To celebrate 60 years of the European Championship, the then UEFA president Michel Platini pulled out of his sleeve a tournament with matches throughout the continent and that after being postponed for a year due to the pandemic, it will be played from June 11 to July 11 .
Over the years, the European national team tournament has become a ‘Mini-World Cup’ in which Lev Yashin to Zinedine Zidane, through Marco Van Basten, Gerd Muller and Xavi Hernández have shone.
This 16th edition, which due to the pandemic will take place just over a year before the next World Cup (Qatar-2022), will be the second edition with 24 participating teams.
With three titles, Germany (1972, 1980 and 1996) and Spain (1964, 2008, 2012) are the most successful teams, followed by France (1984 and 2000) with two, while USSR, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Denmark, Greece and Portugal have shared the other seven trophies.
Conceived in the late 1950s by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) under the impulse of the French Henri Delaunay, general secretary of the French Federation (FFF), the Eurocup had its first edition in 1960 in France.
Sixteen national teams participated in the qualifications and only four met in Paris to play the first final phase of the Eurocup in 1960: France, Yugoslavia, the USSR and Czechoslovakia.
The Soviets won the first edition, after beating Yugoslavia 2-1 in the decisive match, after an extension. In the winning cast, a man dressed completely in black wrote the first lines of his legend: the archer Lev ‘The Black Spider’ Yashin.
In 1964, the final phase took place in Spain. The local team, under the watchful eye of the dictator Francisco Franco, defeated the Soviet Union 2-1, in a final with a significant political charge played in Madrid.
Spain, which in the first edition refused to play against the Soviet Union and was eliminated, decided this time to face the most representative country of communism, and won with a header in the last minutes from Marcelino.
That team, led by the great Galicians Luis Suárez and Amancio Amaro, both from the Deportivo La Coruña youth squad, gave Spain the first international title in its history, and for decades the only one, until the now legendary generation that won two consecutive Euro Cups. (2008 and 2012) and a World Cup (2010).
In 1968 the tournament had a very particular definition. The Italians playing at home beat the USSR in the semifinals through a draw, because the match ended in a draw and there were no penalty shootouts.
The final between Italy and Yugoslavia went down in history because it had to be played again after a first match that ended in a draw (1-1). But the Italians, who made five changes to the Yugoslavs none, took advantage and defeated them 2-0.
In 1972, the four semi-finalists met in Belgium. In the final, the Germans, led by an unstoppable Gerd Müller, who scored a double, prevailed against the once again unfortunate USSR (3-0).
– The Panenka penalty –
Four years later, in Yugoslavia, the final between the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia was defined by penalties after ending the match in a draw (2-2). The German Uli Hoeness missed his shot and the Czech Antonin Panenka scored his stinging the ball, and his team unleashed the final celebration.
But from 1960 to 1976 the competition was overshadowed by a lack of notoriety. The final phase brought together only four teams and the duels took just a week.
Then, the Italian Artemio Franchi, president of UEFA, decided to enlarge the final stage by taking eight teams to contest the trophy, starting in 1980.
In this new format, the FRG won the title contested in Italy in 1980 after defeating Belgium 2-1 in the final in Rome, thanks to a double by Horst Hrubesch, with which this country inscribed its name for the second time in the Eurocup winner records.
But the real ‘boost’ of the competition took place in France, precisely the country that saw it born, in 1984.
The figure of French midfielder Michel Platini gave him shine and with his skill he led the French team to win the final against Spain (2-0), after scoring the first goal with a free kick against the complicity of Spanish goalkeeper Luis Arconada, who let slip the ball below your body.
Platini, as well as the best player of the tournament, was the top scorer with nine touchdowns in five games, including two triplets against Belgium and Yugoslavia.
The 1988 edition, in Germany, was marked by the dominance of the Netherlands, which spread a total football with the quality of stars such as Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten.
In the final, a first goal from Gullit stopped the illusions of the USSR, which collapsed after the masterpiece of gunner Van Basten: a volley that was nailed in the second angle of the goalkeeper to seal the 2-0 for the ‘Clockwork Orange ‘. It was the third lost final for the hapless Soviet Union.
In Sweden-1992, after the fall of the Berlin Wall that changed the political map of Europe, Germany was reunited and the USSR, disintegrated, became the CIS. But it was not the only one: Yugoslavia disarmed, the Belgrade regime was sanctioned by UEFA, which applied the provisions of the UN.
