Have you ever scored the winning goal at a European Championship? No? Well, neither does Emmanuel Petit.
“I do not feel bad about it,” he admits. “I had malaria. That’s why I did not play the final.”
As he told me about Zoom, speaking at the launch of Paddy Park in Flat Iron Square, London – he is not allowed to enter London right now – he only played half of the games at the European tournament. He could not play the final, he could not even go up the stairs. Oh, but he remembers a lot of his time on the bench.
Let’s rewind. Do you remember the Euro 2000 final? As Manu tells it, about 21 years later …
“We lost 1-0, all the French fans were silent. They probably thought we would not win a double. And I remember the Italian fans shouting and celebrating the trophy, but the game was not over. On the bench, the Italians made fun of us, and our bench, we all stood up and we were ready to fight with them on the bench. “
“That’s why I love football – the story has not been written. You have the privilege of taking the pen and you write your own opinion. If you wish, you can change the game. This is the beauty of football.” “
– Emmanuel Petit
It was Manu Petit’s memory of the European Championship 2000 final, the tournament that could give his French team the second world and European double ever, after West Germany 1972/74. At that time, of course, “western” Germany was no more. France could become the first united country to ever make Western football’s most significant double.
But as he said. That night in Rotterdam, Italy was 1-0 and felt comfortable, late in the second half. The Italian team was ready to celebrate their first major tournament victory since the 1982 World Cup – and their first European Championship since the barely sincere four-team tournament in 1968.
Surprise starter Marco Delvecchio had scored the first of his four international goals, just before the hour mark. As Petit remembers it, it was – at the point of the aforementioned close struggle – when Roger Lemerre, the French boss, decided to make changes – with Sylvain Wiltord, Robert Pires and David Trezeguet.
Looking back, Wiltord came a full half hour ahead of Pires, with Trezeguet in the middle. When they came in did not matter.
When they emailed their names in the granite of history is the important part. Fabian Barthez launched a ball long, for ‘one last French attack’, as UEFA’s archive film will tell you. Substitute Trezeguet – so often mocked as a finisher alone – nodded the ball to the left from his position 30 meters out, to his teammate Wiltord, via Fabio Cannavaro (yes, the Fabio Cannavaro). A chest check, a strike from a close angle, a 94-minute equalizer and the most iconic goal that Wiltord would make for their Premier League two years away.
98-VM – ?? | 00 ‘Euro – ?? 18 ‘VM – ?? | 21 ‘Euro – ❓
World Cup-winning midfielder Emmanuel Petit tried to pick a combined XI from these two sets of legendary teams! ? @ ThatChris1209 | # EURO2020 | @paddypower pic.twitter.com/iBA11G3HBw
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) June 15, 2021
“In 30 seconds everything changed. The French fans celebrated and I remember – that’s why I love football – the story has not been written in advance. You have the privilege of taking the pen and you write your own opinion. If you like you can change the game “This is exactly what happened, this is the beauty of football.”
“We had the Golden Goal then,” Petit recalls. “It was different.”
It really was. In a decade from the first international Golden Goal from Anthony Carbone in the ’93 Youth Championship ’93 to the last from Nia Künzer in the World Cup final for women in 2003, there were few more ‘different’ moments than the European Championship final for 2000.
Pires – the least submitted, but arguably the most brilliant of the three substitutes – left on the left and approached the end of the first extra period. He picked up a bubbling ball up about 30 meters to the left and rose between two Italian defenders. He hit Cannavaro (him again) on the outside, before coming to the ball before Alessandro Nesta and thinking the ball towards the penalty spot, where France’s third replacement was waiting.
As SBNation’s Rewinder series would say: Welcome to a moment in history.
“We won the match. We looked at the Italian bench and they were all like ‘Oh my God, what’s up? “In 30 seconds, everything changed.
“The feelings came out immediately because of the golden goal. We won the trophy. Since then, they have changed the rule and thank God they did it because it was very difficult and difficult to understand on the pitch.” What, the game is stopped? “Yes, you won the game.” ‘Oh okay.’ “
This day 2000 …
David Trezeguet made the winner ?????? ???? to ensure that France became the first world champions to win the following euros. ??
What a finish. ? pic.twitter.com/1jV9hiknha
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) July 2, 2021
“The goal from Trezeguet, this is a typical goal that Harry Kane can do. How he moved his body, how he already felt the goalkeeper, the goal, the opponents. He does not ask himself too many questions when the ball enters the penalty area. He never thought. Just “a touch, boom”. “
The left-wing strike struck Francesco Toldo. France beat Italy. They have not won a European Championship since.
You have to write your own opinion. France, despite all its glories, still has writers’ blocks.
For more from Chris Deeley, follow him on Twitter at @ ThatChris1209
Emmanuel Petit spoke at the launch of Paddy Parks, the ultimate fan experience for all EURO 2020 games. Tickets are held at Flat Iron Square and Riverside Newcastle, so go out quickly – visit www.paddyparkfanzones.com to book your seat.
