Euro 2024 Group B: Spain - Croatia - Italy - Albania

[mspm89]

And yet, football moves more money than ever and tennis is still a niche sport for most of the working and lower classes. It's a strange phenomenon.

[offside]

My apologies if this is a bit off-topic, but the discussion is interesting.

Agree, it is a cultural matter for sure, my son and his mates are much much less intersted in football than me and my friends at their age.
But this happens more or less in all the European countries and so it does not explain why in these 30 years Italian footballers talent decreased in comparison with the other European countries.

In facts what you pointed out in your previous post about the low investments by top Serie A sides in academies post Bosman rule is also true in my opinion. I was just trying to add another possible factor to the discussion.

I am very surprised with the popularity of padel tennis in Greece in the past years too! Fields seem to be popping up everywhere!

Yes, it is the cool sport to practice for this generation.

And yet, football moves more money than ever and tennis is still a niche sport for most of the working and lower classes. It's a strange phenomenon.

I don't know if it is strange, but it is so.

Italy has now the ATP #1 tennis player in Yannick Sinner, and 10 players within the ATP top 100: that's 10% of the whole world!

Or just look at the number of Italian medals in the recent European Athletics competition.

Football in Italy still the #1 sport by far for popularity of course, but its popularity is less a monopoly compared to the past.

[rpo.castro]

Indeed, there are no Tottis, Del Pieros, Baggios or Pirlos in Italy now. What happened? Even though the country and the league have been famous for their defensive play, they always managed to produce enough world class creative midfielders and forwards in every generation.

What happened?
IMHO, Italian clubs simply reduced investments in the young squads after the "Bosman affair", and they started to pick up young players from Africa.
The last champion was Pirlo, born in 1979.
This was a wrong decision for Italian football and for Serie A too.
In the meantime many countries invested much more than Italy in young teams: France, England, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and we see the outcome.
Probably in the last 5-10 years Italian clubs increased a bit again their budget for the young teams, so things could go better in the next years, but the gap now is huge.

1) you don't have Pirlo, Zidane, Messi in every generation.
2) in the past you used to play football everytime, on the street. You played because you liked and you played just with your skills without anyone telling you how to do it. Then you would be pick up by a club eventually.

Now kids are more with mobile phones tablets and videogames and less sport. And when they play a sport, most of times they are doing it under some coaching, restraining your criativity.

Club youth teams and also most of coaches focus more and more in tatics and this lowers the criativity of the player or tatic players are chosen over creative but unable to follow a tatic system.

That's my opinion. In sport the level has rised but in the athletic part. Everything now is thought and trained to the max. Every single detail is analysed and worked on, like using those biometric vests, cyclists measuring their watts and so on.
They are less wonder men, born with a gift and more machine or super soldiers, made to be like this.

[Tazmania]

Agree, it is a cultural matter for sure, my son and his mates are less intersted by far in football than me and my friends at their age.
But this happens more or less in all the European countries and so it does not explain why in these 30 years Italian footballers talent decreased in comparison with the other European countries.

I don't think this is true in the UK where you still see lots of youngsters playing football, formal and informal.

Meanwhile, last season in the EFL there were record-breaking attendances (the Championship is now the second highest attended league in Europe behind the EPL).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/ar ... ll8jdknzeo

[offside]

I don't think this is true in the UK where you still see lots of youngsters playing football, formal and informal.

Meanwhile, last season in the EFL there were record-breaking attendances (the Championship is now the second highest attended league in Europe behind the EPL).

You are making an excellent point here, there are different kind of popularity for football in a country, more or less active:

• 1. Teaching football

• 2. Playing formally

• 3. Playing informally

• 4. To be a referee

• 5. Watching it in a stadium

• 6. Watching it on TV

• 7. Talking about it

I have not data and statistics to show,I talk from what I see and I know, and this about Italy.

1. Like @fabiomh already pointed out, the investments of top Serie A sides in academies after the Bosman ruling were drastically reduced. For instance, while in England even Manchester City has a Foden (and perhaps others) coming from the club academy, in Serie A none of the top clubs really relies on the academy anymore to build up the top level team: it is somehow cheaper to buy youngsters from Africa for example.

2. Compared to the past, a lower percentage of athletes formally plays football, and an higher percentage plays other sports.

3. Compared to the past, a lower percentage of kids and youngsters informally plays football (like in a park or renting an indoor pitch).

4. Honestly, I don't know for sure, but now I am curious about it.

5. AFAIK, except for maybe Juventus at home, and big events (derbies and such), the stadiums are difficult to fill up.

6. Lots of people buys TV contracts to watch football on TV, so well this still very popular, and no other sport comes even close.

7. If I am here...

[Dragonite]

Croatia changed 3 players compared to their previous match:
Juranovic instead of Stanisic
Perisic instead of Pongracic
Petkovic instead of Budimir

Albania changed 2 players compared to their previous match:
Laçi instead of Seferi
Manaj instead of Broja

[Lorric]

Early lead for Albania again heading in a cross. They've played some good stuff, let's see how it goes this time...

[Firnen]

Croatia with their back against the wall, if they don't win today, they have 1 foot on the plane home.

Albania's goal was a generous gift from Livakovic.

[Oldelpaso]

I knew the Albania coach was Sylvinho, but hadn't realised his assistant was Pablo Zabaleta.

[Greyn]

No way Croatia will turn it around if they continue playing this way. They have to improve significantly quickly. It may sound shockingly, but they should consider themselves lucky that they are losing by 1-goal margin only.

[Lorric]

Oof. Two quick goals in 2mins. 2-1 Croatia, took longer, but again Albania concede two quick goals.

[Firnen]

No way Croatia will turn it around if they continue playing this way. They have to improve significantly quickly. It may sound shockingly, but they should consider themselves lucky that they are losing by 1-goal margin only.

They turned it around without improving significantly. Just like against Italy, Albania loses their focus at 1-1 and 2-1 comes very quickly.

[Firnen]

2-2 Albania, they're taking Croatia out with them?

[Lorric]

But this time Albania will not lose 2-1. Lots of men up trying to equalise in the dying minutes, and they do!

[Club-Mate]

Shqiptarët trima!
the minutes they fought and played at the end was amazing