Enjoy it while you can as greed obscures glory hunt

WHEN was the last truly great World Cup? It is a question guaranteed to spark debate, whether asked down the pub, on a busy train or even, as happened yesterday, when chatting among ourselves on the Yorkshire Post sports desk.

The responses were varied as yours truly suggested 1982 and our resident Diego Maradona-obsessive argued in favour of Mexico ’86, while others plumped for 1970 or 1990.

Age and personal memories seemed to play a major part in the thought process with one fresh-faced colleague’s response of “I was only six in 1986 so can’t remember that far back” bringing a heartfelt ‘aw, bless!’ from those present.

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What all of us did agree upon, however, was that the last few World Cups have been anything but classics with the bloated format which, since 1998, has seen 32 teams take part having made the opening two weeks or so a largely sterile affair.

Only in the knockout stages have they threatened to come to life after the footballing wheat has been separated from the chaff, of which there is plenty in a World Cup due to even the weaker Confederations providing up to five nations.

With that in mind and Euro 2012 set to finally get under way later today, football fans should make the most of the next three weeks as we will not see their like again.

That is thanks to the idiocy and greed of UEFA, who have decided the number of teams competing in the next European Championships should be raised by 50 per cent to 24 – or almost half of the 53 European countries who set out every four years hoping to win a place at the finals.

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Regular readers of this column may remember this planned expansion was a topic touched upon as long ago as last November, in the immediate aftermath of the two-legged play-offs that decided which of the second-placed sides should go forward to Ukraine and Poland.

All four ties had been ridiculously one-sided, suggesting that Euro 2012 was unlikely to be any poorer for the absence of Estonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Turkey – all countries which would have qualified automatically, had the qualification criteria for 2016 been in place, along with a handful who finished third.

In making this nonsensical decision to expand from the current format of 16 teams split into four groups, UEFA have tossed away the one big advantage the Euro finals hold over a World Cup.

Namely, no nation can afford to start the tournament slowly due to the sheer intensity of competition.

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What price, for instance, Spain managing to finish top of Group C if – as happened two years ago when up against Chile, Switzerland and Honduras – they were to lose Sunday’s opening encounter with Italy?

So, as Poland prepare to get Euro 2012 under way against Greece in Warsaw at 5pm today, football fans are advised to enjoy it while they can.

Thankfully, there is plenty to look forward to, not least the tournament likely to ignite fully tomorrow when Group B kicks off.

Every major finals has a so-called ‘Group of Death’ but the prospect of Germany (seeded third in the latest FIFA rankings), Holland (4th), Denmark (9th) and Portugal (10th) going head-to-head has to be the most mouth-watering since Euro ’96 pitted Germany (then ranked 2nd), Russia (3rd), Italy (7th) and Czech Republic (10th) together.

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Next Wednesday’s Germany v Holland game is the standout fixture, even if a rivalry that once bordered on outright hatred has lessened in recent years.

But this is a group where every game is likely to be crucial with a defeat tomorrow for any of the four combatants likely to leave them with too much to do to reach the last eight.

Averting your gaze, even if only fleetingly, could be a mistake, not least because Cristiano Ronaldo needs to star in a major tournament to cement his status as a footballing great after tremendous success at club level with Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Group B may understandably have attracted much of the focus during the build-up but there is plenty elsewhere to keep fans across Europe glued to their television screens over the next 12 days as 16 nations do battle for a place in the quarter-finals.

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The low-key arrival of the English, for instance, as opposed to the usual brazen air of self-belief that accompanies the Three Lions ahead of a major tournament has attracted plenty of comment across the continent, as has France’s revival since the dark days of the last World Cup.

Whether one or both can prosper will be fascinating to watch, as will the Italians’ attempts to overcome the match-fixing scandal back home that just last week led to prime minister Mario Monti suggesting professional football in the country could be suspended for “two to three years” in an attempt to eradicate any corruption.

That prospect has since faded, though coach Cesare Prandelli can surely only view this as a crumb of comfort in an otherwise dreadful build-up. That said, Italy have form in overcoming similar problems at home to prosper once a major tournament is up and running as they proved by lifting the World Cup in not only 1982 but also 2006.

Whether the current squad can emulate that feat remains to be seen but, even so, watching them try is going to be one of several fascinating aspects of Euro 2012.

Mind, we all should make the most of it as, come France in four years, the European Championships will have a very different feel.

Enjoy.