(Preview: Talking about national teams which had won the European Championships more than once, and only two nations appeared. France and Germany. And for the latter, it has won it before, though in the form of West Germany. While one will be in the 'Group of Death' for the 2008 version in June, the other is a favourite to win it. But whichever nation will win it this time is still up for debate. Yes, today's unofficial football focus series's Euro 2008 special is now into its second of the three part series of national teams which had won the European Championships before.)
1984 and 2000. Those two years were the times when Les Bleus won it on the European level. So France may have to wait till the 1998 World Cup (where they were the hosts) before they finally won it, but they had won it on the European scale beforehand. 14 years separate the two tournaments.
1972, 1980, 1996. In terms of European Championship honours, Germany is able to look back and say that they had won it more than once and being the most successful of all on the European continent (the only country to win it thrice). Though twice was when there was the then-West Germany and once as a unified Germany. Yes, I am aware that in the recent two editions, the Mannschaft has fallen short. But whatever that has happened two years ago during the World Cup on home soil had led to beliefs they are almost back at where they belong - the top. Just don't tell the Mannschaft that. The national coach don't like the idea of the national team being called the favourites ahead of the trip to Austria and Switzerland in June. To Joachim Loew, there are other nations better than his national side (France and Italy).
First with the Les Bleus. In the 1984 version, it was (as according to its Wikipedia page) 'considered as one of the finest European Championships of all time'. France made it to the tournament automatically as the host nation. One national team was notably absent from it. England. Yes, it's not the first time England is not in a European Championship (other than the upcoming one in June). But still, it did not stop the British bookmakers at that time in saying France is the favourites for the title. Other than the fact that the Les Bleus showed brillant display and went all the way to become fourth in the 1982 World Cup, the class of 1982 had these fellows whom were arguably the best in the world then - Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, and Michel Platini in the so-called carré magique ("magic square"). I only remembered my father calling it 'The Three Musketeers' when back then after Michel Platini was being elected as the UEFA president (and he talking about what he remembered of the now UEFA president in Platini's playing days). Bearing in mind I was not born until a few years later, I can be excused for not knowing (until I read it up).
Also in offense for the Les Bleus in the 1984 European Championship, manager Michel Hidalgo had worked around the lack of a world-class striker by designing a flexible 4-4-2 system that enabled Platini, then at the zenith of his footballing abilities, to switch from playmaker to center-forward at short notice. So, the match between France and Denmark marked the opening game of the tournament (I will be adapting material from the Wikipedia entry of the 1984 version here). Both sides played out a very close encounter until Michel Platini’s goal on 78 minutes gave the hosts a 1-0 victory. After the win over the Danes, it's Platini again as he scored a hat-trick against both Belgium and Yugoslavia as France took the maximum points in their group. Now the semi-finals and according to Wikipedia, it is often considered one of the best matches in the history of the European Championship. It's France versus Portgual. The match report from Wikipedia - Jean-François Domergue opened the scoring for France but Portugal equalized through Rui Jordão on 74 minutes. The game went to extra time and Jordão scored again in the 98th minute to give the Portguese a shock lead. But the French rallied and Domergue scored sixteen minutes after Portugal went ahead. Then, with the penalty shoot-out looming, Platini scored his 8th goal of the championship to give France a memorable 3-2 victory. At the final, it was against Spain. It was quite an audience at the Paris's Parc-des-Princes (the venue of the final). And this is how it went - Just before the hour mark, Platini scored from a free-kick to put France in control. Spain fought hard to get back in to the match but were unable to find a way through. France were reduced to ten players when Yvon Le Roux was sent-off but the Spanish were unable to make their advantage count. The hosts held on to the lead and Bruno Bellone’s goal in 90th minute made the final score 2-0. France had won their first major championship in world football.
The 2000 version was the first time in the history of the continental tournament to be hosted by two nations - Belgium and the Netherlands. Both qualified automatically. Ah, Euro 2000...the time when Germany fell short. In fact, it was being noted on the Wikipedia page that 'one of the biggest surprises of the tournament was Portugal, winning their group with three wins, including a 3-0 win against Germany. They reached the semi-finals, when they lost in extra-time to France after Zinedine Zidane converted a penalty kick. Several Portuguese players challenged the awarding of the penalty for a handball and were given lengthy suspensions for shoving the referee'.
For France, it was all the more sweeter because they defeated the Italians 2-1 in the final after a golden goal by France's David Trézéguet. Second European Championship honours for the Les Bleus. One of the favourites for the title, and they did win it in the end. And it was just two years before I first know of the Les Bleus, especially Zinedine Zidane. The 1998 World Cup, that is.
