David Beckham: From Hero to Zero

Krupesh Shah: Hello guys, I'm Krupesh Shah reporting for Eurosport, and with me here is my co-commentator Neal Hasan.

Neal Hasan: Suuup

Krupesh Shah: According to a recent poll done by Eurosport, Neal is one of our top reporters and his commentary is world class. I don't really think so though.

Neal Hasan: Shut up mate!

Krupesh Shah: We are here today to provide you with live coverage on-

Neal Hasan: The Euro 2020 Final! Booyah!

Krupesh Shah: Do keep an eye on our feed for live updates about the match.

Neal Hasan: And my awesome commentary!

Krupesh Shah: Here are the line-ups for today's big match.

England: Hart; Walker, Shawcross, Lenti, Baines; Chamberlain, Wilshere, Jones, Ince; Sturridge, Maddison

Spain: De Gea; Azpilicueta, Pique, San Jose, Alba; X. Pique, Thiago, Benat; Mata, Pedro; Rodrigo


Neal Hasan: Fedele Lenti is a youngin'! Why would you play a youngin' in a Final?!

Krupesh Shah: I believe you meant youngster...

Neal Hasan: Colin Maddison! Wow, seriously? Why not Wayne Rooney! Wazza can bang 'em in like how he bangs Coleen!

Krupesh Shah: Neal, don't be disgusting. Fedele Lenti can hold his own just fine, he's a quality young defender. Phil Jones and Jack Wilshere in midfield sounds like an awesome pairing as well.

Neal Hasan: Why's Leighton Baines playing? I know Kyle Naughton's shit, but at least he's better than some old bag of bones.

Krupesh Shah: Perhaps David Beckham just wants to give Baines a good, proper international send-off. Now, to Spain. What nonsense do you have to blabber about the Spain line-up, Neal?

Neal Hasan: Well, firstly, they have two Piques. I am not sure which one is the one that plays for Barcelona and which one is the youngin'!

Krupesh Shah: It's 'youngster', Neal! And you can obviously see that there is a 'Pique' and a 'X. Pique' on this list. Gerard Pique is the one from Barcelona, now see, does Gerard start with X?

Neal Hasan: I don't know... does it?

Krupesh Shah: ... Never mind. Anyway, back on topic, Spain have a great defense with Azpilicueta, Gerard Pique, Mikel San Jose and Jordi Alba. Xavier Pique has also won the opportunity to play in the Final. The 22-year-old will be very happy with that, Euro 2020 being his first major tournament with Spain, too. Appearing in the Final of your first tournament! That must be great.

Neal Hasan: No shit, Sherlock!

Krupesh Shah: Moving on, Spain have a midfield partnership of Thiago Alcantara and Benat, with Juan Mata and Pedro on the wings. Rodrigo will lead the attack. Well, it seems Spain's side is full of quality. Thiago, Benat, Mata, Pedro, Rodrigo... any of them would get into England's XI. It's going to be quite a tough task for England.

Neal Hasan: They'd better win! I'm bored of Spain winning the Euros all the time!

Krupesh Shah: With kickoff approaching, we'll be going right ahead to the match. Stick with us for our live commentary coming later on. First, we're going to hand this over to our reporter, Arvind Krishna, who's currently on the pitch with Phil Jones, who is going to captain the side.



Arvind Krishna: Hello, this is Arvind Krishna, here with Phil Jones. So tell me Phil, are you excited for today's match?

Phil Jones: But of course. We think we have a very good chance of winning this. We lost out in Euro 2016 but we are determined not to have a repeat. We are going to win it this year.

Arvind Krishna: This will be your 99th cap for England. Are you disappointed that an appearance in the Final won't be your 100th?

Phil Jones: To be honest, no, I'm not really that kinda guy who wants his landmarks in proper matches, stuff like that. I'm just happy enough I'm going to be on my way to 100 caps soon. To win 100 caps is evidence of your ability as a footballer.

