Listomania
Statistics or Personal Preferences. What Wins? The Debate is Endless.
Listomania
For some reason, I have always been obsessed with lists. You may have noticed this from my previous articles! There’s just something about ranking things that gives me some sort of extreme pleasure. Whether it be best goalscorers, greatest games, best singles, favourite books, top flavours of crisps or anything else, there is an art to categorising things and ensuring that the knowledge and personal choices that you have used ensures that the list is not just accepted but perfect (to yourself at least).
In Nick Hornby’s wonderful book ‘High Fidelity’, the main character Rob is forever categorising things in his life into his Top 5s - breakups, dream jobs etc. This type of list takes into account personal lives and preferences but they can’t really be argued about because they are so personal. But he and his friends also spent lots of time listing things that could be debated - Best track one, side one song comes to mind. Growing up, I was forever doing this - endlessly making lists of my favourite Dundee United/Liverpool players or the best songs by Oasis (and yes, at one point, the Spice Girls!).
When it comes to ranking things that more people can have an opinion about (matches, tournaments, players etc.) then the debate that comes with it is part of the joy. It is often the most fun to put in an outlier, a personal favourite, alongside what the data tells us, so people will discuss whether this has been done on purpose or not.
In the world of sports, statistics and data are now everywhere. We live in a world where acronyms like xG and PPG are common vernacular. Data makes list-making easier in some ways as there are more statistics readily available to use when ranking things and therefore more weight can be put behind opinions, but also more difficult as it can take out the element of personal preference that is necessary for debate. In some ways this also removes the joy.
In the end though it will come down to what you value more ie. what is more important, the number of tournaments won or the way that a team or player played? Should it be argued, for example, that Greece have been a better team at the Euros than, say, England, purely because they have won one edition against the odds, even though England have played far more games, had better players and been more consistent over time? Is Miroslav Klose the best striker to have ever played in a World Cup just because he is the top goal scorer in its history? Where does that leave players like Ronaldo or Pele? It just seems a little cold and wrong to me.
An argument can be made that statistics are king and don’t lie and the fact that they don’t bow to personal opinions means that they should surely be the be all and end all. Data is fantastic and can tell us so much about the things that we love. It can also be interpreted in different ways though.
Opinion and debate is what helps to breed obsession with things, particularly in forms such as sport or music.
There was a popular opinion when it came out that VAR would ruin football as it would ruin the debate. What fun would going to the pub after the game be if you couldn’t argue whether the goal was offside or a foul was a foul? In the end, it has sparked even more debate but not in the right way. People don’t argue now about what the right decision was but how incompetent those making the decisions are to still be making mistakes. I suppose this shows is that whatever factors are in play, debate will still be had.
As it is the opening weekend of the Euro 2024 tournament, I considered a number of different lists that I could create in order to spark debate.
I could have listed the greatest ever Euros tournaments. There is loads of data to be posted over and analysed but it would again come down to what you consider to be the most important -was Euro 2020 the best ever edition of the tournament as it had, on average, the most goals per game, 2.78, or was Euro 2004 better because there were lots shocks and upsets but also some of the great players like Zidane and Figo still performing alongside youngsters like Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney?
Speaking of great players, I could have created a list of the greatest players ever to grace the stage of the Euros. Again there is a tonne of data that can be looked at. However, how do you weigh up Cristiano Ronaldo (most games/minutes played and most ever goals) against Edwin Van Der Sar and Iker Casillas (most ever clean sheets) or West Germany’s Rainer Bonhoff (three consecutive appearances in the final)?
I could have created a list of the best ever countries to compete in the tournament. Germany have qualified for the most consecutive tournaments (14), have scored the most ever goals (78) and are tied for the most ever tournament victories (3). But how then do you compare them against the team they are tied with, Spain, who also hold the record for most consecutive matches without a loss (14) and the most consecutive clean sheets (7)?
This is before you even begin to look at other areas like managers, goals and individual matches. The list (pun totally intended) could go on forever.
Instead, I have decided that for once, I am going to put data to one side and leave you with a list that is entirely down to personal preference. This is a category that is endlessly debatable and there cannot really be one true correct answer. I am going to list my top 5 ever Euros kits.
France Home - 1984
This kit is iconic as it makes you think of the great players of the time (Platini, Tigana, Giresse) but also because it was replicated in another great triumph, France’s first World Cup victory on home soil in 1998. Great kits not only stand the test of time but also inspire future versions. This is a great example of that.
Scotland Home - 1996
On paper, this kit was probably far too busy to have worked. A mixture of navy, green gold and purple with a combination of stripes and tartan and the famous Umbro diamonds. But it all came together beautifully and looked resplendent in the sunshine when Colin Hendry and co were out there giving it their all. A true patriotic classic.
Denmark Home - 1992
I wouldn’t actually even rank this as my favourite ever Denmark top (that would go to the 1986 World Cup half and half number) but it is a truly fantastic design by the continually impressive Hummel. Bold geometrical shapes and lines stand out brilliantly in simple red and white and the kit will always go down in history as being worn by the champions who didn’t actually even qualify (if you don’t know that story, look it up).
West Germany Home - 1988
With its brilliant slashes of black, red and gold across the simple white background, this Adidas classic is actually my favourite football kit of all time. How then can it possibly only be my number two? The answer is because it is more synonymous with the West Germans winning the World Cup in Italy two years later. A lot that is worn by a team across two separate tournaments says enough in itself though. Retro at its finest.
Netherlands Home - 1988
A victory in brilliant orange. One of the best football kit templates of all time that then went on to be used in a number of other different guises. Ruud Gullit, dreadlocks flowing, will always be the epitome of cool, but with this kit on, he looked even better. It also helps that it is the same colour as that of the team that I go and watch every week!
So there you have it, my list of the best ever Euros kits. I’m sure you will not all agree and will definitely have your own personal favourites. Feel free to join the debate in the comments section if you wish.
If you are interested in more writing about the Euros along with daily updates about matches, data about chances of victory and evaluation of the key stories, please have a look at my work on Football4Cast.
