Sports

Inside Klopp's last week: Dinner with Ferguson, Taylor Swift songs and Rolex watches

Published

3 weeks ago

May 22, 2024

Inside Klopp's last week: Dinner with Ferguson, Taylor Swift songs and Rolex watches

What a momentous end to the season for Liverpool.

An emotion-fuelled goodbye to Jurgen Klopp, two senior players also saying farewell and the dawn of a new era with Monday’s announcement that Arne Slot has penned a three-year contract to be the head coach.

This is the inside story of that final week, featuring laughter, tears, dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson and a burst of Taylor Swift…

GO DEEPER

How Liverpool hired Slot: The data, surprise contenders and why talks grew tense

As Liverpool legend John Barnes delighted the crowd with a word-perfect rendition of Rapper’s Delight by Sugar Hill Gang, Jurgen Klopp made his way up to the stage.

They formed an impromptu double act as Barnes sang and Klopp, wearing a black baseball cap back to front, showed off his dance moves. The Titanic Hotel — close to Liverpool’s iconic waterfront — was the setting for the lavish farewell party on Sunday night.

Klopp tearing it up on the dance floor last night to John Barnes’ Anfield Rap pic.twitter.com/uzte7OE02x
— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) May 20, 2024

After all the emotion of the Anfield send-off a few hours before, it was time to unwind. It was around 9.30pm when Klopp led the squad into the plush function room to join family, friends and club staff as One Kiss by Dua Lipa blared out.

The guest list included UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett, while Barnes was joined by fellow Anfield greats Sir Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush as the celebrations continued past 4am.

The Champagne flowed and an orchestral band played before the DJ, Twotone, took over. Every member of the squad was present, with Darwin Nunez among the last of the players to leave.

Much had been made of the Uruguay striker failing to applaud during the guard of honour for Klopp on the pitch earlier but he was in good spirits during the party. At one stage, a South American trio of Nunez, Colombia’s Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister from Argentina were involved in a dance-off.

Just past 10pm, Klopp, the players and the coaching staff were invited up to the stage. The big screen showed a collection of video messages from current and former stars thanking him for the impact Klopp has had on their careers.

Klopp, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson were among those to take the microphone to say a few words. As well as the outgoing manager, there were also tributes to Joel Matip and Thiago, who are both leaving as free agents this summer.

The trophies won during the German’s near nine-year reign were on display, Klopp having been presented with miniature versions earlier on the Anfield pitch after the Wolves game. There was a kids’ play area set up for the players’ families and a photo booth for guests with prints coming out emblazoned with the caption ‘Danke Jurgen’.

Klopp’s parting gift from FSG’s executive team John W Henry Mike Gordon, Tom Werner and Billy Hogan (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

Rewind to last Tuesday and, with the players given the day off following their 3-3 away draw with Aston Villa the night before, Klopp attended a special event at Anfield for around 700 club staff from the different departments. He stood on the steps of the Main Stand with the silverware beneath him for a photograph to be taken with them all sitting to either side.

The in-house LFCTV crew then had 20 minutes to film Klopp’s goodbye video to supporters – a drone was used to capture footage of him in the centre circle and then on the Kop with a club scarf around his neck.

Forever a Red ❤️ pic.twitter.com/4teP4vCJUk
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 17, 2024

Stadium tours had been halted in the hope of keeping those moments private, but some French students were still in the upper tier and photographs they took soon emerged on social media.

Klopp then made his way to the Carlsberg Dugout executive lounge in the Main Stand where staff from across all sections of the club were treated to an hour-long Q&A. Klopp spoke candidly and got emotional at times as he talked about being part of the “LFC family”.

What advice would you give someone about building a great team? “Build it around Bobby Firmino.”

Favourite film? “Forrest Gump — and I can’t believe Tom Hanks was just a few yards away from me last night (at Villa Park).”

Actor Hanks attended Liverpool’s game at Villa… but Klopp did not get an autograph (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Asked what music he listens to, Klopp revealed that his wife Ulla had got them tickets to see Taylor Swift at Anfield next month and he started singing her hit Shake It Off.

Despite spending the best part of a decade living in England, he conceded that cricket still baffles him. “I hear the scores announced and I still have no idea who has won.”