Arvind Krishna: You are playing as a midfielder today, are you happy with that or would you much rather prefer playing as a defender? I mean, I know you're a very versatile player, but I've always thought of you as more of a defender.

Phil Jones: Actually, no, I actually relish the idea of playing as a midfielder. It's great to sometimes be in midfield - it is pretty boring sticking to one position all the time.

Arvind Krishna: Alright, I'll be off now, thanks for the interview, Phil, and good luck for the match!

Phil Jones: Thanks mate.



1' - We kick off here at Istanbul, the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. The Miracle of Istanbul happened here in 2005, with Liverpool coming back from 3-0 down to force a 3-3 draw against AC Milan, and then a win on penalties in the 2005 Champions League Final. This took a mixture of Lady Luck, as well as determination and a never-give-up attitude. Both sides obviously have the latter two but will Lady Luck lean towards Spain or England today?

24' - Benat's free kick flies into the stands. Haha, noob.

39' - Jack Wilshere's free kick isn't any better than Benat's earlier one and it sails wide of the net. Still a very uneventful 0-0 scoreline.

45' - Half-time here. England have Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain while Spain have Rodrigo, Juan Mata, and Thiago... and no goals yet. Come on...

HT: England 0-0 Spain

45' - We are back out for the second half of the Euro 2020 Final, and England have made a half-time change, introducing Wayne Rooney into the team for Daniel Sturridge to come off.

45' - YESSSAAAR! BRING THE WAZAAAA! SPAIN ARE DEAD!

56' - And Leighton Baines is off. The Bayern Munich left-back has gotten his second yellow card from the ref. Told ya he shouldn't have played, what a trigger-happy twat.

56' - Not how Leighton Baines would have liked to end his last international tournament appearance at all.

70' - Thiago swings his free kick in and Rodrigo gets his head to it. It's a goal! Oh wait, it's offside.

80' - Sergio Busquets is on for Xavier Pique and Pedro will make way for Suso.

85' - Jack Wilshere is forced off with an injury. Jonjo Shelvey will take his place.

85' - Poor Jack, the Arsenal captain looks devastated!

87' - Rodrigo is at an awesome position but his shot goes wide! Whew!

90' - And that's the end of 90 minutes. A really, really nerve-wracking Final for England, especially with them being 1 man down and Jack Wilshere being injured.

FT: England 0-0 Spain

90' - We kick off with extra time. England have made one change, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who has been unfortunately ineffective so far going off for Will Hughes.

90' - David Beckham is crazy! Taking Chamberlain off for Will Hughes?!

96' - Wayne Rooney has a brilliant opportunity but he hits it right over the bar! Shame on you Wazza!

105' - Half-time in extra time. Come on, England, stop playing like shit!

HT in ET: England 0-0 Spain

105' - The remaining 15 minutes of the match starts... now. Can England or Spain prevent this from going to penalties?

118' - That's a second yellow card for Ryan Shawcross as he slides in hard on Sergio Busquets! England down to 9 men!

120' - But Spain's 2-man advantage won't bother England too much now, because the match is now going to penalties.

120' - The Euro 2016 Final also ended on penalties, but in Spain's favor. Can history be repeated, or will England finally triumph? We won't be around for the penalty shootouts unfortunately, but instead, our fellow colleague Louis Ostrowski will be commentating on the drama.

FT in ET: England 0-0 Spain


- The first man for England to take the penalty is Colin Maddison, and the Nottingham Forest striker does not disappoint with his perfect strike.

- Mikel San Jose scores the first penalty for Spain as well.

- Wayne Rooney had seemed massively confident but it seems the England captain will not sign off his international tournament history well, as his Manchester United teammate David De Gea saves his shot.

- Suso puts his penalty easily past Joe Hart.

- Jonjo Shelvey's penalty is saved by David De Gea! What a disaster!

