Ignacy:
The photo of crying Robert Lewandowski after the final whistle of POL SWE was heartbreaking. His performance against Sweden was outstanding, but you cannot win the game singlehanded. You need a team. You need support, you need quality and effort on the pitch, so you can make a difference.
We saw it so many times.
We saw Cristiano Ronaldo leaving WorldCup in Russia.
We saw Lionel Messi leaving WorldCup in Russia the very same day.
We see the legends, magnificent players pushing their teams forward, one after another through the stages of the tournaments, but at some point this is it. At some point you realize, cannot push any stronger. You won’t win. You can score two goals, but your lousy defenders will lose 3. You reached the limit.
And as much as I will miss Lewandowski and Ronaldo in the tournament, I am happy. I am happy because as for now, the team spirit wins in Euro. Denmark, Italy, Austria, and Czech showed a great performance. Teams without one-man celebrity, the gang of dudes fighting for each other like demons. That’s the football I appreciate. That’s the effort I want to watch.
Thomas:
Last night the Netherlands lost against the Czech Republic. A red card turned everything around. Coach De Boer substituted Malen for Promes. He took off the most dangerous man on the pitch. Why?
It brings back memories.
Along with Portugal, the Czech Republic has been an 'angst gegner’ for the Netherlands this century.
For the Netherlands, Euro 2004 in Portugal started off with a 1-1 draw against Germany. Not bad, but it was important to win the next match against the Czechs.
It all started great. Beautiful football, and within 20 minutes it was 2-0 for the Dutch. Köller got one back, but after that, the score didn’t change for a while. The absolute star on the pitch was Arjen Robben. He was the engine of his team in many ways and he powered up the others.
But then it happened. In the 58′ minute, coach Dick Advocaat decided to take Robben off and put on an extra defender. I was in a room packed with people dressed in orange. All shouting: „No! What is he doing!”
After that, it completely collapsed. The game was lost (2-3).
Songs were written about it, many jokes were made. Although the team still reached the semi-final, which was lost from that other angstgegner, even now, people still talk about that bad substitution.
In Eleven some players can be very important to the team as well. Their presence on the pitch can make others stronger. Some players are experienced and help the younger ones to grow. A good midfield player can make the whole formation stronger. In Eleven it’s not only about the strength rating of one player. Like in real football, there’s more to it, to select the best team.
Thomas Jansen is the designer of Eleven: the football manager game. Ignacy Trzewiczek is the developer of the game. They both will share their thoughts about EuroCup 2021 and also talk about the design or development of Eleven. Be with them every day during Euro! If you like football and board games, please, share the news about Eleven!
You can learn more about Eleven HERE!
I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it.
That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.