Klopp said that his favourite Scouse word was ‘luv’ and that it took him years to understand why the ladies in the canteen at the training ground would say to him every morning, “Do you wanna coffee, luv?”

It was Klopp’s idea to have ‘Thank you luv’ emblazoned on the front of the T-shirts and hoodies that departing staff put on after Sunday’s final game against Wolves. On the back of them it read, ‘I’ll Never Walk Alone Again’.

Jurgen Klopp helped design his farewell hoodie (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

At the end of the Q&A, Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan presented Klopp with a book full of heartfelt messages written by staff members. Klopp explained that he couldn’t stay for the drinks portion of the event as he was going out for dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson, which he later described as “outstanding”.

There’s a long-standing mutual respect between them. Klopp once said encountering Manchester United managerial legend Ferguson for the first time was “like meeting the Pope”. In a message of congratulations to Klopp after Liverpool won the Premier League title in 2020, Ferguson said: “The performance level of the team was outstanding. I’ll forgive you for waking me up at half past three in the morning to tell me you’d won the league.”

The Real Jurgen Klopp – an Athletic special series

A group of Norwegian Liverpool supporters were sitting in the Freshfield pub in the town of Formby chatting to former Liverpool striker David Fairclough last Wednesday evening when, to their astonishment, Klopp strolled in.

He was there with assistant Peter Krawietz to have drinks with members of the club’s media department, and happily posed for selfies and signed autographs.

The following day, there was a players’ barbecue at the club’s Kirkby base after training where captain Virgil van Dijk delivered a moving tribute to Klopp and his backroom staff. They were each given a Rolex watch as a leaving gift from the squad.

The Freshfield pub, Jurgen Klopp’s local (Simon Hughes/The Athletic)

From there, assistants Pep Lijnders and Krawietz, along with elite development coach Vitor Matos, goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, head of fitness Andreas Kornmayer, and head of recovery and performance Andreas Schlumberger drove to Hotel Anfield, near the stadium, for a special reception with supporters’ groups.

“These guys made us champions of the fu**ing world,” declared musician Jamie Webster, who performed terrace anthems Allez Allez Allez and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Each coach was presented with an LFC shirt with their name on the back and signed by hundreds of fans. The microphone was passed around for supporters to offer their favourite memories and thanks.

“Imagine being us,” said Lijnders, a nod to the banner on the Kop. “Tell me one club in world football that would organise something like this for the staff behind the scenes. It’s incredible.”

Saturday brought the final training session as Klopp cleared out his office and left the AXA Training Centre for the final time. His open letter to the Liverpool Echo newspaper was published, in which he described his adopted home as “the city of open arms”.

With one eye on the future, a man who had previously warned about the perils of social media, launched his own Instagram account. Within 48 hours, @Kloppo had gathered more than two million followers.

Klopp, who had broken down earlier in the week as he read out a letter from a fan while filming with LFCTV, was desperate for the mood to be celebratory rather than sad at Anfield on Sunday. He got his wish.

His speech on the pitch post-match hit all the right notes as he told fans, “from today, I’m one of you”, and then back in the dressing room he told his players: “I love you, that’s all I can say.

“The football you are able to play is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t wait, watching you developing, making the next steps. Thank you for the ride. I’m so proud of you, and I’m so proud that I have been allowed to be part of this. The sky is the limit for you boys.”

When Klopp finally walked in for his final press conference shortly after 8pm, around two hours after the final whistle, he got his phone out and took a photo of the media members sitting in front of him, which was soon uploaded to his Instagram account. “In case I miss you,” he joked.

Klopp reinforced the fact that he intends to take at least a year off, and may not manage again. He will attend the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund, his previous club, and Real Madrid at Wembley in London on June 1, and in August he will be a spectator at the Paralympics in Paris.

There may not have been any silverware up for grabs at Anfield on Sunday but data from Blinkfire Analytics underlined the scale of the interest. The peak UK TV audience for the Wolves match was 1.2million and 70 per cent more people watched Klopp’s post-match farewell than Manchester City’s title celebrations happening at the same time on another of Sky Sports’ channels. On YouTube, the footage from Anfield got 44 per cent more views than events at the Etihad Stadium.

In terms of the number of fan engagements on all content published on club social media platforms, Liverpool set a new best across the Premier League in 2023-24 for a single matchday with 26million on Sunday, while City attracted 19.4m.

