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The 17th edition of the European Football Cup, which begins on June 14, witnessed special moments such as the draw witnessed in the 1968 edition to determine the identity of the finalist.
It also witnessed the Frenchman Michel Platini’s hat-trick in 1984, the wonderful goal scored by Dutchman Marco van Basten in the 1988 final, and the Italians’ tears in the 2000 edition, leading to the major surprise achieved by Denmark and Greece in the 1992 and 2004 editions.
The lottery determines the identity of the finalist in 1968
It was another era and a tournament sponsored by different rules. In 1968, during the semi-final match held in the southern city of Naples, neither the host Italian team nor its Soviet competitor were able to reach the net during the 90 minutes and then in the two extra halves (0-0).
Penalty kicks were not included in the tournament rules at that time, and therefore, the two teams resorted to drawing lots, which determined the identity of the finalist, through a coin that the referee threw into the air. Italy captain Giacinto Facchetti, who died in 2006, chose the obverse of the coin and was right in his choice.
In that era, there were no mobile phones or any modern means of communication, and the identity of the finalist was not known until Facchetti emerged from the locker room tunnel, running towards the field to celebrate with his teammates. Then the Italian fans realized that their team would play in the final match, which had a story. Others also because it consisted of two matches.
The law then forced the two sides of the final to play a rematch in the event of a tie, and this is what happened between Italy and Yugoslavia (1-1 after extra time). Two days later, the rematch was held, and Italy emerged victorious 2-1, winning its first continental title.
Platini’s two great trilogies in 1984
A goal with the right foot, another with the left, and a third with the head: In this way, Frenchman Michel Platini scored his wonderful hat-trick during France’s match with Yugoslavia (3-2) in the group stage of the 1984 edition, which “Blatosz” finished as the top scorer with 9 goals, a number that no one was able to match. Access it in a single copy.
The hat-trick against Yugoslavia was not Platini’s first, as he achieved the same thing in his country’s previous match in those finals against Belgium (5-0), becoming the first player to score two hat-tricks in the European Cup finals.
The Frenchman, number 10, will also remain in the minds of Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada, who felt great embarrassment during the final match after the ball passed through his hands and fell into the net after a free kick from Platini, who won the European title after his country won 2-0.
Van Basten and a dream goal in 1988
A dream goal, scored with great artistry, in a match that ultimately determined the identity of the 1988 champion. Van Basten was far from the camera’s focus because the coverage was not as good as it is today.
He was located on the right side of the Soviet team’s area when Arnold Mohren’s perfect cross ball reached him. He caught it directly and shot it with his right “flying” from a very narrow and difficult angle for it to “explode” past the giant goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev.
The manner in which this magnificent goal was scored has become Van Basten’s trademark, and similar goals have often been compared to the one scored on the night of 25 July 1988 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich (2-0 to the Netherlands).
The French turn the tables on their Italian neighbors in 2000
Italy was preparing to celebrate its second title in the continental championship after 1968 thanks to the goal scored by Marco Delvecchio, but Sylvain Wiltord surprised them with an equalizing goal in the fatal period of regular time and dragged them into an extension whose hero was later the son of the Italian League, David Trezeguet.
Trezeguet scored the golden goal that was used for the last time in the continental championship, and gave the French their second major title in a row after they were crowned world champions in 1998 on their home soil.
The Italians cried a lot and bemoaned their loss of the title that was so close to them, and they became the butt of a joke that spread around the world: “Do you know how to put the cap back on a bottle of champagne that has just been opened?” Ask the Italians!
But the men of the “Azzurri” succeeded in achieving their revenge in 2006 when they snatched from the “Roosters” a much more expensive title, after defeating them in the final of the World Cup in Germany on penalties.
Fry’s tragedies in 2004 and 2008
There are other moments in the history of the European Cup Finals, some of which are funny and some of which are sad, such as the case of Alexander Frei, one of the best strikers in the history of Switzerland, because this player experienced tragedies with the European Cup.
In 2004, during the finals held in Portugal, Fry committed a foolish act when he spat on England midfielder Steven Gerrard, so the European Union decided to suspend him, which prevented him from continuing the journey with his national team. Then misfortune befell him in the 2008 edition, which his country hosted in partnership with Austria, when he was injured. In the opening match, he missed the remainder of his country’s campaign.
Surprise Denmark and Greece in 1992 and 2004
The Danes were preparing themselves to watch the European Cup hosted by Sweden in 1992 in front of television screens, after their team failed to qualify for the finals, but they were fortunate when they were asked to participate as a result of the Yugoslavia war, which led to the exclusion of the latter’s team.
This was the beginning of the story for giant goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and his teammates in the national team, as they were able to reach the semi-finals of Group A alongside the host Sweden and at the expense of the French and English giants.
Then the surprise was when they reached the final match at the expense of the defending champion, the Dutch team, via penalty kicks (they tied 2-2 in regular and extra time) after Schmeichel was brilliant and blocked the kick of 1988 champion Marco van Basten.
The Danish surprise was complete in the final because the red and white team was able to outperform another champion, the German team, which two years ago was crowned champion of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, by defeating the “Manschaft” 2-0.
It is true that the Danes surprised everyone in 1992, but their team included at least players like Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup, while the 2004 champion, the Greek team, did not include any big stars in its ranks, and Angelos Charistias and Yorgos Karagounis were its most prominent players.
But this did not prevent a team coached by the inimitable German Otto Rehhagel from surprising everyone and qualifying, thanks to his defensive style, to the quarter-finals alongside host Portugal and at the expense of Spain and Russia, then overcoming France with a goal by Charisteas before facing the Czechs in the round of four and beating them by a single goal also after extra time.
Everyone thought that Greece’s achievement would stop at the final because it would face the host Portugal in the final match, but Rehhagel knew how to deal realistically with the Portuguese offensive tide, hoping to drag the host into extra time and penalty kicks, but Charisteas gave him something he had not expected by scoring the Portuguese net in the 57th minute. That was enough to give his country its first and last title.
