Alessandro Schöpf doesn’t remember trying to take his shirt off or what, exactly, was going through his mind. All he remembers is sliding on his knees, looking up at the endless summer sky above the Stade de France in Paris, then bringing his gaze back down to see the endless sea of 40,000 red shirts celebrating his goal against Iceland. Half of the 81,000 at the stadium — all the Austrians in attendance — had erupted in joy, basking in what would be their country’s only goal in the 2016 Euro tournament.
“It’s not possible to describe it. There was just like just exploding of feelings. Just happy and screaming all out,” the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder said, reminiscing over his national team moment.
“I didn’t even know where to run. The crowd was going crazy. And so was I.
It was amazing for a young player; I was 22 years old when I played my first my first European Championship.” Schöpf scored six goals in 32 international appearances, his tally against Iceland the highlight — though he might bug Whitecaps teammate Ryan Gauld it was his 82nd minute equalizer against Scotland in a 2022 friendly. The European Champion holds a special place of veneration in the soccer world.
Europeans would say it rates second only to the World Cup; the South Americans among us would say the Copa America gets that distinction. But both tournaments are being played this month, simultaneously. It affords players like Schöpf and Gauld a chance to be like the rest of .