Linda Pizzuti, wife of Liverpool’s principal owner John W Henry, took to Instagram to react to City’s post on X celebrating their fourth successive title triumph which read ‘This Means Four’ — a play on Liverpool’s old marketing slogan of ‘This Means More’.

“A sincere congratulations to Man City — Premier League champions. So much respect for this tremendous achievement. Thanks for thinking of us on your special day,” she posted.

On Monday afternoon, there was finally official confirmation of Slot’s appointment but Klopp had effectively already announced it for Liverpool with the chant he started from the centre circle on Sunday evening.

“It is certainly not an easy decision to close the door behind you at a club where you have experienced so many wonderful moments and worked successfully with so many wonderful people,” Slot told Feyenoord’s website as his departure from the Dutch side became official. “But as a sportsman, an opportunity to become a head coach in the Premier League, at one of the biggest clubs in the world, is difficult to ignore.”

GO DEEPER

Arne Slot: The borderland ‘priest’ who was born to coach

Pre-season will begin at the start of July with a depleted squad due to the European Championship and the Copa America being played in Germany and the United States this summer. Slot’s No 2, Sipke Hulshoff, will be there from the off after resigning from his role with the Dutch national team ahead of those Euros so he can focus on the job in hand on Merseyside.

What a week it proved to be. The baton has been passed on.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

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Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky is an ‘incredible leader for Team USA,’ swim legend Missy Franklin says

Published

2 hours ago

June 15, 2024

Press Room

Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky is an ‘incredible leader for Team USA,’ swim legend Missy Franklin says

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The expectations for seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky are high heading into the Summer Olympics, but it’s not just her dominance in the pool that makes her an invaluable member of Team USA’s success.

Fellow Olympian Missy Franklin believes it’s Ledecky’s role outside pool lanes that makes her one of the greats.

Katie Ledecky of the United States reacts after the preliminary heat for the women’s 400-meter freestyle on the first day of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team swimming trials at Lucas Oil Stadium June 15, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Speaking to Fox News Digital ahead of the Paris Games, Franklin spoke optimistically about Ledecky’s chances at this year’s Games.

“I think she’s going to show up like she always does. Katie knows when to perform. She’s been doing it since 2012.”

It will be Ledecky’s fourth Olympics, and she is expected to solidify her spot during this weekend’s U.S. swimming trials. But the challengers are already lining up. Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh present the biggest threat in the women’s 400-meter freestyle.

Ledecky won gold in that event in 2016 but lost to Titmus in Tokyo. McIntosh then took over the world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle, but Titmus claimed it back later that year at the world championships.

Franklin agrees the competition will be fierce, but that’s when Ledecky shines.

USA’s Katie Ledecky celebrates after winning the final of the women’s 1500-meter freestyle during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo July 28, 2021. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST MISSY FRANKLIN ON THE ‘MOST EPIC MOMENT’ FOR EVERY AMERICAN SWIMMER AHEAD OF 2024 GAMES

“Katie relishes the challenge,” Franklin said. “She loves the competition. She loves having people that are going to push her to be even better.”

Ledecky, 27, already has six individual Olympic gold medals, more than any female swimmer in the history of the sport. Anything more in Paris would only compliment her legendary career. But Franklin knows Ledecky’s role in Paris goes beyond the medal count.

“I think Katie’s an incredible role model,” Franklin said. “She’s an incredible leader for Team USA. I think alongside her accomplishments in the pool, she’s also going to have amazing accomplishments outside of it when it comes to being that veteran for Team USA and really showing and leading the way with her experience or her knowledge.”

Missy Franklin, left, of the United States celebrates with teammate Katie Ledecky after the women’s 200-meter freestyle semifinals of the 16th FINA World Championships at the Kazan Arena Aug. 4, 2015, in Kazan, Russia. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Ledecky was off to a strong start in the U.S. Olympic swimming trials Saturday. She finished the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:59.99. Her first-place finish was more than five seconds ahead of second-place finisher Paige Madden.

The final is scheduled for Saturday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers talk about what JJ Redick might face if he coaches Lakers

Published

2 hours ago

June 15, 2024

Press Room

Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers talk about what JJ Redick might face if he coaches Lakers

On Sept. 30, 2014, Steve Kerr presided over his first practice as the head coach of an NBA team. Kerr was now the man in charge of the Golden State Warriors, a job he took without the benefit of any previous coaching experience.

