The European Championships evolved from a four-team event to an eight team affair in 1980 and although that particular edition was somewhat tame, in 1984 and 1988, Europe was treated to two excellent tournaments in France and Germany respectively.
Prior to the reformatting, 1976 produced one of the competition’s outstanding moments, the famous penalty from Antonín Panenka in Belgrade. Everyone anticipated a re-run of the 1974 World Cup between West Germany and the Netherlands, but the Czechs pulled off a unique double.
Czechoslavakia 1976: Ivo Viktor, Anton Ondruš, Ján Pivarnik, Koloman Gögh, Jozef Čapkovič, Karol Dobiaš, Jozef Móder, Antonín Panenka, Marian Masny, Zdenêk Nehoda, Ján Švehlík, Ladislav Jurkemik, František Vesely.
Manager: Václav Ježek
Achievement: European Championship winners 1976, beating West Germany on penalties in the final after disposing of Netherlands in the semi-final and USSR in the last eight. Came through a qualifying group that included England, Portugal and Cyprus.
Key men: Zdenêk Nehoda, striker/winger who netted a goal every three games. Played for Dukla and then went to play in Belgium, France and Germany later in his career; Marián Masny, skilful winger, rated among the world’s best, from Slovan Bratislava; Antonin Panenka, attacking midfielder, famous for his jinked penalty that won the Euros but also his quality passing and dead-ball expertise.
Perception: Surprise winners of the Euros who beat both of the 1974 World Cup finalists. Very skilful in attack, but an inconsistent team.
West Germany 1980: Harald Schumacher, Uli Stielike, Berard Dietz, Karlheinz Förster, Manfred Kaltz, Hans-Peter Briegel, Bernd Schuster, Hansi Müller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Horst Hrubesch, Klaus Allofs, Berhard Cullmann.
Manager: Jupp Derwall
Achievement: European Championship winners 1980, beating Belgium in the final after meeting Netherlands, Greece and Belgium in the group phase. Also faced Turkey, Wales and Malta in the qualifying competition.
Key men: Hans-Peter Briegel, versatile defender who played for Kaiserslautern before going to Italy. Won 72 caps for West Germany; Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, flexible forward who possessed great speed, agility and goalscoring power. Scored 45 goals in 95 appearances for his country; Bernd Schuster, powerful and skilful midfielder who never quite lived up to his early promise. Played for Köln before moving to Spain and appeared for both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Won 21 caps for West Germany.
Perception: Not as compelling as other German teams of the period, but good enough to win the European Championship in Italy.
France 1984: Joël Bats, Patrick Battiston, Maxime Bossis, Yvon Le Roux, Jean-Francois Domerque, Luis Fernandez, Alain Giresse, Michel Platini, Bernard Lacombe, Bruno Bellone, Manuel Amoros, Bernard Genghini, Jean-Marc Ferreri, Dominique Rocheteau, Jean Tigana, Didier Six.
Manager: Michel Hidalgo
Achievement: European Championship winners 1984; World Cup semi-finals 1982 and 1986. In Euro 1984, in which they were the host nation, beat Denmark, Belgium, Yugoslavia and Portugal before overcoming Spain in the final.
Key men: Michel Platini, one of the outstanding players in the history of European football. Elegant, skilful, incisive and capable of scoring goals on the floor and in the air. A marvellous individual; Alain Giresse, stocky midfielder who dovetailed with Platini. An intelligent playmaker who was agile and capable of accelerating from midfield; Jean Tigana, one of the best box-to-box midfielders of his generation. Great pace and stamina, he was also an excellent team player.
Perception: A formidable team with an all-star midfield. Very unfortunate not to win the World Cup, they were the best team in Europe in the mid-1980s.
Netherlands 1988: Hans van Bruekelen, Berry van Aerle, Frank Rijkaard, Ronald Koeman, Adri van Tiggelen, Gerald Vanenberg, Jan Wouters, Arnold Muhren, Erwin Koeman, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, John Bosman, Wim Kieft.
Manager: Rinus Michels
Achievement: European Championship winners 1988, beating USSR in the final after winning 2-1 against hosts West Germany in the semi-final. Also faced England, Ireland and the Soviets in the group stage. Earlier came top in a qualifying group that featured Greece, Hungary, Poland and Cyprus
Key men: Frank Rijkaard, quick, strong and tenacious defender who read the game perfectly. Started with Ajax and went on to be a key member of the AC Milan team of the late-80s- early 1990s. 73 caps for the Netherlands; Ruud Gullit, skilful and versatile midfielder who was pivotal in the re-emergence of the Dutch in the late 1980s. Strong, extremely athletic and very good in the air. Could also play as a striker; Marco van Basten, one of the most complete and exciting strikers of his generation. Nicknamed “the swan of Utrecht” due to his elegance and intelligent attacking play. Capable of scoring spectacular goals, such as his volley in the Euro final of 1988.
Perception: The latter day exponents of modified Total Football. Wonderful technique and individualism. Short-lived success, but a brilliant team and worthy European champions.
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Photo: ALAMY
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