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2021-10-11T16:26:37.242Z


Can anyone remember the first Nations League winner? Just. It is a competition that the masses are not yet excited about. Are you doing him an injustice?


Can anyone remember the first Nations League winner?

Just.

It is a competition that the masses are not yet excited about.

Are you doing him an injustice?

For "Tatort" fans it was a used Sunday evening. If you wanted to end the weekend as usual, whether alone or at a popular TV session in the pub, you couldn't believe your eyes: instead of Thiel and Boerne (Münster), men named Torres and Benzema suddenly appeared on the screen (Spain / France ) - and it was not a murder that was determined, but the winner of a competition that continues to find it difficult to attract the public, even among those who are football-savvy.

The average market share for a "crime scene" is 25.8 percent, at the Nations League final on Sunday it was not even half.

Weak when you consider that people who normally watch TV at this time must have consciously switched it off or on.

In addition: The final round of the tournament that had started 13 months earlier came a little suddenly around the corner, only absolute sports freaks had it on their radar.

But for comparison: Even in the German World Cup qualifying game against Liechtenstein, viewers tuned into the “Tatort” dimensions (23 percent) - and that means something if you have to put up with RTL, the expert Steffen Freund and countless commercial breaks .

We are not robots.

They don't care about the players, they just care about the money.

UEFA criticism from Thibaut Belgium goalkeeper Courtois

So: What did it bring, the second edition of the Nations League, which at least optically looked like a real grand finale (with a colorful flag parade before kick-off)? Of course, it would be easy to beat Belgium's goalkeeper Courtois on UEFA, which has managed to create a competition whose mode not even every participant sees through. "We are not robots", Courtois scolded after the (nonsensical) game for third place against Italy, scourging the depletion of health: "They don't care about the players, they only care about the money."


You don't want to disagree, but apart from the money aspect, there are also reasons not to find the new format so bad. One can be especially happy for the small nations who stay among themselves in this construct and enable each other to experience rare successes. Faroe Islands, for example, proud winners of League D, Group 1. It's a big thing for the small island to have remained undefeated in six games against Malta, Latvia and Andorra (three wins!). When did such a series take place in the North Atlantic? But even the big nations like Belgium shouldn't just complain. Earlier in the autumn, friendly matches were played on this date - does it no longer make sense for Courtois to get balls from Chiesa or Barella on goal,than to get a cold against number 47 in the world rankings?


Conclusion: The Nations League is like other bells and whistles.

Nobody needed an Alexa or a Netflix subscription, but if they weren't there, they might be missed.

At least until the World Cup comes every two years.

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2021-10-11

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