15 December 1982 was wet and windy at Wembley. It was also stormy for Luxembourg’s footballers as they suffered another hammering. This time it was England recording their record European Championship qualifying victory as striker Luther Blissett claimed a hat-trick in a 9-0 mauling.
The life of a Luxembourg international player had been much the same for the years before and those immediately after. Mainly part-time they lurched from one heavy defeat to another.
The Grand Duchy holds the record for the most World Cup and European campaigns without qualifying. Up until 2008, 104 World Cup matches had garnered just eight points. But things are changing – as they sit just two games away from their first ever major tournament.
Luxembourg visit Georgia in the opening Euro 2024 play-off on Thursday before a potential final against either Kazakhstan or Greece for the right to reach the finals in Germany.
“We weren’t necessarily expecting a direct qualification, but you can always dream,” said Luxembourg Football Federation president Paul Philipp.
“We mustn’t lose sight of the fact we are a very small country and are never going to become European champions. The fact we are playing at such a high level is quite extraordinary.
“We’re certainly not favourites in these matches. But in football a lot is possible.”
Philipp earned 54 caps for Luxembourg before going on to coach the national senior side for 15 years and admits the time he spent playing and coaching was difficult.
“At the time we had few or no professional players,” he revealed. “That was a big disadvantage. Then in 2001 we created our national football academy, I believe this was the beginning or our success.”
The squad Philipp and his head coach, Luc Holtz, have built is now spread across Europe with players featuring for top level clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. It is all a far cry from Philipp’s time playing and coaching.
“The key to our success has been establishing the football academy where young players aged 12-19 train almost every day of the week with one international friendly a week,” said Philipp.
“At the weekends they return to their clubs and play league matches.
“More than 20 years later, thanks to our academy, we have around 20 professionals playing abroad.”
Holtz was appointed national coach in 2010 having made 55 international appearances himself in a playing career spent exclusively in Luxembourg. He is now international football’s longest serving manager.
“We had to change a lot when I took over, especially the mentality of the players,” said Holtz.
“We are no longer anxious but play with courage. In the past everything was based on defence but nowadays we are more focused on ball possession and pressing high.”
Two wins over Bosnia-Herzogovina were Luxembourg’s eye-catching results from their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. There was also a win and a draw against Iceland, and a draw with Slovakia as they finished third in Group J.
Iceland themselves have shown the way to success for Europe’s smaller nations by reaching both a European Championship and World Cup in recent years. Their population is just over half that of Luxembourg and Holtz has taken heart from their example.
“It’s difficult to compare two different countries but Iceland has shown what is possible for a small country whether in football or handball,” he added.
“It’s an example to follow in that it’s not the size of the country that makes the difference, it’s the mentality.”
There have been draws with France and Italy, and a win in Switzerland during Holtz’s tenure, which all pointed towards their improvement and Luxembourg have also been helped by a large Portuguese community from which they have been able to recruit. Defender Miguel Goncalves, midfielder Leandro Barriero and all-time leading scorer, Gerson Rodgrigues hail from that background.
“Luxembourg is a country with high immigration, 49% of our population are foreigners, so we have other players with different backgrounds.” Holtz said.
He will take his side to Tblisi having already made history by getting Luxembourg to the brink of a major finals, which all seems a far cry from when he took over in 2010.
“At the time I didn’t necessarily think qualifying for a championships was possible,” Holtz admitted. “Our aim was to develop and progress, everything else comes later.
“I think the pressure is greater for Georgia, they are at home and are the favourites so I am not even thinking about what it might feel like to actually qualify.
“You have to take one step after the other and not burn the steps.”
Whatever the outcome, Luxembourg supporters will look forward to more progress under Holtz after he signed a new two-year contract in December last year.
“The side we have is very young and can play together for many more years,” he said. “I believe we have not yet reached our maximum potential.”
