If you’re new here: I’m Harry Robinson, a 23-year-old Stretford Ender, freelance football journalist and the author of The Men Who Made Manchester United.
Interviewing Leny Yoro
Reflecting on EURO 2024
Football journalists have been left with only the ‘Why?’
Eighteen years old and signing for Manchester United, Leny Yoro carried a calm excitement about him during his first days at the club. A shy person, he admitted, he seemed to keep that eagerness bottled up at times, only to let it out with a big grin every so often — when I showed him a video message from Rio Ferdinand, for example.
It’s a privilege to interview any athlete. Their dedication makes them admirable and, particularly at this young age, they really are ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary things.
Conducting a player’s first United interview is a particular honour and I love being behind the scenes to see them pull on the shirt for the first time. They have cameras all around them and, if their family or agents are present, they tend to be sat some distance away. So in that moment, they can actually be quite alone, but an uncontrollable smile inevitably comes out. I can only imagine how I’d be feeling. It’s lovely to witness.
Leny was assuredly calm, obviously excited and admirably polite. Going around to all four corners of the large Salford studio, he made a concerted effort to thank everyone individually upon leaving. It’s become a little cliché to note these things, but they make a real difference.
The full 20-minute interview is out now. In it, Leny reveals the advice and encouragement given to him by Academy graduate Angel Gomes — a teammate at Lille, reacts to a surprise welcome video from Rio Ferdinand and explains — to my surprise — how he used to pretend to be Nani in the playground. His excitement to play in front of English crowds also comes across clearly.
If you want to know more about what these interviews are like and how I approach them, I made a short ‘Day in the Life’ style video which you can watch on Instagram or YouTube.
EURO 2024
I’d been back in Manchester for just a few hours before I went to meet United’s new signing. It followed a memorable six weeks working at my first international tournament, which culminated in attending the Final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
Finals exaggerate everything we know about football, for good and bad. First, the epic stories of adventure. Within minutes of arriving in Berlin, I’d heard of an abandoned Norwegian fishing trip and one travelling fan who’d left his girlfriend in Venice to come. Yes, really. “It was the last day,” he reasoned.
The pre-match buzz normally reserved for the hour before a standard game stretches long into the days before. In some cities, it can feel like there’s nothing else on. Berlin is big enough that even a major international final can hide amongst its streets, but then you turn a corner and find England and Spain fans happily mixing. There have been problems at these Euros, but seeing the coming together of fans from different nations is always heart-warming.
And that feeling outside Berlin’s Olympiastadion really was special, with a golden sun setting behind a historic venue. I walked into an England end that spread across nearly 75% of the ground. The final strains of ‘Three Lions’ faded and Robbie Williams’ ‘Angels’ began. ‘Vindaloo’ followed. Hope and expectation abounded. Those are the things we love, made even greater at a final.
Then the corporate nonsense took over. As with all games, but in greater numbers, the pitch was occupied by some foreign force. Performers resembling Willy Wonka’s Oompaloompas or the Peacekeepers of the Hunger Games marched around. Make the comparison of your own choosing. This is the part of football we hate.
A ceremony designed entirely for television came and went. This isn’t the SuperBowl, you realise. In grandeur, it may be. In coverage, it certainly is. In audience, it eclipses it easily. But this performance is so inoffensive and meaningless it’s jarring. It faces towards one side where the cameras look down and the dignitaries sit. Fans in the cheap seats see only the side of the Peacekeepers, and the atmosphere dies.
Luckily at international tournaments — unlike at events like the FA Cup final, which now suffer from a similar fate — the national anthems are stirring enough to revive the ex-atmosphere. Still, there are hundreds on the pitch. Interlopers. And then, just as in every other game of the tournament and with every game of football, no matter what nonsense precedes it, the pretenders depart and the real performers are left alone.
Spain were excellent. England underwhelmed. Outside, fans dispersed, losing each other in the process. Little groups waited just beyond the turnstiles, searching hard for mates, made more difficult by everyone wearing the same shirts, almost all from 20 years ago.
I made a short film from the day, which you can watch here. Having learnt loads working in Leipzig as Native Vertical Editor with InCrowd Sports and UEFA, it was a good chance to put some of the skills to the test.
Left with only the ‘Why?’
I ignored much of the aftermath but, from what I did see, I found this quote to be incisive, from the Unofficial Partner newsletter.
