From a sports perspective, the 2016 European Football Championship has long been a disaster. The final between Portugal and France is no exception until Ronaldo starts to cry. Luckily, a lot of beautiful things happened from the green lawn!

English coach Paul Jewel once said of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo: “He is 1.87 meters tall, as brave as a lion, as strong as a bull and lightning fast, and then Jewel laughed heartily.

Without the athletic class and the sentiments of Cristiano Ronaldo, Euro 2016 could not even be imagined. The games at this European Championship were very average and often boring. That was the problem that lingered in the game, even in the final between Portugal and France. But then Ronaldo was injured – and the final was a dramatic turning point, the Daily Mirror wrote: “Tears of despair turned to tears of joy. Portugal shocked France.”

Because, when the Portuguese superstar had to stop crying, something happened that few expected, as the Swedish newspaper “Expresssen” wrote the next day: “Cristiano played the whole tournament for everyone else, and now everyone else is playing him. Eder scored the decisive goal for Portugal the second time,” De Manha “wrote:” After Eder’s goal, he could not control his emotions. At the end of the European Football Championship, Cristiano Ronaldo had a strong passion. “

“Game without a drop of football”

These tears could not hide the sporty joke promised by both teams for 120 minutes (“Game without a drop of football”, “ABC”). If a worm touches the forehead of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo in a final – you will definitely remember! – Not only do you have your own Twitter account in a matter of seconds, but after three minutes you have already amassed over 6000 followers, you know the sporting attraction and value of a tournament.

Not surprisingly, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo concluded that “a final without football glamor, like the rest of the tournament, was lived out of emotion.” And many wonderful stories away from the green lawn.

EM’s secret star never actually played for a second. Yet the Northern Irishman Will Grigg will forever remain in our memories. The ear dedicated to the Wigan Athletic Professional Ring is in the ear. “Grig is on fire, your defense is afraid” At least one football event with no underline in the atmosphere was brought here and in the waves. Anyway: What would these four weeks in France be like without these big fans from (northern) Ireland, Wales, Sweden or Iceland? The achievements of the Irish alone in the two weeks of their presence for football cannot surpass the gold.

The fans were more creative than the players

It’s amazing that the boys in Green helped a French pensioner change tires. Or how they sang to a baby to sleep on the subway. In this case a dream scene occurred, when a fan shouted at another and asked for silence (“Shut up. Here’s a baby boat!”), Then the whole cart silently replied with a finger to the mouth: “Psssssst!”. Everyone voted again “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, how do I think you are?” at.

Another highlight was the meeting of Irish and Swedish supporters. “Go to your sexy wives’ house,” the Irish Swede smiled. And they did. Very soon after three preliminary rounds.

In the stadium, the fans on the stands were often more imaginative than the players on the pitch. During one game, five pitty boys with red burnt faces and a heavy beer in their eyes caught their attention. There is no doubt that they are island humans. They proudly raised a banner: “Please do not picture us. Our women think we are fishing in West Wales.”

European champions of secrets

And of course there were these amazing Icelanders. A country of just 300,000 inhabitants not only sent 10,000 natives to France, but also provided a team of 23 players. Despite the fact that 708 males are indispensable to whales and 780 permanent volcanic observers are not available. They defended the tournament in their exciting way and thus became the secret champions of European hearts.

The Icelanders were brought to France just as Paul Jewel showed in his description of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Heimir Hallgrimson, assistant coach of the Icelandic national team, said sympathetically after a game: “If a player gets a yellow card, he changes the jersey to someone else. Nobody knows us anyway.” That quickly changed at the tournament in France. It is now rumored that former Icelandic footballers will win German dance competitions. But that’s another matter! Now, first of all, have fun at the European Championships and have a great time!