Kerr looked out before him and saw the faces of stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green staring back at him, waiting for the newbie to put his coaching plan in place on that initial day.

“It was a little bit of a s— show, to be honest. I had these plans with the coaching staff beforehand, but it was like the first day of school, only I was a brand new teacher,” Kerr, laughing, recalled about his first day coaching the Warriors. “You have to get through the bumps in the road and iron things out. But I remember the first two days were a little chaotic. I was trying to do a lot of things. I quickly realized that you don’t have nearly as enough time as you thought you would to address every issue. And that’s a big part of it.”

If JJ Redick gets the Lakers’ head coaching job that seems destined to become his, according to people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, having the right staff will be beneficial since he has no coaching experience.

Kerr won five NBA championships as a player. He became a minority owner of the Suns upon retiring, then the president of basketball operations and general manager of the team. He left that post and to join TNT as an analyst until leaving that job in 2014 to become coach of the Warriors.

What he quickly learned during the early practice sessions and in games throughout his maiden voyage as a coach was to lean on his highly capable and experienced staff.

Kerr turned to former coach Alvin Gentry and Ron Adams, considered the savant of assistant coaches at the time in the NBA, for advice.

“I was lucky I had Ron Adams and Alvin Gentry with me. Although I shouldn’t call it luck. I purposely hired them because I knew I would need their expertise,” said Kerr, who won the first of his four NBA championships in that rookie season. “And they were great, they were fantastic and helped me through that transition process.”

The Times spoke to five former players who became head coaches without having been on the bench in that role and each was adamant the sage assistants are important to have for guidance.

Redick, who played 15 seasons in the NBA, is an analyst for ABC/ESPN and has his “Mind the Game” podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James.

“If JJ does get the job, JJ has been out of the game for a few years and had an opportunity to be around guys in other settings,” said Derek Fisher, the Crespi High coach who won five NBA titles with the Lakers before he became a first-time coach with the New York Knicks in 2014.

“Like, he has a podcast with LeBron. That didn’t necessarily exist when I was making that transition. But it’s a good example of how different that is for even a guy that may not have previous experience coaching. It’s really the relationships with players that drive your success to a large degree anyway. So, if you’re in a position where you have that to lean on, it does help cushion the experience part. That’s something that the collection of individuals on the staff can help offset the lack of coaching experience.”

The pull to become a coach for Doc Rivers came after 13 years in the NBA as a player and three years working for TNT after his retirement, calls from legendary coaches Pat Riley and Chuck Daly sparking his interest.

Doc Rivers said he made sure when he took his first head coaching job that he hired two former NBA coaches as his assistants.

(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

So Rivers, currently the coach of Milwaukee, took the job with the Orlando Magic in 1999 without any experience. But he had former head coaches Dave Wohl and Johnny Davis by his side.

Rivers recalled how a few games into his first season he wanted to change his offense.

Wohl and Davis told Rivers that “you can’t do that,” because they had installed a new offense in training camp.

Still, Rivers was insistent.

“I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do it.’ And they were all against it, and I did it,” said Rivers, who was selected coach of the year in his first season. “It changed our team because it fit what we were. It took guts. So, that taught me a lot. You are going to be wrong sometimes, but you got to be willingly wrong and you got to be willing to take chances. I thought that was the biggest lesson that year.”

Mark Jackson was a point guard in the NBA for 17 seasons before he joined ESPN as an analyst. Yet, Jackson yearned to be an NBA coach, figuring his time as a point guard made him a coach on the court that would translate even if he lacked any experience on the bench.

“I wouldn’t say learn as you go along,” said Jackson, who took over the Warriors in 2011. “There are certain things that you have to learn that you didn’t do as a player. Now you’re making the decisions, decisions that you never thought about making like, ‘Do we stay overnight? Do we leave after the game? What time is practice? How long do we practice?’ I was fortunate to have good people around me, as far as my staff, particularly Mike Malone and Pete Myers, guys that had been assistants for a long time. They made life easier for me.”

Warriors head coach Mark Jackson hugs guard Stephen Curry after he was taken out of a playoff game against the Clippers.

