A European Championship does not always tend to be a catalogue of memorable matches. The quarter-finals are in general the manifestation of – or, at best, the prelude to – conservative, low-scoring encounters with tight and tense football, as the survivors seek to eliminate all risks in a bid to extend their stay.
In Euro 2016, the quarter-finals stage delivered both stalemates and cut-throat action with plenty of dramatic narratives: Wales maturely slew Belgium in Lille, while hosts France, with Oliver Giroud and Antoine Griezmann as protagonists, cast an end to the romanticism of Iceland’s progress. Those were high-scoring encounters, ramping up the goals-per-game average to 3.75 in the quarter-finals, out of tune with the tournament average of 2.15. In Euro 2012, that same figure for the quarter-finals was just 2.25.
Uninvited to the party
Yet, this is misleading, because goalkeepers did play a lead role in the first two quarter-finals, with Germany’s Manuel Neuer and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon testing their prowess and penalty-stopping aptitude on a slow burning night in Bordeaux. Germany matched Italy at their own game in a 3-5-2 formation. German decency and professionalism dictated that Die Mannschaft relentlessly sought a winner against a deep defensive Italian line. They never got one.
In truth, Germany-Italy was always going to be the ultimate endgame, a humdinger in a tournament of mediocre football, reminiscent of the dark ages and the 1990 World Cup in Italy when defending and caution prevailed. The match turned into a spectacle of tactical wizardry as Joachim Löw gambled by tweaking his line-up, basically admitting that Italy were a formidable opponent.
And so the goalkeepers stood and watched in their desolate boxes, almost like computer-controlled fly cams: recording the match and its many nuances from a removed viewpoint, lonely and imperious at the same time. They stood like bouncers, not invited to the party. They could have even been the coaches pacing up and down and flapping with their arms.
Why the goalie matters
The first real attempt on goal came after 65 minutes and Buffon had no chance: a charging Mesut Ozil tapped in Mario Gomez’s cross. Until that point, the game had been satirical: the tactical refinement replaced the original purpose of the match – progress to the next round – with a new one: using better tactics as a response. European football's governing body Uefa and its legion of occasional TV viewers watched in despair.
And so, on to penalties: Neuer saved twice, Buffon saved too, but failed to parry Jonas Hector’s last and decisive penalty, letting it pass, almost slip, under his ageing body. The Italian left the pitch in tears – an icon of the game reduced to primary emotions at the age of 38. He had been brilliant, but his guesswork, skills and reaction time couldn’t prevent an Italian exit this time.
The German players engulfed Neuer in celebration. The blonde beast had proved his value again in those split seconds that a goalkeeper matters most to his team. In the last World Cup, Neuer had been a sensation, a sweeper-keeper or Germany’s 12th outfield player, who had, particularly against Algeria, contributed greatly to their game. He was simply the tournament’s best keeper.
Under-rated Courtois
In Euro 2016, Thibaut Courtois may well be that goalkeeper. No, he was not involved in a heroic shootout in Bordeaux. Nor did he force a penalty from Poland’s Jakub Błaszczykowski wide with a fine one-handed save as Portugal’s Rui Patricio did. But the Belgian, who plies his trade with Chelsea, was in imperious form – a safeguard who proved to be a fine shot-stopper during the tournament.
Till the quarter finals, he conceded only against Italy, but Belgium’s defence was ponderous against the Welsh. On the left side of defence, Jordan Lukaku, Romelu’s younger brother, and Jason Denayer weren’t adequate replacements for the suspended Thomas Vermaelen and the injured Jan Vertonghen. Captain Vincent Kompany had been ruled out before the start of Euro 2016, and coach Marc Wilmots had left Nicolas Lombaerts home after a late injury.
Wales didn’t threaten Courtois’s goal very often, but when they did, it was lethal. Early on, Courtois saved, with quick grace, a point-blank range effort from James Chester. Then, he was left with little chance when Ashley Williams powered home a header, Hal Robson-Kanu swivelled inside the box and Samuel Vokes angled his header.
Three times Courtois’s defence was culpable, to different degrees and in different variations, but as the Belgian goalkeeper and both Buffon and Neuer know, matches and championships often get decided by isolated details up the field. Italy and Belgium were hopefuls, Germany are still contenders.