- Thiago's shot is saved by Joe Hart as well. Can England bounce back?

- Will Hughes scores this one, but England will have to hope Spain messes up their next penalty!

- Jordi Alba strikes his penalty cleanly past Joe Hart, piling on the pressure for England.

- Tom Ince scores his penalty to keep England in the game.

- AND SPAIN HAVE SEALED IT! THEY'VE WON THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS! A RECORD FOURTH TIME IN A ROW! WHAT A FINISH FROM JUAN MATA, AND WHAT A FEAT SPAIN HAS ACCOMPLISHED! Absolutely terrible for England, though, as their penalty woes come back to haunt them again. A huge disappointment for the Three Lions players. They will have some explaining to do after this, as will David Beckham.

Spain - Kings of the European Championship

Penalties as always

2013-06-22 16:35#114698 Louis O. : Penalties as always

Yep

No carrot for you shame really that it had to be England and penalties.

England manager David Beckham has stated that their failure in winning the European Championship will only make it so that they're hungry for World Cup glory.

In two years, the World Cup will kick off again in Qatar. The likes of Spain and Italy will be joined by South American powerhouses Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay as serious opponents for England in the world tournament.

"Losing this time has only made us eager to win it next time," said Beckham in his post-match press conference. "The result of the Final has only spurred us on to win the World Cup in 2022."

England have two World Cup titles to their name currently - one won in 1966 on home soil while their latest one was won in 2014. Roy Hodgson's England team of 2014 dazzled and impressed in the World Cup and won the rights to be named as world champions after a 1-0 triumph against France.

And Beckham will be determined to make it three World Cups by 2022.

"The hard work starts now," he told Turkish media. "All the training, the preparation."

England's World Cup campaign will start in September, their first World Cup Qualifier being a match against bitter rivals Scotland.

Meanwhile, as the rest of the England squad jets back to their home country, Beckham and assistant manager Ryan Giggs will fly immediately to South Korea and re-assume leadership over the Bayern Munich team, who are currently on a club tour in the Asian country. Prior to their tour, Die Bayern had played a pre-season friendly in Switzerland against Delemont. FC Bayern II manager Mehmet Scholl took charge of the squad but they lost 2-1 to the Swiss minnows.

However, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fedele Lenti, Will Hughes, Thiago and Eneko Diez will be granted leave from club duty following their participation in the European Championships and will rejoin Bayern after their tour of South Korea on 23rd July.

Ademilson, Jeandy Besnard and Jean-Claude Marcelin are also excused from the tour due to international duty, being part of their respective national squads for the Olympic Games, and will not return until the start of the new season.

Unlucky lad

:'( That's for not having me as a commentator hahaha jk.. Good luck in the Euros and WC

The aftermath of Euro 2020 has been astonishing.

Following Portugal's failure to go any further than the Quarter Finals after being beaten by Belgium, national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from professional football.

The Real Madrid forward revealed that he'd made the decision after Portugal's Euro 2020 disappointment added to Ronaldo's season woes, as he made only 14 appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions. Real went on to win nothing at all, except the runners-up medals for the Copa Del Rey, a huge embarrassment for a club of Real Madrid's stature.

With the expiry of his Real Madrid contract having approached, numerous teams in Asia & North America expressed their interest in signing him as he was released by the club. However, he has now decided to retire at the age of 35, ending his long career where he made 196 appearances in the Premier League for Manchester United and then 340 appearances in La Liga for Real Madrid. He still holds the record for the most expensive player, although his 80 million move to Madrid happened more than 10 years ago.

His international career also ends on a grand total of 180 international caps and 90 international goals.

There are also other players that have quit international football with Manchester United winger Eden Hazard and Zenit playmaker Axel Witsel ending their careers with Belgium permanently. Hazard ends his international career with 116 caps, quite the total for a 29-year-old. 31-year-old Witsel has just two more with a total of 118 caps.

