So it has come down to this…. a shootout between Antoine Griezmann and Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowned Euro 2016’s best player when their countries go head-to-head in the final on Sunday night.
In the blue corner is Griezmann, the fleet-footed star whose goals have fired France to the final in Paris. In the red corner is Cristiano Ronaldo, Europe’s leading footballer and a man determined to add an international prize to his remarkable list of trophies.
There is more to the game than watching those two go toe-to-toe, of course, but it will be a fascinating battle between the continent’s undisputed pin-up player and a younger rival, and it is interesting to compare the two to see who has performed better so far.
First up, Griezmann. It is worth remembering that going into the tournament he had little international pedigree and was not expected to be France’s star player. He was a bit-part figure at the World Cup in Brazil two years ago and, while his stock has risen since, was tipped by many to play second fiddle to Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba at these finals.
Nor has it been a smooth ride for Griezmann since the tournament began. He was shattered after a long and draining season that ran all the way until the Champions League final on May 28. That gave him very little time to rest and recover before the Euro finals kicked-off less than a fortnight later.
He also had to pick himself up from the disappointment of finishing on the losing side in the Champions League final for Atletico Madrid and missing a penalty kick in the defeat to city rivals Real. That was an awful lot to absorb and digest before representing his nation on home soil in a huge international tournament.
With fatigue and burn-out genuine concerns, French sports daily L’Equipe ran a front-page headline that read: ‘the Griezmann Worry’ early in the tournament. That may sound ludicrous now but at the time made sense given how long his season had been and how short the turnaround time had been to get ready for the finals.
Griezmann was well below his best in France’s opening-day 2-1 win over Romania. Substituted after 66 minutes, he cut a disconsolate figure as he left the field, leaving Dimitri Payet to grab the headlines thanks to his magnificent 89th-minute winner.
Griezmann was left out of France’s starting line-up for their second game against Albania, but that was more a case of resting him than him being dropped for poor form, and he came off the bench to head France into a late 1-0 lead. That was his first crucial contribution of the tournament that would go from strength to strength.
Following France’s tame final group game against Switzerland (0-0) Griezmann came into his own in the second-half of France’s last-16 fixture against the Republic of Ireland. Seeing his team trailing 1-0 at half-time, coach Didier Deschamps decided to move Griezmann from the right-wing position in which he had operated until that point to a second-striker role in a 4-2-3-1.
The switch paid off almost immediately. In a central position Griezmann found space to brilliantly head home Bacary Sagna’s cross to make it 1-1, and then made it 2-1 a couple of minutes later when he raced on to an Olivier Giroud knockdown to score with a smart left-foot finish. He was outstanding in that second-half, revelling in his new central role.
Since that last-16 clash Griezmann has got better and better. In the quarter-final win against Iceland he produced another stellar performance, a glorious chipped finish making it 4-0 shortly before half-time plus an assist for Payet and other key contributions. And then came his match-winning performance against Germany, with his coolly-taken penalty in first-half injury-time to put France 1-0 up – all the more impressive given that he had missed that spot-kick in the Champions League final – and then a second goal 18 minutes from time to seal victory. That second strike summed up was has made Griezmann so special at this tournament – a remarkable ability to be in the right place at the right time, and to keep a cool head when scoring chances come along.
We say it is interesting to compare Griezmann and Ronaldo, but there is no comparison really. Ronaldo has been his country’s outstanding player and one of the tournament’s top performers, but – put simply – Griezmann has been better. While Ronaldo has been a soloist in a team structure, albeit one that has struck up a good understanding with Nani, Griezmann has done more to enhance those around him.
The goalscoring stats also comfortably stack up in favour of Griezmann – he has scored five non-penalty goals at a rate of a goal 87 minutes, while Ronaldo has netted three times at a rate of a goal every 200 minutes. By being so sharp in front of goal Griezmann has become the first player to score six goals at a single European Championship finals since compatriot Michel Platini netted nine times in 1984.
So Griezmann is clearly ahead in the Player of the Tournament stakes – and yet this could still turn out to be Ronaldo’s European Championship. Yes, it really could – because that’s how finals work.
When it comes to how a tournament is viewed in the weeks and months and years after it finishes so much rests on those final 90 minutes, or 90 minutes plus extra-time, or 90 minutes plus extra-time and penalties. If Portugal win on Sunday and Ronaldo scores or is named man of the match, Euro 2016 will be remembered as Ronaldo’s tournament rather than Griezmann’s. Griezmann may still sit ahead of Ronaldo in the scoring stakes and have been more consistent over the tournament as a whole, but if Ronaldo outplays Griezmann on Sunday, then Ronaldo rather than Griezmann will be seen as the face and player of Euro 2016.
This is far from over. These remarkable players have already faced off at club level this year, with Ronaldo triumphing on that occasion when Ronaldo’s Real won the Champions League final. Now it’s the Euro 2016 final before another likely date when the Ballon d’Or is handed out next January. Right now Ronaldo and Griezmann are firm favourites to make the three-man shortlist alongside Lionel Messi.
Sunday night will be a great occasion, and we’re all hoping for a fantastic final. There’s a very good chance it will be an absorbing contest – and the game-within-a-game between Ronaldo and Griezmann promises to be just as gripping.
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