Will the distance between Wembley Stadium and Kolkatas Salt Lake Stadium be bridged on the final game of Euro 2021?
It was in the summer of 96 -- apologies to Bryan Adams -- that we witnessed the most significant Euro tournament in Indian football(-watching) history. It was a season of hope. Sourav Ganguly had made just made a stunning debut at Lords, and Bengalis like me were heaving a sigh of relief at having found their next icon, given that Satyajit Ray had not too long ago left for the Great Film Studio in the Sky.Those were the days of ESPN and Star Sports being separate competitive entities. And while Star Sports had the cricket, ESPN had the Euro tournament, and then some Indian football as well. The company I had just joined, IMG TWI, were producing half-hour highlights of Calcutta League football.I remember my parents were visiting on their way to my sister in the US, and my father and I were watching the Euro matches. And in their infinite wisdom, ESPN decided to schedule Calcutta League highlights right between two Euro matches.It wasnt pretty. Denis Bergkamp and Zinadine Zidane followed by Sisir Ghosh and Pradip Talukdar, and Jrgen Klinsmann and Paul Gascoigne duelling just after Babu Mani and Tarun Dey. And though theyd always probably known it, this was the moment that the penny dropped for many Indian football fans. I remember my father turning to me with a puzzled look and saying, Are they playing in slow motion? after seeing a East Bengal-Tollygunge FC highlights package right after a Netherlands game.And from that day onwards, for many of my generation, watching Calcutta football became a guilty secret to be admitted to only after downing a few.Till then, the Euro was one of my favourite tournaments. Due to some quirk of fate, involving cut-price Russian folk tale books and MiG-21 fighters, my team of choice in international football was the Soviet Union, a bit like supporting Brighton in the Premier League . But the Soviets had actually managed to win the first Euro tournament in 1960, and even reached the final again in fine style in 1988 -- till an impossible goal by Marco van Basten and a header by Ruud Gullit meant that we had to endure another heartbreaking loss. And a decade of terrible dreadlock hairstyles in Bengal and Kerala.The Euros have one other significant contribution to the game. It was the 1976 final, and the game between Czechoslovakia and overwhelming favourites Germany was to be decided by penalties. A Czech midfielder, Antonin Panenka, strode up for the decisive kick and decided that his best option was a soft chip right through the middle as the goalie would definitely choose to go to one of the sides. It worked and Czechoslovakia won -- and the Panenka penalty was born. Which is the coolest score if it works, but makes the taker look like an absolute fool if the goalie stays put.The one great thing about the Euros is that it has often been a Cinderella tournament. In 1992, the Danes qualified only after Yugoslavia was disqualified due to war in the Balkans -- and went on to win it all. And again in 2004, when Greece made history by winning after qualifying after a gap of 24 years under a German coach, Otto Rehhagel, the only foreigner to lead a national squad to victory.This year, there are some quality teams. Belgium, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are currently the No 1 ranked team on the planet. The French with N'Golo Kant, Moussa Dembl and Kylian Mbapp are in second place. And a rejuvenated Spain and Germany would have to be considered title contenders as well.But for the first time in my life, Im supporting the hosts of the final, England. After all, four years ago, Phil Foden starred in an U17 World Cup match played 8,000 km from London. And my dream is for him to score the winning goal and tell the press afterwards that the atmosphere at Wembley was great, but they should have seen the crowd at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata when England won the U17 World Cup. Now that would be something.