk teenage influencer.

Countdown to kick-off? No, no, and an extra pint of no for the weekend. What’s wrong with the simple whistle? Getting supporters to count backwards from 10 to zero feels so contrived, like the organisers are scared the crowd won’t be properly invested in the match unless they ‘take part’.

And that brings me to the other CWC ‘innovation’ that should never, ever, see the light of day again – player walkdowns.

By singling each player out with a big flourish as they make their entrance onto the pitch, you are making the whole thing about the individuals, when football should be, by its very nature, a team sport.

Plus, and this is where it really feels stupid, it’s not like we are dealing with boxers coming out of their dressing rooms for the first time – these players have been out on the pitch warming up just minutes earlier.

Generally speaking, in trying to make the whole pre-match experience more American, the organisers have only managed to do one thing – make us realise Americans should not be allowed to organise another football tournament unless they have proper adult supervision.

Without the direct intervention of people who actually know the heritage behind football, games during next year’s real World Cup could end up turning into a Disneyland parade...

E-mail: Jamescalvertmalta@gmail.com

X: @maltablade