When Vinny Del Negro became a first-time coach with the Chicago Bulls in 2008, he hired former head coaches Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff to show him the ins and outs of being the man in charge.

Del Negro also took another approach to help in his learning curve.

“When I got the Chicago job, I went and coached the team in the summer league,” he said. “I just jumped right in. I needed that. Everyday you do it, every game, you get a little bit more comfortable and you understand things a little bit better and you’re learning your players, and you know things you can do better every game. That’s what you are doing on a daily basis.”

As he began to think about coaching, Kerr said he spent years preparing how to interview for jobs and what kind of coaching philosophy he wanted to develop.

Kerr said some of the best advice he got about becoming a coach was from Jeff Van Gundy, a former Knicks and Rockets coach.

“I asked his advice and I said, ‘If you were me and just getting started and wanted to prepare for an interview and prepare to become a coach, what would you do?’” Kerr said. “And he said, ‘Everytime you stop and think about what kind of coach you want to be, write it down. Whatever you are thinking, write it down.

“Before long, you are going to collect your thoughts, you’re going to have them on paper, you’re going to be able to look at them and think about them and adapt them and put together a philosophy that you can present to somebody.’ And it was the best advice anybody gave me.”

Sports

Writers' Euro 2024 predictions: Best player, dark horses, biggest disappointment?

Published

8 hours ago

June 15, 2024

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Writers' Euro 2024 predictions: Best player, dark horses, biggest disappointment?

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We are just a day away from Euro 2024, with hosts Germany taking on Scotland in Munich on Friday night.

What can we expect? An outsider victory? A Kylian Mbappe-inspired French romp? England out in the group stages? Whatever we get, there will be drama (we hope). Let us know in the comments section what you expect to happen.

Here, six of The Athletic’s writers give their predictions…

How to follow Euro 2024 on The Athletic…

Who will win the tournament and why?

Oliver Kay: France, because they have the strongest squad — not just in terms of talent and depth in all positions but also know-how and a proven ability to perform when the stakes are high.

Liam Tharme: France. Tournaments are won over decades of youth talent and nobody does it like Ligue 1. Didier Deschamps has found the perfect balance between system and superstars.

James Horncastle: I like how Roberto Martinez has carved out a niche as custodian of international ‘Golden Generations’. First, Belgium, and now Portugal. The balance Portugal have in midfield is encouraging and I’m waiting for Rafael Leao to deliver on his potential at this level.

Mbappe and Deschamps will be hopeful (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Nancy Froston: France have been such a force in recent years and they do not look any weaker.

Carl Anka: Germany. Host nation, favourable side of the draw, and decent players under a clever tactical mind in Julian Nagelsmann.

Nick Miller: France are the correct answer, but Deschamps has been there so long, aren’t they due a meltdown? What about the Netherlands? They have loads of good defenders, as well as Jeremie Frimpong and Xavi Simons, while Memphis Depay seems quite cross about leaving Atletico Madrid, so he’ll have some fire in his belly.

Who will win the Golden Boot?

Tharme: Mbappe.

Horncastle: Gianluca Scamacca.

Froston: Mbappe.

Kay: Harry Kane.

Anka: Niclas Fullkrug.

Miller: Kane.

Who will be the best player?

Kay: Mbappe. If France are going deep, then he will play a big part.

Tharme: Kevin De Bruyne will carry a young generation of Belgium midfielders deep into the tournament and provide plenty of assists for Romelu Lukaku.

GO DEEPER

Belgium Euro 2024 squad guide: Talisman Lukaku, Bakayoko one to watch – but Courtois left out

Horncastle: It’s on home soil. These are the final games of his career. Imagine ending your career by winning the Champions League and the Euros. It’s going to be Toni Kroos.

Froston: Jude Bellingham. You build everything around players as good as him. If England can manage a good run, it’ll be thanks to him.

Anka: It’s Kroos. This sport doesn’t often grant happy endings, but Kroos is about to have a superb swansong.

Miller: Kroos. Are we all blinded by the sheer wattage of the narrative? Perhaps, but that doesn’t make us wrong.

We all want it for Kroos, don’t we? (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Who will be the best young player (under 23 on June 14)?

Kay: There are a few English candidates, but I’ll say Jamal Musiala. He looks ready to make a big impact at Euro 2024.

