4 Years Later, A Generation Comes To An End Another Begins

Zidane and Figo exchange jerseys signaling the end of a generation.

It was only 4 years ago that we were still watching veterans Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo suit up for Real Madrid. Chelsea was playing football the Ranieri style and Arsenal finished perfect. The so called minnows Monaco and FC Porto featured in the UEFA Champion's League final which ended in a 3 goal inspired win for Porto by big time new comer Deco. The "Special One" was born and we embarked on Euro 2004.


The tournament was to be highlight by Figo, Ballack, Raul, Buffon, Beckham and Zidane.

However, only Figo and Zidane would emerge from that group in having moments in that tournament. Yet, the tournament was defined by not only the surprising Greeks but by the introduction of Europe's probable future masters. Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robben, Ibrahimovic, Cassano, Baros and Ashley Cole all emerged. Some of their teams performed well and others underachieved. 

Zidane scoring off a free-kick against England at Euro 2004.

4 years later, how much has changed? Wayne Rooney is no longer a wreckless 18 year old with a knack for a card or two. Instead, he has grown to become a more mature footballer showcasing his unselfish-like skills for Manchester United as they bid for another EPL title. His colleague and friend Cristiano Ronaldo was touted to become Europe's next big winger and not only has he delivered, but he's also become a lethal striker for United already amassing close to 30 goals this season through February.

Some haven't had a similar fortune. Antonio Cassano was perhaps the only bright spot in a disappointing tournament for Italy in 2004, but a string of disciplinary problems landed him out of Roma and Real Madrid along with not participating in Italy's World Cup triumph. Dutch winger Robben was also touted as another of Europe's fine wingers. Although, he still remains one of the most prominent left wingers out there, the winger found it hard at Chelsea due nagging injuries and issues with then Boss Jose Mourinho. He is now at Real Madrid looking to restore his confidence and become and even better player. 

For strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Milan Baros, fortunes differ greatly. Although Ibrahimovic didn't have a bad tournament (2 goals in Euro 2004), he was definitely outshone by Czech & Liverpool striker Baros who lead scoring at Euro 2004. However, his poor form has forced him to travel between Aston villa, Lyon and now Portsmouth in the past 4 years. Ibrahimovic, on the other hand, has become one of Europe's most dominate strikers in not only being able to score goals but create them as well. Not many players can say they have won Serie A titles with both Juventus and Inter.

Zinedine Zidane is no longer playing football professionally and his former teammate and colleague Luis Figo is playing in perhaps his final season with Serie A giants Inter after suffering a critical leg injury. Pavel Nedved, who coincidently was responsible for Figo's injury, is also nearing the end of his career with some speculating that this may be his last.

David Beckham is now playing professional football in the United States for the L.A Galaxy for a contract worth over $350 million. Ballack, also in his early 30s, received a major pay day in his switch to Chelsea FC and has been playing well this season. Raul remains a regular at Real Madrid although some are already calling time on his career and Buffon is still the rock he has always been for Italy and Juventus although the keeper has gone through injury recently.

The "Special One" made his big move to Chelsea FC only to leave early this season after obvious internal conflicts with the oil tycoon owner. His predecessor, Claudio Ranieri found life tough in Spain, but has reclaimed his stature in Italy and now represents Juventus. Arsenal's undefeated season seems like history with players like Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Viera and Thierry Henry gone. They still play attractive football but fancy a more youthful face with Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas leading the attack behind goal-getter Emmanuel Adebayor.

Xavi (left) is amongst the new generation.

This would be a waste of a blog if I didn't mention Euro 2008 won't feature some of the English player's I've named. England will not be participating in Euro 2008 and their exclusion has shocked all of Europe. Still, the tournament proves to be perhaps one of the most competitive in recent times. There seems to be little between the 16 teams that qualified for the tournament and one can only name Italy and France as stand-outs given their recent WC final match. Yet, despite this, one may end up going home early on from a group also consisting of Holland and Romania.

Van Persie & Robben are the new faces of the Dutch national team as Ruud van Nistelrooy will soon depart.

The consensus is that this will be a very entertaining tournament now featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas, Ibrahimovic, Robben, Robin Van Persie, Quaresma, Iniesta, Palladino, Benzema, Mutu, Ribery, Villa and Lucas Podolski just to mention a few. We'll of course see some of our old favorites like Henry, Buffon, RVN, and Ballack to name a few.

One thing for sure is that this tournament will be focused primarily on individuals some no older than 23. Will one of these faces rise above the others and distinguish themselves as the master of the generation or will a new talent emerge and shock the footballing world? Time will tell and June is only a little over 3 months away.

Who knows how much will change in the next 4 years as football not only gains and loses talent, but adds to the game. Will technology be integrated in regards to goal-scoring? Will there be a shift in playing on artificial turf? These are all exciting questions that may be answered in the next 4 or even 2 years.

I'll be watching.