Antoine Griezmann, the great runner-up!

(Baonghean) - There was a star that shone brightly throughout the journey of the French team to conquer the peak at the Euro 2016 finals when winning two individual titles - "Top scorer" and "Best player of the tournament". That was striker Antoine Griezmann! However, the fact that the home team collapsed right before the "gates of heaven" made his happiness incomplete. In a year with 2 of the most prestigious finals in Europe, Griezmann had to sadly accept the title of "the great runner-up!"...

Although he possesses all the qualities of a star, Griezmann still cannot compare with Ronaldo.

At EURO 2016, Griezmann played extremely impressively with 6 goals and 2 assists after 7 appearances. Notably, of the 6 goals that the striker from Atletico Madrid scored, 5 were in the knockout round. Currently, he is the player with the most goals in the history of EURO knockout matches. The impressive scoring record above helped this striker born in 1991 complete the double title of "Top scorer" and "Best player of the tournament" at the biggest football festival of the Old Continent.

The French have reason to believe in Griezmann when looking back at the tournaments France won, all of which had a leading star. In 1998 and 2000, it was the legendary Zinedine Zidane. So, when Griezmann brought inspiration to the journey to the final of the French team at Euro 2016, the whole of France was ecstatic with the belief of victory. However, football always contains surprises and no one knows what can happen. In France, there have also been tragic and strange stories that happened when the strong and good players did not necessarily win. Even though Griezmann is the hero of France and important matches sometimes only need a shining moment from stars like him. But behind that shining is a group of 11 players on the field who must be truly united, ready to eliminate all opportunities of the opponent. Atletico and the French team, for whom Griezmann has a heart, have not done as well as Real and Portugal, where superstar Ronaldo is. Griezmann knows this well because in the Champions League final in Milan (Italy) on May 29, he even became a sinner.

Griezmann's legs entered the final match between Atletico and Real as if they were made of lead, and his heavy mentality caused him to miss the penalty. Atletico then collapsed with Ronaldo's decisive free kick and had to "swallow the bitter pill" for the second time against their city rivals in the final match. That was only the first Champions League final in Griezmann's career. Therefore, France and Portugal met in the Euro final, many people thought that this battle was not simply for the throne of the two teams but also an opportunity for Griezmann to resolve all "grudges" and "personal grudges" with Ronaldo. On one side is the "soul" of Real Madrid and the Portuguese team, and on the other side is the number one star of Atletico and the French team.

Although in those clashes, Griezmann was rated lower. But in this confrontation, many people thought of an overthrow when Griezmann's performance statistics were much better than Ronaldo's. Not only that, he also played in a team that was rated higher. Griezmann has the desire of youth, of a player whose collection of collective and individual titles is still very modest. If Griezmann scores in the final and France wins Euro 2016, the 25-year-old striker will not only have the first major title in his career but also stand a chance to challenge Ronaldo in the race for the "FIFA Golden Ball" title. Griezmann's talent and class are clearly more than worthy to compete with Ronaldo in this confrontation. However, once again, Griezmann cannot surpass himself when he becomes the "pavers" for his opponent to be crowned king. If in the 2015-2016 Champions League, Griezmann "paved the way" for Real to win the championship when he scored a double to eliminate Barca in the quarter-finals, scored the decisive goal to eliminate Bayern in the semi-finals, then faded in the final. Then at Euro 2016, Griezmann also scored a double to eliminate Germany in the semi-finals, before missing many opportunities in the final, indirectly helping Portugal win the championship.

Player Antoine Griezmann.

Someone once said: “When you give it your all, you have nothing to regret.” But that is not true for this 25-year-old star. No one can deny Griezmann’s talent and brilliant form, and the double title at this year’s Euro is a well-deserved reward for this star. But that is meaningless when he has not won any collective titles this year, despite participating in both prestigious finals. Luckily, thanks to scoring twice as many goals as Ronaldo, Griezmann’s nickname has changed from “the one who paved the way” to “the great runner-up”.

Xuan Duong