‘Pride of lions’: what the papers say about England’s Euro final defeat

The Guardian ^ | July 12 2021 | Martin Farrer

[SmokingJoe]

Heartbreak is the word of the day as newspapers capture the poignant end of a thrilling journey for the football team that dared to dream

The excruciating agony of England’s loss on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 dominates the front pages after the team repeated history at Wembley.

There is no more poignant parallel than manager Gareth Southgate consoling his players 25 years after his miss sent England out of Euro 96 at the same stadium, and the image features on many of the fronts.

The Telegraph says “The ultimate agony … penalties heartbreak again” over the top of a giant, poster-style front page showing Southgate with his arms around Bukayo Saka. The paper’s columnist, Jim White, draws on the aphorism familiar to many football fans to sum up the evening: “Even as the minutes drifted towards penalties, hope remained intact. But you know what hope does: it kills you.”

[Sirius Lee]

Sheesh! It’s just a bunch of grown men kicking a ball around.

[MuttTheHoople]

It’s just a game. Just give them some Mondos and orange slices, and everything will be all right.

[laconic]

Yes, I’m sure the poor things can somehow get through this with their $40 million incomes and tax havens in Monaco.

[dfwgator]

They’re crying all the way to the bank.

[LouAvul]

Yeah. This is news, alright. /s

[Oshkalaboomboom]

All I saw of the game was a 10 minute highlight video from a South American TV station. During the anthems they only showed head shots of the players so you couldn’t see if anyone took a knee. Do you know if they did?

[dfwgator]

Whatever happened to the good old days of players like Jimmy Buzzard?



Buzzard: Good evening Brian.

Interviewer: Jimmy, at least one ageing football commentator was gladdened last night by the sight of an English footballer breaking free of the limpid tentacles of packed Mediterranean defence.

Buzzard: Good evening Brian.

Interviewer: Were you surprised at the way the Italians ceded midfield dominance so early on in the game?

Buzzard: Well Brian... I'm opening a boutique.

Interviewer: This is of course symptomatic of a new breed of footballer as it is indeed symptomatic of your whole genre of player, is it not?

Buzzard: Good evening Brian.

Interviewer: What I'm getting at, Jimmy, is you seem to have discovered a new concept with a mode in which you dissected the Italian defence, last night.

Buzzard: (pauses for thought) I hit the ball first time and there it was in the back of the net. (smiles and looks around)

Interviewer: Do you think Jarrow will adopt a more defensive posture for the first leg of the next tie in Turkey?

Buzzard: (confidently) I hit the ball first time and there it was in the back of the net.

Interviewer: Yes, yes - but have you any plans for dealing with the free-scoring Turkish forwards?

Buzzard: Well Brian... I'm opening a boutique.

[mewzilla]

Oh, it is news. Especially the racist angles. All over TV, the internet, the tabs there.

The UK does a massive 180, authorizes CoupFlu passports, and what’s the only thing taking up news? This latest Reichstag fire.

The storming of Wembley sounds suspiciously like the so-called insurrection in DC on Jan 6, don’t you think...

What a coinkydink.

[SmokingJoe]

Its news alright. Its totally dominated newspaper, TV the internet etc etc in the UK and Italy not to mention most of Europe.
The European nations championship is huge.
However, I don't expect some guy who doesn't know much about football (like you) to get that.

[bigdaddy45]

Not during the anthem, no. And they sang their national anthems enthusiastically.

[SmokingJoe]

The English players took the knee. The Italians were too busy winning to bother with that nonsense.

[dfwgator]

Yep, those papers certainly ignored “the elephant in the room”.

[SmokingJoe]

Chuckle.

[dfwgator]

Live by the virtual signal, die by the virtual signal.

[mewzilla]

Not just ignored.

Haven’t heard or seen a peep about that so-called storming of Wembley.

It looks just like Jan 6 all over again.

I wonder how many of the alleged gate-crashers work for the Met, MI5, and/or MI6.

I can’t believe nobody in bloody Britain has noticed how much all this, especially the timing, stinks to holy Hell.

[Berlin_Freeper]

PING!
Thanks for the thread SmokingJoe!

“The ultimate agony … penalties heartbreak again”

Ava Max - EveryTime I Cry [Official Lyric Video]

[Chauncey Gardiner]

What if we ended tied basketball games by shooting free throws. What if we ended tied football (real football) games by kicking field goals. Hell no. Soccer is a stupid sport.

[dfwgator]

Everybody Hurts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOiW_xY-kc

[frogjerk]

Why would you put in a 19yr old to kick a penalty kick when other more experienced players should have been picked.

I think the question should be asked to the manager "Did you choose the penalty kickers based on race and PC?