Eight years had gone by and the Les Bleus became the eventual losing finalist in the 2006 World Cup. Back then, not many had expected them to make it that far given some of those on the squad were from the winning class of 1998. Hang on, I think I have to be mentally prepared next month given England will be travelling to Paris for a friendly with the French national team! Who knows what France coach Raymond Domenech is going to say again. Back then he was already grumbling over the fact that England went for a non-English in its head coach position. Monsieur Domenech is the love-him-or-hate-him kind of guy. I will only revert back to my 'Alliez Les Bleus' mode after the friendly match. There is a reason.
Germany had been considered the favourites for the upcoming tournament in Austria and Switzerland. And for some funny reason, I am rooting for France as well (I know I was in horror when they were being drawn into the 'Group of Death').
Thanks to the documentary I once saw on DW-TV (Deustche Welle Television, the international German broadcaster, which is on the cable here) about how Adidas and Puma came about (two well-known sports brands, but yet the history of these two companies were actually intertwined as a result of two very different brothers), it did mentioned that in the 70s, the German national team were among the best in the world. Back then in the 1972 version, only four countries could play the final tournament which meant that there were only the semi-finals, the final and the third place match. West Germany was among those, other than host nation Belgium.
They met Belgium first and...2-1 to them. In the other semi-final, it was Hungary versus the USSR. The Soviets won and proceed to the final and meet Germany. The final was held in Brussel's Heysel Stadium. Well, 'Der Bomber' Gerd Muller scored two of the three goals which saw West Germany winning the European Championship for the first time.
Fast forward to 1980. It was hosted by Italy. Except for the emergence of a new generation of talented German stars such as Hans-Peter Briegel, Horst Hrubesch, Hansi Müller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and the inspired performance of offensively-minded Belgium (around rising stars such as Jan Ceulemans, Eric Gerets, Jean-Marie Pfaff, and Erwin Vandenbergh) who unexpectedly reached the final, only losing to West Germany (1-2), generally it was not a tournament to be remembered for whatever's happening off the pitch. As according to Wikipedia, attendance was low (except for matches involving the Italian national team), many teams went for defensive style of play which led to a succession of dull matches. Also, hooliganism which was already a problem in the 70s, made headlines again with the first-round match between England and Belgium where riot police had to use tear gas, delaying the start of play. Ouch.
Football comes home. That was the official tagline in the 1996 version. It was hosted by England and given in view that football was born in the country itself. Me, eight-turning-nine at that time, not knowing anything about the tournament until around since the time of the 2006 World Cup. If I want to summarise whatever I know of Euro 1996 - Terry Venables (the former England assistant) was the England coach, defender Stuart Pearce (current England U-21 coach and part of England coach Fabio Capello's coaching staff in the England national team) going all crazy after scoring a penalty against the Spaniards in the quarter-finals (and his expression was being shown in all British newspapers the following day after the match), Gareth Southgate (now manager at Middlesbrough) missing the penalty against the Germans in the semi-finals, Oliver Bierhoff (current team manager in the German national team) became famous after scoring the first-ever 'Golden Goal' against the Czechs in the final at the Wembley (which eventually landed the Germans their third title on the European level).
Okay, so what really happened in the summer of 1996? Except for the surprise exit of Italy (they were in the 'Group of Death' where eventual finalists Germany and the Czech Republic were also part of), the group stages was a predictable affair. Especially for the English in the group stages, after a draw against the Swiss, a win over the 'Auld Enemy' Scotland then beating the Dutch 4-1. Then the quarter-finals which I did mentioned about what happened to England through the case of a 'Psycho' by the name of Stuart Pearce. For the Germans, beating Croatia 2-1. In the semi-finals, it was the two which faced each other. In the end, a disappointment for the host nation as they lost to Germany...on penalties. Germany then faced surprise packages Czech Republic in the final at the Wembley. The extra time (it was 1-1 after the full 90 minutes) made all the difference...all thanks to Bierhoff. From then on, he was famously known as the man who scored the golden goal. Then a very famous photo of a certain Juergen Klinsmann (who was the captain then) lifting the trophy, with the Queen of England (Elizabeth II) looking on.
Overall, the tournament had the highest aggregate attendance in championship history (1,276,000) and the highest average per game of 41,158 for the revised 16 team format with 31 games. Only Germany had had a higher average attendance in championship history with an average of 56,656 in 1988 but only staged 15 games in an 8 team championship.
In fact, in an interview with German Football Federation technical director Matthias Sammer on DW-TV's Bundesliga Kick Off ahead of the second-half of the current Bundesliga season, the question of whether the German national team can recreate the spirit of 1996 come this June was raised. Why it seemed that in recent times, I had the occasional leap of faith? Hype don't get you anywhere. Calling yourself among the favourites and falling short eventually...that is going to be a major disappointment. I know, given many times England come under this.
No wonder Germany coach Jogi Loew is wary of the favourites tag. But still one part of me is quietly asking - will he be able to complete whatever his predecessor Juergen Klinsmann had never completed come this summer? All the more StarHub won the rights to broadcast the matches here on the cable, I will be watching closely. I just hope by then, I will still be cheering for Germany.
