Stephen @stephenjbaker has taken a rather wistful look across the water to events in Germany during Euro 2024.
I never thought I would be jealous of supporters of the Albanian National Team, but here I am green with envy, greener than whatever the hell Jordan Pickford was wearing against Serbia. Cymru not qualifying for Euro 24 has hit me hard this week. It got to me much more than the moment in June when Wojciech Szczęsny dived to his right, stretching out to save the penalty from Dan James.
Embed from Getty ImagesI have never before been jealous of supporters of other teams. Until 2016, I had never known what it was like to make it to a tournament. For years we are out of running by the third or fourth match in the qualifying group. By the time the tournament came along I have had almost a year to get over missing yet another tournament.
Embed from Getty ImagesFriday night I started to feel ‘that should be us’ when I saw the Scottish fans having the time of their lives. But that was short lived when Germany knocked five past them and it made me think of Cymru getting hammered by Slovakia a couple of weeks ago.
Then Saturday night came along. The Albanian fans forming a red wall behind the one goal (and most of both touchlines) and it hit me. We are not going to see Y Wal Goch this summer! I wish I was an Albanian supporter! Singing the anthem with pride until tears pour down our faces.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe flashbacks to 2016 started. That summer of our lives in France give us a taste of tournament football, a taste that admittedly has been quite sour since.
But whether it’s sweet or sour, you still want more. With getting so close this time, it gave us time to subconsciously plan our summer of buying every football magazine with any mention of Cymru. Spending a fortune on completing our sticker albums even though we are grown-ups. Checking to see if we need to start thinking of excuses for why we need to finish work early and get to the pub because Cymru is the 2pm kick off.
Embed from Getty ImagesThat’s why I’m jealous of them, they are getting to do it. They are getting to have all the fun of being the underdogs that scares the big teams. That moment 23 seconds in to their match with Italy when they shocked the watching world and went 1-0 up.
Their fans went mad, the way we once did with every Gareth Bale free kick, with Hal Robson-Kanu’s wonder goal and that moment the glorious cross from Chris Gunter left Sam Vokes’ head.
Embed from Getty ImagesWill we get that feeling again? That feeling the thousands of Albanians are getting right now. Yes, Italy came back and won but do the Albanian supports care? They are still enjoying their moment in sun.
Yes, Albania will probably go out in the group stages. Then again we probably would have, but we would have gone on trips to Germany to watch football, like they have. Just imagine how good those would have been. We would have been in a tough group, but it should have been us throwing away a one goal lead to the Netherlands, not Poland.
Embed from Getty ImagesYou have probably wondered why I am not jealous of the German fans or the French fans. Well, they are expected to win the tournament and if they don’t, it will be devastating for them. A summer they will spend years trying to forget.
As Ian Broudie from the Lightening Seeds once said ‘Football is communal torture, with brief flashes of hope.’ And it’s the hope that kills you.
The Albanian fans will be having the time of their lives and when they get knocked out, they will be just as happy as they were when they scored against Italy. And that is what we are all missing this summer.