You'd be hard-pressed to find any football fan who would rate Wednesday night's Europa League final in Dublin as anything but a huge success.
Fans of both Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen flocked to the Irish capital for the decider. Both sets of supporters contributed to a fantastic atmosphere around the city in the days and hours leading up to the match.
There was a stage where it looked like at least one of European football's heavyweights could be involved in the decider, with European Cup-winning sides Liverpool, AC Milan, Benfica, and Marseille all still in the competition at the last eight.
By comparison, the two sides who ended up in the decider might have been less familiar to fans tuning in for the big game in Dublin. This would have been especially true for locals tuning in just to get a sense of the occasion, with little understanding of the two teams involved.
TNT Sports enlisted the help of Italian football expert James Horncastle to give viewers the lowdown on Atalanta, and it showcased something which is sorely missing from most live coverage of European football.
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Europa League final: James Horncastle on TNT goes down a treat with football fans
There are few football journalists in Europe with a better understanding of and love for Italian football than James Horncastle.
The British pundit is attached to numerous Italian football podcasts, contributes to BBC, The Athletic, and ESPN among others, and is a regular on TNT Sports' Serie A coverage.
It was therefore perhaps an obvious choice for TNT to call on his services in Dublin for the Europa League final. One segment of him breaking down exactly what it is that makes Atalanta such a special club was a particular highlight.
"They are the best run club in Italy over the last 8 years"@JamesHorncastle outlines what makes this Atalanta side so special ✨
📺 Watch the #UELfinal live on @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/IECFoZN9of— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 22, 2024
Presences such as Horncastle on modern football panels are regrettably rare.
Just last year, TNT drew criticism for their coverage of the Milan derby Champions League semi-final. The station forewent their traditional Serie A panel to instead call on big names from their Premier League coverage who, by comparison, were relatively clueless about the state of play.
Pundits like Horncastle serve an important function in expanding viewers' knowledge of the teams involved, especially in European games where fans may not necessarily be overly familiar with teams from leagues other than those which they regularly watch.
There are a select few pundits currently working in football who have genuinely excellent knowledge of the teams they regularly cover - Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are held as standouts for a reason.
Instead, broadcasters choose to focus on the pundits who will create the most "banter," or are the most recognisable faces, at the expense of informing the viewers on the game they are about to watch.
Sadly, even though they received a fantastic reception from fans on social media for their use of James Horncastle on Wednesday night, TNT call on their continental experts far too seldom on their Champions League coverage.
Whenever James Horncastle speaks, you learn something new about the game.
There is a genuine thirst for this sort of insight and analysis on mainstream football coverage, hopefully appearances like this become the norm.pic.twitter.com/J4Ob7G4LE9— HLTCO (@HLTCO) May 23, 2024
Imagine if Scottish football telly / radio had a James Horncastle. There must be some names out there who could fill that role? https://t.co/cqg5qvj1qy
— FITBATWEETS (@fitbatweets) May 23, 2024
Every time i hear James Horncastle speak it’s an education ..
So concise on the subject matter 👊🏽 https://t.co/JQEIqZbJau— Richard Shaw (@shoza11) May 23, 2024
Give me knowledgeable journalists who articulate brilliantly over ex players who have no idea about any of the teams in this final. Horncastle is top level along with many others who should be given more opportunities https://t.co/dESsoYAwMo
— Tom (@Tom_FtblScout) May 22, 2024
One of the best football minds out there. I learn more from Horncastle in 5 mins than most ex pros over a season. https://t.co/OYbkMg1b5y
— Daniel Childs ☕️ (@SonOfChelsea) May 23, 2024
This is not necessarily a call for these pundits to be part of the three- or four-man panel that are traditionally on screen for the entire broadcast. There is a balance to be struck here between producing a fun end product while also informing your viewers.
In fact, Horncastle was used in the perfect amount in Dublin, being brought in at different points during the broadcast to offer additional insights. It was noticeable that he even brought the best out of Owen Hargreaves - one of TNT's better pundits, but perhaps not what one would call a riveting on-screen presence.
There's a genuine passion in the way James Horncastle speaks about Italian football. That could be seen with similar figures in British football TV spheres. Think Tim Vickery with South American football or Sid Lowe with Spanish football.
Bringing someone akin to Lowe for Champions League or Europa League games involving lesser-known Spanish teams would only increase viewers' enjoyment of the games, improving their familiarity with the sides in question.
As we approach a summer of international football tournaments, it's hard to see how someone like James Horncastle or his compatriot James Richardson would not hugely elevate the level of broadcasts of Italy games on RTÉ, BBC, or ITV for example. Likewise, Lowe could be a brilliant addition for Spanish games.
Off the back of TNT's enjoyable broadcast from the Europa League final in Dublin, it is definitely something for broadcasters of the European Championships and future continental games to consider.
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