UEFA banned the Yugoslavs from participating in the finals. Something that Denmark knew how to take advantage of one hundred percent, who arrived in Stockholm as a “stone guest”, due to their second place in the qualifying group that Yugoslavia had won.
But Denmark gave the big surprise and were champions after beating Germany 2-0 in the final, after a terrific performance by goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. In addition, the Danes overcame the absence of their star Michael Laudrup, who did not contest the championship due to disagreements with his coach.
Four years later, in England, Germany took revenge by winning a competition that was expanded to 16 teams in the finals, after UEFA decided to double the number of participants.
– The golden goal rule –
In the final against the Czech Republic, a nice surprise that spread magic and good football, the Germans celebrated the title by winning 2-1, after scoring the golden goal, a rule that was applied in the extension. The hero of that day was center forward Oliver Bierhoff, who at the top offered his nation the third continental title.
In 2000, in the Netherlands and Belgium, France, world champion in 1998, won the ‘squadra azzurra’ in the final 2-1.
Italy was leading 1-0, but in the last seconds of the game Sylvain Wiltord appeared to equalize and stretch the suspense, which had its great outcome with the golden goal of the Franco-Argentine David Trezeguet in the extension. Second European Championship title that traveled to Paris.
In 2004 in Portugal, there was the great surprise of the triumph of modest Greece, who beat the local team 1-0 in the final, with a goal from Angelos Charisteas.
Led by German coach Otto Rehhagel, the Hellenes based their triumph on unsurpassed defense and a ferocious counterattack, eliminating France in the quarterfinals, in the semifinals the Czech Republic, who had become favorites, and Portugal in the last game , all 1-0.
The 2008 edition, in Switzerland and Austria, meant the awakening of Spain. La Roja, criticized because it was unable to add a great title to its record after the one achieved in 1964, surprised with an exquisite football, full of technique.
The ‘tiqui-taca’ philosophy, implanted by Luis Aragonés, based on touch and possession of the ball, supplanted the defense, which had placed Italy at the top after their world title in Germany-2006.
After walking in the group stage, led by a masterful Xavi Hernández, against Russia, Sweden and Greece, Spain had its key match in the quarterfinals against its opponents, the Italians, who managed to keep the 0-0 score at 120 game minutes. But on penalties, the Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas decided, while Cesc Fabregas achieved the decisive launch.
Later, Spain would beat Russia in the semifinals (3-0) and Germany in the final (1-0), with a goal from Fernando Torres, after a golden pass from Xavi.
Spain would win again in the 2012 edition, which was played in Poland and Ukraine.
Vicente del Bosque opted for a revolutionary tactic, putting midfielder Cesc Fabregas as a false forward, like nine and a half, and the test went well.
– Unpublished double for La Roja –
After a not very good first phase in Poland, in which they began drawing with Italy (1-1), they thrashed Ireland (4-0), but had a bad time against Croatia, which they ended up defeating with a goal at the end (1- 0).
In the quarterfinals, already in Ukraine, he found no problem to beat France (2-0), while in the semifinals he defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal (0-0) on penalties, and in the final he crushed Italy (4 -0).
Spain was the first team capable of winning two consecutive European titles and three important events, as it also added the World Cup.
France (the only country to have organized the continental tournament three times) once again hosted the 2016 edition, which for the first time had 24 teams. Despite the favoritism of Germany (world champion) or the hosts, the title went to Portugal.
Great football nation, twice a semifinalist in a World Cup (1966 and 2006), a finalist in a Eurocup (2004) and three times a semifinalist (1984, 2000 and 2012) and supplier of stars to the soccer firmament (Eusebio, Futre, Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo), the Seleçao were finally rewarded.
But the tour of the tournament was not easy. He qualified for the crosses as one of the best third, after signing three draws against Hungary, Iceland and Austria.
Portugal passed in extra time against Croatia in the round of 16 (1-0), on penalties in the quarterfinals against Poland and got into the final with their most comfortable win, 2-0 over Wales.
In the final, Portugal were not favorites against France and even less so when their great star Cristiano Ronaldo had to retire after 25 minutes injured.
Without goals in the regulated 90 minutes and when nothing seemed to prevent an outcome on penalties, an unknown player, Éder, appeared to become the hero of his country by scoring the only goal of the final (minute 109). AFP (HN)