Munich crowd angrily boo Spain's Cucurella
German football fans do not forgive - at least not Spanish football national team player Marc Cucurella. The defender was mercilessly booed by Munich's audience during the EURO semi-final against France at every ball contact.
Marc Cucurella has a problem: his distinctive long hair. During the Spanish national team's leap into the EURO final, it was the Linksverteidiger of La Roja that the Munich public surprisingly did not find negative: the one who prevented Jamal Musiala's shot from reaching the goal in the 119th minute of the quarter-final.
Before the kick-off, many in the Munich Arena could be seen wearing the Germany jersey, and they were heard in the stadium. Most fans of the DFB team revealed themselves as poor losers. At each of his actions, they booed Cucurella. Every pass, every throw-in, every time he was shown on the big screens: loud boos and jeers in the stadium. Some kept it up until the end.
But why? In the quarter-final against the DFB team, Cucurella was the one who prevented Musiala's shot from reaching the goal in the 119th minute. What would have been if only... Many fans wearing the Germany jersey couldn't let go of this question. At Stuttgart on Friday evening in the quarter-final, the VAR was silent, referee Anthony Taylor didn't look at the monitor again. The debate was all the louder - among experts, players, and fans.
"A questionable action"
It's strange to boo Cucurella, though, as he has no control over the handball rule. He himself had said, "If referees say it's not handball, then I say it's not handball." He understands, "it's a questionable action," Cucurella said before the game: "But I think if Germany had won, no one would have talked about it."
The constant boos eventually went too far for the Spanish fans. They began to taunt him openly, chanting his name. The question is, did the whole spectacle unsettle him? Not really. The long-haired player from Chelsea is playing a strong tournament and didn't stop in the semi-final. Against Ousmane Dembélé of France, he was always in position. Sometimes his actions were too quick to even be able to jeer "Buh."
"Not fast, not particularly strong"
It was long unclear if Cucurella would even come to the EURO in Germany. The injury-related withdrawals of Jose Luis Gaya and Alejandro Balde were his big chance. Under trainer Luis de la Fuente, he has become a regular starter. On the defensive side on the left, he even has the preference over Leverkusen's Alejandro Grimaldo. He is unspectacular in his actions, but always stable. Without major blunders, without major mistakes.
At FC Barcelona, he couldn't make it through at the beginning of his career, so he had to go the loan way. If it had only been about data, this transfer would never have happened, said the former trainer Jose Luis Mendilibar at that time. "He is not fast, he is not particularly strong. You can't find those things in him that you can measure," Mendilibar said, but: "He is a footballer. He is smart. He makes the right decisions. And in the end, you always put him on the field." Somehow, he ended up at Chelsea in the English Premier League - and now in the final of the European Football Championship in Germany.
Despite his instrumental role in preventing Germany's advance during the EURO quarter-final, Marc Cucurella encountered a different reception during Spain's semi-final against France at the European Football Championship 2024 in Munich. The boos echoed throughout the stadium during every ball contact, perhaps a residual anger from the quarter-final's controversial handball decision.
As Spain and France prepare to face each other again in the European Football Championship 2024, both countries' fans are eager to witness Spain's defender Marc Cucurella, who will be playing for his nation in a major tournament final. Despite being criticized in Munich, Cucurella has demonstrated his resilience, maintaining his stellar performance and positioning against France's Ousmane Dembele.
