Executioner

Ilya Kukin, Mikhail Stroganov

The 2000 European Championship started off fun, you won't get bored. The opening matches have already revealed several contenders for heroes and anti-heroes of the championship.

Without a doubt, the refereeing of Pierluigi Collina in the match of the first round of the Euro 2000 group tournament Holland - Czech Republic will become a classic example of referee tyranny. The penalty kick, awarded a minute before the end of the match with the score 0:0, brought the home team a victory they did not deserve.

There is no football without refereeing errors. There is a cynical saying that conveys both the doom of the victims and the embarrassment of those unfairly rewarded: “Was there a penalty? Dali, that means there was...”. But when the referee violates the logic of events with one whistle, this is not a mistake, but a tragedy. And at the same time he behaves simply defiantly, not at all as befits a righteous judge, who should be a model of composure. They say, here I am, the king and God, and you (the 22 direct creators of football) are spit under my feet. If I want, I will destroy, if I want, I will have mercy. A clear Napoleonic complex. A weak-willed, doubting referee is also not a gift, but the referee must remember that he is not the main character on the field. And if a person comes to the front of the stage with a whistle - woe to football!

However, this style of refereeing by Signor Collina is far from new for memorable fans. He often revels in his own importance and displays enormous self-confidence. This makes a strong impression, but only if Collina is not mistaken. For example, his clear and tough style of work graced the 1999 Champions Cup final. But in this case, dignity turned into a major flaw, a blunder, not to say a crime, in front of football. It's a shame for the Czechs.

If it’s annoying for disinterested spectators, is it any wonder that in the Czech Republic itself the press and fans still cannot calm down. Epithets like “swindler” and “swindler” are the mildest of those that are awarded to Collina. Some hotheads, including members of parliament, are demanding that he be banned from entering the country for life as an ardent Czech hater. This is the kind of mess that can be made with one reckless whistle.

Catalyst

It happens! The worst player of the match against his will, moreover, already absent from the field, becomes the main reason for the inspiration that descended on the team. And the team accomplishes a feat the likes of which the history of European championships has never seen before.

For two thirds of the match between the national teams of Yugoslavia and Slovenia, it was not clear whether it was football or war. Although it was the Yugoslavs who fought first, clearly annoyed that the opponent did not want to recognize their obvious superiority. Out of irritation, they “floated” and instead of playing football, they had a showdown. The apotheosis of confusion was the removal of the leading defender of the national team, Sinisa Mihailovich, provoked by himself. A minute before this, his gross mistake - a pass, as hockey players say, through his own "patch" - allowed the Slovenians to score another goal - 0:3. Mikhailovich deliberately rudely entered into the next duel, then laid his opponent on the lawn. There was half an hour left before the end of the game, and there would hardly have been a crazy person who would have risked suggesting that the South would equalize the score.

Would the Yugoslavs have come to their senses if this episode had not happened? Would you pull yourself together? Perhaps the highly experienced coach Vuyadin Boshkov would gradually bring the players back to their senses on their own. But the removal of Mikhailovich instantly turned the “wild division” into a team. The miraculous metamorphosis occurred so quickly that the Slovenians woke up only when the score was 3:3. We must give them their due, they remained in prostration for only a few minutes. But the victory has already floated away.

Aesthetes

The match between England and Portugal at the opening stage of the 2000 European Championship had no equal in terms of entertainment. The difference in styles and nature of movements was striking. The duel between the super-technical Portuguese and the powerful British was like a battle between cats and bulldogs. The game was a success, and its outcome was decided, as often happens in modern football, by the finest nuances.

As the meeting progressed, it became increasingly difficult for the established Englishmen, especially their defenders, to resist their sharp, agile opponents. The further, the more often the Portuguese won micro-duels. The most obvious illustration was the second goal scored by Joao Pinto. Tony Adams simply didn't have time to coordinate the way the lithe striker did. And, let's say, the tall, powerful Heskey, who replaced Owen, lost the vast majority of martial arts. Not because there was not enough strength, there was an abundance of it, but precisely because of a lack of speed.

And at some point the situation on the field changed. After a disastrous start, the Portuguese were put right by a miracle goal from Luis Figo. And in the future the leader was tireless. Not a single attack of the Portuguese national team was complete without his participation. The experts had no problems identifying the best player of the match. Only Rui Costa could compete with Figo.

Despite the outstanding qualities shown by the Portuguese, few would dare to call them a team capable of actually laying claim to the championship title. They deservedly won the match, but still, as dog lovers say, “their muzzle is a little light.” Such an elegant, subtle team is not easy to beat in combination football, but the harmony of its play can be disrupted. What such powerful teams as the German, Italian or Czech are quite capable of doing.

Or maybe the time has finally come when the generation of “golden boys” of Portuguese football - the same ones who once won European and world championships among youth teams - will become trendsetters in the Old World. After all, in their clubs, whose names speak for themselves, they are all leaders, key players.