229: Toby Alderweireld, Belgium, Panini UEFA Euro 2020 Kick Off, Adrenalyn XL

Among the many things in our lives that we have little to no control over the time we are born has to be pretty high up the list. As the father of a so-called lockdown baby it’s fair to say that he’s probably going to find it a bit strange when we look back at the first photographs of him with his family and he sees his grandparents, aunts and cousins wearing face masks. In our defence my wife was already ten weeks pregnant when the country went into lockdown and we wouldn’t change a thing about our son but if we could have magically chosen when he was born we probably wouldn’t have chosen smack bang in the middle of a global pandemic. In a similar sense I reckon Andy Murray probably isn’t over the moon that he entered the world within the same twelve months as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Then again I’m not sure that Andy is ever that over the moon about much.

These ‘golden generations’ in sport have led to some of the greatest rivalries and most memorable matches and that’s just talking about the Twitter beef they have caused. At the same time this moniker has heaped enormous pressure on the players believed to be part of such eras particularly when they are applied to a national team. The England squads of the 2000s were littered with star quality but the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney experienced none of the success they were supposedly owed and, at times, were just bloody awful. Whether this was down to ill discipline, poor management or a lack of inflatable unicorns Gareth Southgate’s charges in the most recent World Cup and European Championship have far exceeded the efforts of their supposedly superior predecessors.

In the same Euro 2000 where the fledgling stars of the Three Lions’ ‘golden generation’ (and Dennis Wise) were dumped out in the group stage the tournament’s co-host suffered the same fate. Despite an opening victory against Sweden Belgium suffered 2-0 defeats to Italy and a Hakan Sükür inspired Turkey on home soil. These proved to be their last games at a major tournament finals until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil by which time the Red Devils had assembled their very own ‘golden generation’ of extremely talented players who had won every accolade going in European club football. The current incarnation of the team features the nation’s two most prolific goalscorers of all-time in the form of Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, the walking assist machine that is Kevin De Bruyne and the experienced and decorated shot stopper Thibaut Courtois. In front of him sit the veteran defensive unit of Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Vermaelen and Toby Alderweireld.

At a combined age of 101 and with a staggering 329 caps between them this Belgian defence has proved to be the rock on which the nation’s recent success has been built on. All three are classy, ball-playing centre-halves with the ability to fill in at fullback and contribute goals. They have understandably graced some of the most successful clubs in Europe and have been pivotal to Belgium’s runs to the quarter-finals in the last two European Championships and third-placed finish in the 2018 World Cup. During their time at the heart of the defence Belgium have also topped the FIFA rankings on two separate occasions. These achievements are certainly not to be sniffed at especially for a nation with a relatively small population of 11m and no representation in the Champions League knockout stages since 2016 when KAA Gent were defeated by German side Wolfsburg.

And yet when you consider the wealth of talent available to this ‘golden generation’ of Belgian stars it comes as a surprise that they never quite made it over the line to secure some silverware. In 2016 they were left dumbfounded when Hal Robson-Kanu put three of them on their arses to send Wales into the semi-finals ahead of them. In 2018 a solitary goal from Samuel Umtiti saw France grab a place in the World Cup final as they nullified all that was thrown at them. They were once again bested by the tournament’s eventual winners at Euro 2020 as Italy’s Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne scored two lovely goals and lovable shithouse Georgio Chiellini and his defensive chums did the rest. With many of the Belgian team creeping into their thirties it might be the case that the ludicrous winter World Cup in Qatar next year is their last chance of international glory.

Spare a thought for Toby Alderweireld. Not only has he come so close and yet so far on the international stage but the poor bugger’s spent the last six years of his career at perennial underachievers Tottenham Hotspur. Having won the Eredivisie at Ajax Amsterdam and La Liga with Atletico Madrid he established himself as one of the Premier League’s best defenders after a loan spell at Southampton and, following his move to White Hart Lane, was courted by Manchester United before signing a new contract with the North London side in 2019. Despite helping Spurs to the finals of both the Champions League and League Cup, and being named the club’s Player of the Year for the 2015/16 season, he is yet to experience more silverware joy.

There is, of course, still time for this to change and maybe his new employers Al-Duhail will celebrate his arrival with an eighth Qatar Stars League championship. If Belgium boss Roberto Martinez can recreate his miracle FA Cup win with Wigan Athletic for Belgium in 2022 then perhaps Toby Alderweireld can sign off his career with the trophies his talent and efforts deserve. Then again another great player of another ‘golden generation’ might just pass us by. You can’t choose when you’re born after all.