Bruno Fahy, our fellow photographer from Belga, took one of the photos of the tournament on Saturday evening in Cologne. Almost ten years to the day after immortalizing the iconic “check” between Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne against the USA at the 2014 World Cup, he was still in the right place to photograph the remake. His shot would have had even more impact if Lukaku’s goal had not been canceled. His big toe – or, according to Marco Van Basten, the stupid execution of the offside rule – decided otherwise.
And so, Romelu remains at zero goals in this tournament. Like the Scottish striker Che Adams. Like the Albanian Rej Manaj from Albania. Or like the already cult Martin Adam, Hungarian colossus star of social networks. Without Var, Romelu would have been the sole top scorer in the tournament, with three goals. “He doesn’t even dare celebrate a goal anymore”revealed his friend Jeremy Doku with a smile.
It’s a two-faced Lukaku that we see outside of matches in Germany. We have rarely seen him as smiling as during the fifteen minutes open to the press on Monday morning. “Don’t talk to me too loudly”, he said to Doctor Sas while the latter spoke to him about the content of one or the other examination. “Otherwise, it will all be in the papers tomorrow.”
Lukaku only speaks to the press when he has made his feet do the talking with goals.
But you will undoubtedly have noticed: since the first day of the Devils gathering in Tubize, June 1, you have not yet read a single sentence from Lukaku in quotation marks. Although vice-captain, he refused any request for an interview, even in the mixed zone after the match. When his feet don’t speak with goals – he considers his double against Luxembourg as goals scored in training – he also prefers not to speak at all. Conclusion: Lukaku is frustrated. He is angry with Var but also with himself. He wants to score in every game. Not once but two or three times. He is never happy.
If all goes well, Romelu will be present at the press conference at the “Belgian Media Village” the day after or two days after Belgium – Ukraine. This agreement in principle could, however, be revoked in the event of elimination or a completely missed match on his part. We don’t believe it for a single second.
Indeed, Lukaku no longer wants to experience his Qatar misadventure. Mentally, he rarely hit rock bottom like after this match against Croatia, where, barely fit, he had many missed opportunities. The comforting words of Thierry Henry were not enough to alleviate his rage: he had punched the bench hard, the plastic window had failed. In the days that followed, he swore to himself that such a nightmare would never happen to him again.
A starting Lukaku who goes two games in a row without scoring in the national team, like at this Euro, this has not happened for six years. At the 2018 World Cup, he remained silent against Japan, Brazil, France and England. But he weighed enormously against the Japanese and the Brazilians. Like Saturday in Cologne. Without him, we are not at all certain that Belgium would have beaten Romania.
Let’s pray that this Euro will not be his farewell to the Devils.
The French politician Georges Clemenceau used to say that “Cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people, all of whom have been replaced.” Will this apply to Lukaku? Hard to believe. You might as well take the bet straight away: in 100 years, Lukaku will still be the national team’s all-time top scorer, with at least 85 goals. Unless in the meantime the goals are increased or the offside rule is abolished, his record will stand for eternity.
Our little finger also tells us that the third match will be the right one for Lukaku. His lack of luck cannot continue. And the defenders will not continue to be in the right place to block his shots. Ukrainian players risk falling victim to his frustration. He made this tournament one of the last major objectives of his career. No, Lukaku has not said his last word at this Euro.
And in the meantime, the nation must pray that this tournament will not be its farewell from the Devils. His body has already suffered so much, that we should respect his decision. But it would hurt. Very bad.