“Before TV and the internet, the job of the journalist was to report what had happened: The who, what, where, when of the event they were attending.
“Today, we know all that stuff in real-time. So journalists and the pundit class are tasked with the over-reach of Why.”
It’s absolutely right. The match report, for example, has clearly changed in its purpose. Its death has been predicted for years, but some journalists have mastered the art of the ‘why’ report. They now must deliver an on-the-whistle explanation of an event with so many variables that, generally, longer is needed. But modern society doesn’t afford that time. The best do it with nuance and reason, most fall short of the mark. And we’re left with an endless circus of ‘why, why, why’.
Six weeks in Leipzig
Ignoring the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of the football and instead focusing on the best route to a late-night kebab, I returned to Leipzig in the early hours and had my final day of work a few hours after arriving.
It was a memorable six weeks — enjoyable, fascinating, and hard work in equal measure. Leipzig has some fantastic food — the roast pork knuckle at Augustiner am Markt was memorable, and the many Vietnamese restaurants all offered quality — and the most incredible man-made lakes (converted mines) on the outskirts of the city.
I’ve long dreamt of working at a major international tournament and going to a final of such significance. To do both in one was pretty special.
The most impactful message I was told when starting freelance work with UEFA this summer was this: Each game of EURO 2024 is equivalent to the Super Bowl. And it does feel like it...
Plenty of minutes for young players in the early stages of United’s pre-season Tour. Toby Collyer has stood out for many. He’s a smooth midfield engine who has come on significantly after a slow start initially at United. A former England youth captain, he joined from Brighton & Hove Albion just after his 18th birthday. Erik ten Hag gave him the Kobbie Mainoo Treatment™️, pulling him aside on the pitch at Wembley after the FA Cup final (he did the same with Kobbie a year before at the League Cup final) to provide some words of encouragement.
In other news:
In case you missed it, the second Lifeblood film is out now. It focuses on Innovation at the Academy and we were delighted to take Scott McTominay back across the way at Carrington for a workshop on growth and maturation. Some of the insights in this film are fascinating. I noted 10 life lessons after re-watching here.
Signings and departures
Omari Forson has left United at the end of his contract. Academy graduate no.249, he was liked by Ten Hag and trained with the seniors throughout last season but sought assurances of first-team football elsewhere. He’s joined Serie A club Monza.
Charlie McNeill has also left, joining Sheffield Wednesday. A relentless goalscorer in the youth teams of both United and City, he hasn’t yet been able to transfer those skills to the senior game in loans at Newport County and Stevenage.
Ten new first-year scholars were presented with their historic United blazers at an Old Trafford event earlier this month. They are: Daniel Armer (Defender), James Bailey (Midfielder), Cameron Byrne-Hughes (Goalkeeper), Frederick Heath (Goalkeeper), Amir Ibragimov (Forward), Godwill Kukonki (Defender), Bendito Mantato (Forward), Albert Mills (Defender), Dante Plunkett (Defender), Jim Thwaites (Midfielder).
Ibragimov, Mantato and Thwaites have all made several appearances at U18s level — and even U21 level — already. It’s another highly talented group.
Pre-season schedule
A United team is currently playing at the SuperCupNI tournament, formerly known as the Milk Cup, in Northern Ireland.
The U18s will play Charlton Athletic, Celtic and Chelsea in behind-closed-doors friendlies in the coming weeks.
The U19s are participating in Mladen Ramljak Memorial Tournament in Zagreb again this year, having been defeated finalists (to a Robin van Persie-coached Feyernoord) last season. It was the team bonding on this trip that coaches attributed to the success which followed for the treble-winning U18s squad.
The same group will play at the Otten Cup in Eindhoven later in August. Again, that follows last season’s pattern. Why change something successful?
And once more following the example set before, a United XI (a very young U21s side, I expect) will face Chester in a friendly on Wednesday night. Fans can attend, with tickets available here for the 7:30pm kick-off.
United have been drawn in a group with Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers and Huddersfield Town in the EFL Trophy, with all games played away from home.
More on the Academy and MUFC in the next newsletter, plus normal trivia questions and ‘What I’ve enjoyed recently’ resume, I’ve got some good recommendations!
That’s all for now. Have a great week and share this with a mate if you’ve enjoyed it. Cheers!
