The most striking difference is the feeling of space. Space in the stands and space on the pitch. As England and Germany step out for the final of the 2009 European Championship, the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki is less than half full: the rows of black plastic seats creating their own shade, the noise simply evaporating like steam. In large part this is attributable to the fact that the final – for some mystifying reason – is being played on a Thursday evening in September. Some of the English newspapers haven’t even bothered to send anybody.
The crowd of just over 15,000 is treated to a ragged rout: Germany running out 6-2 winners, forcing England’s loose assemblage of mostly semi-pro players to chase them to exhaustion. The level of commitment is unstinting. The level of technical ability is surprisingly good. What’s missing is the intensity: the tactical sophistication, the speed of thought and action, the physical conditioning that allows modern players to sprint and change direction and leap and slide with the same vigour in minute 90 as in minute one.