Managers have also left with Germany's Robin Dutt resigning from his post after their disastrous performance in Euro 2020 where they were defeated by Turkey in the Second Round. France's Paul Le Guen has also been sacked after his side were battered 3-1 by Portugal in the Second Round as well.

However, Spain manager Josep Guardiola departs on a high.


The former Barcelona manager was appointed in 2014 following Spain's horrible performances in the 2014 World Cup. Two European Championship wins later, Guardiola has decided to end his successful six-year reign at Spain's helm.

This will be interesting news to many, many European clubs who will now be keen on taking the 49-year-old on board.

Guardiola has also revealed that he wants to return to club football and "will look to find a new club as soon as possible". He enjoyed massive success during his four-year spell as manager of Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, winning La Liga three times and the Champions League twice.

Tough loss on penalties looks like even Becks can't lift the curse!

Euro 2020 Awards

With the end of the European Championship 2020, awards were handed out.

Best Player

Gokmen Hacieyupoglu (Turkey)

Dream Team

Hart; Walker, Lenti, Gunter, Alba; Hacieyupoglu, Dermisis, Wilshere, Hazard; Lukaku, Rodrigo

Golden Boot

Rodrigo (Spain)

Unlucky Glenn, Anything can happen on Penos...Unless your England, Then it's scripted!

That's extremely unfortunate mate, loss in penalties I'm sure the WC will be better!

England and Bayern Munich left-back Leighton Baines has announced his full retirement from professional football.

The 35-year-old made 12 Bundesliga appearances in his debut season for Bayern Munich, but has failed to make much of an impact. Baines' last ever professional game was the Euro 2020 Final but he was sent off in the 56th minute. England eventually fought Spain to a 0-0 draw, yet lost out on penalties.

His last few games as a footballer aren't much to talk about, but on the contrary, his entire career is a dazzling, excellent one.

Born in Liverpool, Baines started his career at Wigan Athletic and broke into the Latics first team by 2003, and made 6 appearances as Wigan secured promotion from League One to the Championship. He remained for 4 more years as Wigan eventually won promotion to the Premier League.

In 2007, Baines moved to Everton and although his first season wasn't exactly impressive, he soon moved to make the left-back spot his, appearing 31 times in the league for the Toffees in his second season at Goodison Park. He eventually earned his reputation as a master of set pieces, and this, along with his performances, won him his first England cap in 2010.


Baines was brought to Manchester United in January 2013 for a fee of 18 million after making 101 league appearances and achieving the status of legend at Goodison Park. His time at Old Trafford only served to brighten his career as he kicked Ashley Cole out of the England first team and won numerous trophies with United, something he'd been unable to do at Everton.


235 Premier League appearances in a Red Devils kit later, Baines had amassed a total of six different trophies. Four Premier League title medals were won in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019. Three Champions League medals were collected in 2014, 2015 and 2018, while he also won Club World Championship medals in 2014 and 2015. His first Community Shield medal came in 2015. His last trophy won with United was the European Super Cup in 2018.

Baines was also part of England's 2014 World Cup winning squad.


He joined Bayern Munich in 2019 following his successful time at Manchester United, but age ensured he never repeated his feats and he was little less than a rotation player at the Allianz Arena, although he did add further medals to his cabinet, the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal, and a fourth Champions League medal.

His last game for England resulted in him being red-carded in the 56th minute, in a European Championship Final.

But looking back at his career as a whole and his 102 England caps, Baines won't be too unhappy with how his career has gone.

It is indeed the end of an era for one of the world's best.

Kopite: Yes

Jeremy: You'll get your commentating chance soon!

Krupesh: Yes, England is just too dang shite at penalties

Dean: Exactly haha. Damn penalties, it's always the damn penalties.

Neal: Yeah, looking forward to the WC so I can finally win a trophy with England.

What a career for Leighton. Great tribute Glenn, really nice update as usual.