IT’S ADMIN TIME!
Euro 2024, it’s sooner than you think. Because on Saturday evening, it’s the draw for the finals, to be played in Germany, of course. That’s taking place in Hamburg at 5pm GMT since you ask, and balls are being warmed in readiness for the 24 finalists, though make that 21 that we know of, as there’s the playoff round still to be decided. There, 12 nations who horsed their qualifications but were given a second chance by a Uefa Nations League equation that would have Nicolaus Copernicus reaching for his Casio scientific calculator will meet other such nations. By around midnight on 26 March all 24 teams will be revealed.
Just who will be presenting this feast of footballing bonhomie in which the dreaded phrase “the beautiful game” will be thrown around like confetti? Or did Fifa copyright that one? Details are sketchy, at least on English language Google and social media disgrace TwiXer. The venue is the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, a highbrow venue that normally hosts orchestras and the like. Just last month there was a three-day tribute to the music of Kurdistan while this week Bill Frisell, one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 21st century (it says here), was noodling away on his guitar.
In lieu of Pedro Pinto and Reshmin Chowdhury doing the honours, that leaves Football Daily wondering who will be accompanying the likes of Big Website’s Philipp Lahm and Giorgio Marchetti, the bespectacled chap who does the procedurals, dropping in gags in the same style Gianni Infantino once made his trademark before going on to, er, things. Will Angela Merkel, these days working on her memoirs, presumably in a shepherd’s hut, be persuaded to put in an appearance at her local draw? A wishlist of guests would take in Christopher Waltz, Ralf Hütter, Nastassja Kinski, the lads from Modern Talking and, yeah, go on then, The Hoff.
Hamburg is the port city that gave the world Kevin Keegan’s tight perm years, where the Beatles did their 10,000 hours of practice off the Reeperbahn before becoming truly fab. On Friday, as a prelude, in the 2. Bundesliga, St Pauli will host HSV in a sociable 4.30pm local time kick-off. That’s a top-of-the-table clash between the wifi Marxists and fallen European champions of 30 years ago. It’s been a long time since Felix Magath was rubbing cheese on his thighs and scoring winners against Juventus. As for the mechanics of the draw itself, six groups of four will be selected, from four pots, for a group stage that will cut down the 24 to 16, with four third-placed teams going through to the last 16 and Scotland sorrowfully jetting home with Del Amitri ringing in their ears.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Luke McLaughlin from 7.45pm GMT for MBM coverage of England 0-0 Netherlands in the Women’s Nations League.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“At the start I knew the pitch wasn’t right and you could see the way we were, a couple of our players struggled on it. We have been on our travels a lot and that’s as tough an environment as you can play in” – Aberdeen manager Barry Robson hails his team for recovering from two-down to draw 2-2 at HJK in Tin Pot, during a game that was briefly held up by Dons fans lobbing snowballs on the pitch and then later for snow ploughs to come on and clear the pitch.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
It’s been a while since you had one of these but the news about Shane MacGowan has reminded me that whenever I heard Naby Keïta’s name mentioned I would immediately sing the chorus of Navigator by The Pogues. It’s so perfect I can’t believe they didn’t chant it at Anfield. Anyway RIP Shane” – Alan Ferneyhough.
Pleasantly surprised to see Truro City grace the pages of Football Daily (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). I was a member of the youth team in the halcyon days of 2007 when the club won the FA Vase, before reaching the Conference South. Since then it has been a sorry (but familiar) tale of financial overreach, administration, 10-point deductions, and relegation. Most recently the home ground since 1900, Treyew Road, was sold (now a Lidl) and the club has been suffering the ignominy of having to play home games in (gasp) Devon while a new stadium is built. Here’s hoping the new ownership can bring back the glory days. Finally, for those that would call Cornish football a ‘farmer’s league’, don’t worry, they all played rugby” – Jack Stokes.
Re: ‘the chaos that has plagued Manchester United behind the scenes for years finally found its way on to the pitch’ (yesterday’s Football Daily). Finally? Can I be one of the 1,057 to remind you of this” – Rob McPheely (and no others).
Send any letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Alan Ferneyhough, who lands our final copy of the excellent Woman Up, by Carrie Dunn.
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