The European Championship in Germany is nearing its end, with the four remaining teams vying for the Henri Delaunay Trophy. In a recent article, Marca has revealed a curious “mystical” trend about the teams that participate in the final, and according to it, the Netherlands will be one of the teams playing in the final.
Since 2004, a curious phenomenon has appeared at the European Championship, which could continue this year. The country of the referee who officiates the final will qualify for the final of the next European Championship.
It all started at the 2004 European Championship, when the final referee, Markus Merk, was from Germany, and Germany went on to play against Spain in the final four years later. In 2008, Luis Aragonés led Spain to victory over Italy with referee Roberto Rosetti, and Italy, in turn, became Spain’s challengers for the crown in the 2012 final.
The 2012 final was officiated by Portuguese referee Pedro Proença, and so Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship final, where they won their first-ever European Championship title under the watchful eye of English referee Mark Clattenburg. However, Clattenburg’s England did not reach the peak in the 2021 European Championship final. They lost to Italy on penalties and missed out on the trophy.
This year’s European Championship could see this magical trend continue, and the Netherlands could benefit from it. The Netherlands will face England in the semi-finals, and if the trend continues, the Dutch referee of the previous European Championship final, Björn Kuipers, will be a source of great psychological inspiration for Koeman’s team.
Interestingly, this trend does not guarantee that the team “nominated” for the final will actually win it, as only Portugal in 2016 has managed to win the trophy. If the Netherlands and Spain beat England and France respectively, fans will be treated to a rematch of the 2010 World Cup final, as both teams battle for the coveted trophy once again.
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