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Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to replicate his club form with Portugal this summer.
Club v Country

Opinion: Euro 2016 is a welcome break from the merry-go-round hysterics of club football

International football may no longer be the pinnacle of the game, but that doesn’t matter.

IT’S A DEBATE that rarely happens any more.

Questions used to be asked if international football is of a higher standard than the club game. But anybody that watches the sport regularly knows that club football supersedes the international version, with an all-round higher intensity and skill level with teams able to evolve their playing style.

It’s hardly surprising, though.

The club sides have access to the players for the vast majority of the season, while if they have a troublesome position – a misfiring striker, an error-prone defender or just because they can; club teams can recruit the best players from across the globe, which often results in the best players in the best teams competing in the best tournaments.

But international football offers something different. It’s a purer form of the game.

There’s no quick-fix for international teams looking to prosper on the world stage. Yes, sometimes teams can get lucky with a golden generation of players arriving at the same time, but usually a strategic plan is needed for a country to progress.

You can’t buy your way out of trouble or recruit players to hinder your rivals. Just watch the predators circle around the King Power Stadium this summer. Nor is it about flexing your financial muscle to hoard the league’s best players as Bayern Munich so often do in Germany. It’s as an even a playing field as you can get.

Although the quality of the European Championships may at times pale in comparison to the club game, it still offers just as many, if not more memorable moments than any other competition.

If I was to say you what was your defining moments from say the 2005-06 club season for example, odds are that you would struggle to come up with a definitive list with any clarity. Seasons now seem to blend into one due to the constant media speculation of transfers, as well extensive pre-season tournaments, not to mention the odd post-season tour too.

But what can you remember about Euro 96?

Ireland didn’t qualify so we had no vested interest in the tournament but chances are you can instantly recall Karl Poborsky’s audacious lob against Portugal or Davor Suker’s enterprising chip over Peter Schmeichel, or even Paul Gascoigne being an inch away from putting England into their first final in 30 years. You can probably also remember where you were and who you were with.

Major international tournaments also have the capacity to test the players at the top of the game like no other club competition can.

European Championships or World Cups offer just a small window in which the best players have to perform – and in many ways the defining moments of their football career. For just four weeks this summer, Europe’s star players must operate with the weight of a nation on its shoulders.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of these tournaments are watching teams with just one or two individual star players forced to carry their team, without the assistance of fellow superstar players that they can rely on for their club sides.

There will be no hiding place for David Alaba, Gareth Bale, Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. Their respective countries need them to perform.

It’s also important to note when comparing Euro 2016 to the Champions League, that football fans will only watch a fraction of the matches from Europe’s premier club competition over the course of the season, especially the group stage.

Chances are you had no interest in BATE Borisov against Bayer Leverkusen this year or Maccabi Tel Aviv versus Dynamo Kiev. But Portugal against Iceland or Czech Republic against Turkey, now they could be interesting.

The enthusiasm for international football is reflected in the television audiences major tournaments attract.

Ireland’s first group game against Croatia in Euro 2012 became the most watched sports event in Ireland since 1994, with over two million people tuning in at some point, and these figures don’t include the people watching in pubs and clubs across the country.

These viewing figures are not exclusive to the national team being shown as data from the UK show, with the 2014 World Cup final being watched by over 20 million while the 2015 Champions League final broadcast on ITV and Sky was watched by just under 6 million.

Next season, the Premier League promises to be as intriguing as ever with Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino pitting their wits against each other, but right now France against Romania looks just as good to me.

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