COMMENTARY: A leader, but also a simulacrum. Euro revealed both sides of the star Bellingham

If anyone in world football made a big name for himself among the general public during the past season, it was definitely Jude Bellingham. His first year at Real Madrid was excellent, but he didn’t just stand out in a positive way at the European Championships.

• Jude Bellingham has made a big name for himself over the past year
• But it wasn’t just his quality of football that stood out at the Euros
• The England international was not in control of his emotions

At Real Madrid, he played in midfield and also played on the wing or at the top of the attack. Where the team needed it, he stood up and scored important goals. And he confirmed his label as a man of key moments at the Euros, scoring twice and assisting once.

All the Canadian points were important, with his first goal securing the win over the Serbs in the group that predetermined promotion from first place in the final. Then he averted a goalless draw with the Slovaks in the eighth round with a 1-1 goal in the set-up, and assisted Cole Palmer’s goal in the final.

In key moments, Bellingham showed superior quality. However, for the vast majority of the matches he did not act as a leader. He always had one or two good moments per game, but otherwise he was unusually lost on the field. And going for balls between stoppers is not initiative.

Bellingham couldn’t control his emotions

But besides the important scoring moments, Bellingham was also there for the negative ones. In particular, he created them himself, arguing with his teammates quite often, or rather shouting at them when he didn’t get on well with them at a given moment.

A much bigger problem, however, was his simulations. Over time, these began to bother even English fans, who mentioned that he wouldn’t last in the Premier League with such an attitude. In the first half of the final against the Spaniards, he went down twice in two minutes, twice wondering in vain.

Discussions with referees, frequent falls, both basically match after match. Add to that the inappropriate gesture after the goal against Slovakia, it was far from a good tournament from Bellingham on the human side.

When sports fans who don’t normally watch football tell you that they switched off the broadcast because of that Englishman who kept simulating and getting angry, it literally makes negative advertising for football. On the other hand, he’s still a young player who often acted in emotion.

Source: EURO 2024