Tharme: Between Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Both should rise to the occasion on home soil.

Horncastle: Arda Guler or Kenan Yildiz. Yildiz’s dribbling has generated crazy hype and Guler scored six times for Real Madrid in 377 La Liga minutes. The kid is shy but special.

Froston: Benjamin Sesko. A ‘burns bright in the group stage’ candidate feels about right.

GO DEEPER

Oldest squad? Most caps? Player call-ups per club? Here’s your ultimate Euro 2024 data guide

Anka: Lamine Yamal. The 16-year-old (16!) has all the tools to be a game-breaking forward.

Miller: Xavi Simons. If I’m sticking with my ‘the Dutch are good’ theory, he’ll be at the centre of it.

How many penalties will fail to find the back of the net — in normal time and shootouts?

Tharme: There were four shootouts in 2020, the most since Euro 1996 (also four). Let’s take an assumed average of three missed from another four shootouts, that’s twelve. Let’s go for 15 total with only three not scored in regulation time.

Horncastle: Italians would say all of Jorginho’s — which is harsh given how cool he was from the spot in the semi-final against Spain three years ago.

Froston: This is the era of the water-bottle cheat sheet, so I fancy four penalties missed in regulation time and 13 in shootouts.

GO DEEPER

How England ended their penalty curse – and the unsung hero who spent 18 months planning it

Kay: Unlike Liam, I haven’t given this the slightest thought and I’m struggling to get a handle on the numbers. One? A 100? I’ll say 10.

Anka: It’s still mostly a gamble. Three misses in the groups. Two in knockout games. 12 across collected shootouts.

Miller: Well, I’ll pick a number out of the air and say 14.

Who will ‘do an Enzo Fernandez’ and get a big transfer off the back of a tournament?

Kay: These days, so many of the best young talents are already at big clubs. Maybe it’s the perfect shop window for someone like Albania’s Armando Broja, who is surplus to requirements at Chelsea.

Tharme: Ukraine and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Heorhii Sudakov. A pure No 10, two-footed, with plenty of Champions League experience at Shakhtar Donetsk, even at 21.

GO DEEPER

Ukraine Euro 2024 guide: A strong squad and La Liga’s top scorer – but the war weighs heavy

Horncastle: Define ‘big’. What if Albania winger Jasir Asani was good enough to earn a move back to Europe after a year in South Korea’s K League with Gwangju?

Froston: Nico Williams. It seems likely that clubs will be tempted by his €50million (£42m; $54m) release clause at Athletic Bilbao.

Anka: Belgium and PSV Eindhoven’s Johan Bakayoko is a dribble-heavy, left-footed winger who likes to cut inside and shoot from the right wing. That’s the sort of forward Premier League clubs like spending dough on.

GO DEEPER

Johan Bakayoko exclusive: ‘In the next five years I want to be close to winning the Ballon d’Or’

Miller: Bakayoko, Sudakov and Williams all get another couple of thumbs up, but people love a tempo-setting central midfielder, so I’ll say that Benfica will have someone’s pants down for Turkey’s Orkun Kokcu.

Tell us one thing you really want to see happen…

Kay: I would love to see England win it. But that’s such a boring answer. Failing that, I’d really like one of the smaller nations to win it. Denmark, Croatia, even Belgium. It would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Tharme: Josip Ilicic to score for Slovenia. He’s back in the national team for the first time since November 2021.

Horncastle: One of the five Italian coaches to win the thing.

Froston: Limited minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo. With every embarrassing tantrum, it gets harder to remember why he is one of the best ever.

Will he be smiling in July? (Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)

Anka: Wingers get chalk on their boots before driving at defenders. Loads of long-range efforts after the ball spills out from a corner.

Miller: Kroos strolling off into retirement having joined your Zidanes, your Xavis, your Iniestas in the ‘winning absolutely everything there is to win’ club.

Tell us one thing you really don’t want to see happen…

Kay: I really hope the tournament is trouble-free. I also hope I can walk through a market square on the day of an England game without cringing in embarrassment at fans singing dismal songs about “10 German bombers”.

Tharme: Germany out in the groups (again).

Horncastle: Please don’t judge Luciano Spalletti as if he’s been in the job for two years when he only stepped into the breach last August.

