Menu
International Football

German Int'l Lukas Podolski Calls New Euro Format 'Stupid'

German int'l Lukas Podolski has branded UEFA's redesigned European Championship format "stupid," suggesting that the expanded competition "encouraged teams to play defensively and limit losses in the group stage," according to Rory Smith of the LONDON TIMES. Germany "struggled to impress" in its opening three games and in its Round of 16 fixture, the team "cut loose," beating Slovakia 3-0. Podolski, once of Arsenal and now of Galatasaray, "believes the reason for the discrepancy can be found in the way the tournament was set up, which meant some teams had to wait for several days to discover if they had qualified for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed sides." Podolski: "The group stage was a little bit strange because UEFA did some stupid things with the system. It is not about the smaller teams, it’s about the decisions. Some teams waited three days in the camp for a decision" (LONDON TIMES, 6/27). In London, Jonathan Liew wrote Podolski's comments "echoed those by his Manager Joachim Löw earlier in the tournament." Löw said that the fact that a team could qualify by winning only one match was "not very fair," even though this was "technically still possible under the old system." For now Germany has a quarterfinal against Italy to look forward to on Saturday. Podolski said, "Italy or Spain, it doesn’t matter. You have to beat everyone when you want to be the European champions. Maybe it’s better to play a big team. You have to focus" (TELEGRAPH, 6/27).

BOMB SCARE: The Aberdeen PRESS AND JOURNAL reported reports in France "suggest entry to the Stade de France was blocked off" on Monday due to a "possible bomb threat." A "strong police presence blocked off the area" surrounding the Stade de France in Paris but it is believed the block has "now been lifted and people can once again head towards the stadium" (PRESS AND JOURNAL, 6/27).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/06/28/International-Football/Euro-Format.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/06/28/International-Football/Euro-Format.aspx

CLOSE