Froston: Opening ceremonies/pre-game performances from peppy Europop singers or ageing rockers that completely sap the atmosphere.

Anka: Manchester United, could you behave yourself and avoid any news announcements and massive dramas for the foreseeable future? Thanks.

Miller: I think I’m getting soft in my old age, but I used to love penalty shootouts… now I find them incredibly stressful. So as few of them as possible, please.

Which nation are the dark horses?

Kay: We’ve been calling Croatia and Denmark dark horses for so long, I don’t feel I can do it again. I’ll say Serbia.

Tharme: Hungary. They had an excellent Nations League in 2022 against some European big-hitters and have evolved tactically under Marco Rossi.

Horncastle: Austria. I do wonder: what if Ralf Rangnick hadn’t taken the caretaker job at United when he did? I think his “open heart surgery” approach would appeal to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford.

Froston: Can Croatia be dark horses? Nobody is saying otherwise, so I’m choosing glory for Luka Modric.

With 175 appearances, Modric is Croatia’s most-capped player (MB Media/Getty Images)

Anka: Hi, hello, it’s me, one of the people who said Turkey would be a dark horse at Euro 2020. I am warning you that Serbia will bloody England’s noses and reach the quarters.

Miller: Ukraine. They won’t win it, but they’ve got a great collection of young, exciting players and, well, the country could do with a good news story.

Which player/team will be the biggest disappointment?

Kay: It could be England. This tournament, amid heightened expectations, feels like it could be boom or bust.

Tharme: Portugal. They have underwhelmed since scrapping their way to the Euro 2016 trophy and have a ridiculous squad, with backups better than most teams’ first choices.

Horncastle: England. Three years ago was as good an opportunity to win a tournament as any. England didn’t seize the moment.

Froston: Adam Wharton. But not the player himself. I just do not think we will see much of him in the tournament, which has the potential to be disappointing after his impressive debut.

Anka: Portugal have the pieces to make a deep run, but a lot depends on how Ronaldo is catered for.

Miller: I fear for England, but I can see Italy doing a rather lacklustre job of being defending champions.

How far will England go and predict the manner of their final match in the competition…

Kay: A semi-final defeat by France is probably the most likely outcome, but I can see it falling short of that.

Tharme: At least to the semi-finals, likely against France. Southgate’s record against teams that have previously knocked England out is good but this would be the ultimate test. Harry Kane has scored all 15 penalties since missing against France in the World Cup quarter-finals, so I’d back him to score.

Horncastle: Tharme has allowed himself to get carried away. His penance will be a tactical breakdown of England’s defeat to hosts Germany in the last 16.

Where/how will it all end? (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

Froston: Quarter-finals. Shirts pulled up over teary eyes, dejected players lying prostrate on the pitch after a plucky defeat.

Anka: Quarter-finals. I struggle to articulate how grateful I am to Southgate and his team for creating an England side for so many to believe in, but July 11 2021 was the chance to win silverware.

Miller: 1-1 draw with Serbia, 1-1 draw with Denmark, 3-0 win over Slovenia, finish second in the group, play Germany in the knockouts. There, England will take the lead but ultimately lose in extra time.

Give us your most outrageous prediction…

Kay: The format gives teams a safety net, where even third place in the group might get you a place in the knockout stage. But Group B is horrible. Reigning champions Italy knocked out in the first round.

Tharme: No 0-0 draws.

Horncastle: Georgia ride Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s wings out of the group stages. If Kvara recaptures the form he showed in Napoli’s title-winning season, anything is possible.

Froston: Redemption for Rangnick with a decent run for Austria.

Anka: Mbappe scores the goal to knock Spain out.

Miller: France out in the group stage. No logic to it, but you never said we had to back any of this up.

What might make you get emotional?

Kay: Seeing one of the less-fancied teams perform the way Morocco did at the last World Cup.

Tharme: A Pascal Gross goal. A stalwart of Brighton, an everything midfielder who has got better with age and finally made his senior Germany debut aged 32 last September.

Horncastle: Croatia taking back-to-back knockout games to extra time and penalties.

Froston: Any underdog who takes a big team all the way only to lose at the death.

Anka: The first rest day.

Miller: I’m a sucker for parents in the crowd watching their kids succeed, so anything close to Mario Balotelli hugging his mum in 2012.

(Photos: Getty Images)