All european football championships table. A Brief History of the European Football Championships
European Football Championship(EURO, or simply European Championship) is the main competition of the national teams of European countries, held under the auspices of UEFA. The competition is held every 4 years, since 1960, takes place between the world championships. Initially, the tournament was called the European Nations Cup, in 1968 the name was changed to the European Football Championship.
What is interesting in the very first two finals was hosted by our then USSR national team. The first final was held in Paris between the USSR and Yugoslavia. The USSR national team celebrated the victory by scoring the winning goal in extra time. In 1964, the competition was spoiled by political activity: the Greek team refused to play with the Albanian team. The final part of the tournament was held in Spain, where the Spanish team won its first championship, beating the USSR 2-1 in the final. Further, for our team, the situation was less successful.
Winners
1960 - USSR
1964 - Spain
1968 - Italy
1972 - Germany
1976 - Czechoslovakia
1980 - Germany
1984 - France
1988 - Netherlands
1992 - Denmark
1996 - Germany
2000 - France
2004 - Greece
2008 - Spain
As you can see, most often the champions were the Germans. Spaniards and France won the Cup twice.
European Championship 2012
April 18, 2007 UEFA decided to hold Euro 2012 in two countries: Ukraine and Poland. Croatia/Hungary and Italy were also contenders.
The 2012 European Football Championship will be the 14th championship. The tournament will start on June 8, 2012 and end on July 1, 2012. This will be the third tournament in the history of European national football championships, hosted by two countries. The first was the 2000 European Championship held in Belgium and the Netherlands, the second was the 2008 European Championship held in Austria and Switzerland.
EURO 2012 is the last European Championship, in the final round of which 16 teams will take part. Starting in 2016, this number will be increased to 24.
You can read more about the history of the championship and its winners on the pages of Wikipedia (source).
On the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the oldest Russian insurer - the title sponsor of the Russian Football Championship ROSGOSSTRAKH - a well-known journalist Leonid Parfenov tells about memorable event 1960: victory of the USSR national team at the European Football Championship. More about it famous success– in the material from the heading “95 years with football, 95 years with the country”. The main title in the history of national football was won in 1960. It was the first European football championship in history. If the world championships have been held since 1930, then the tournament of European teams had to wait another 30 years.
How the Euro was born
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was founded in 1954. Three years later, at the congress, it was decided to hold a tournament among the best European teams. However, 13 out of 30 UEFA members refused to participate in the European Championship. Among them were Germany, England, Italy and other famous teams.
The refusal was explained by the heavy workload on the players during club competitions. As a result, only 17 teams took part in the selection for the first Euro. To leave 16 teams in the preliminary round, the Czechoslovaks and the Irish had to identify the strongest. Such was the team from Czechoslovakia.
How was the selection for Euro 1960
With 16 teams, a full-fledged qualifying tournament has already begun. It is noteworthy that the host of the competition, France, was not guaranteed a place at the Euro - the team participated in the selection on an equal basis with everyone else. 16 teams split into pairs and played one match at home and away. After that, 8 teams remained, which were again divided into pairs: France - Austria, USSR - Spain, Portugal - Yugoslavia, Romania - Czechoslovakia.
However, one of these quarter-finals was not destined to take place. The Spaniards refused to go to the Soviet Union. For this, they were awarded defeat and a fine of 31,500 Swiss francs. The proposal of the Spaniards to play the match on a neutral field was rejected by UEFA. There are two versions of why Spain abandoned the play-offs with the USSR. The first one is politics. The Spaniards announced that they would not go to a "communist power". The second version is the fear of losing. Spain coach Elenio Herrera was present at the Luzhniki stadium and saw how the Soviet footballers defeated the Polish national team with a score of 7:1. Shortly after this game, the Spaniards refused to go to the USSR.
How the USSR national team took the first title
As a result, three teams from the communist countries came to the final stage of Euro 1960 in France: Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the USSR. In the first semi-final, the French team unexpectedly lost to the Yugoslavs - 4: 5, and the USSR team confidently won the Czechoslovaks - 3: 0. Our team excelled Victor Monday and twice Valentin Ivanov.
The final match was held on July 10 in Paris at the Parc des Princes stadium (by the way, at the upcoming Euro 2016, the final will also be held on July 10 and also at the Parc des Princes). The match was officiated by an English referee Arthur Edward Ellis. Apparently, he is less tired of club football than his fellow footballers. The meeting turned out to be very tense. Leonid Parfyonov told more about it in the video of the Rosgosstrakh company:
The main time ended in a draw. Galich scored against the Yugoslavs in the 43rd minute, and Metreveli scored against us in the 49th. There were two more halves of 15 minutes. And now, 7 minutes before the end of extra time, Viktor Monday scored the winning goal with his head. Perhaps it was the most important goal in the history of Soviet football. The USSR national team, after two hours of the game, found the strength to make a lap of honor around the stadium. Best goalkeeper tournament was recognized, of course, Lev Yashin, who played in the usual cap. Then it was allowed for goalkeepers.
Midfielder Igor Netto, who participated in that final, published the book "My Football" in 1974. This is how he recalls what happened after winning Euro 1960:
“The European Football Federation hosted a gala reception in a hall located high on the Eiffel Tower. We, Soviet football players, were awarded gold medals of the European Cup winners, our fellow rivals - Yugoslav football players - silver. Of course, we warmly congratulated each other. Downstairs, Paris was noisy, lived its ebullient life. It was visible from here all at a glance, the stone masses of houses, wide green avenues, the sharp spiers of the Notre Dame Cathedral with its frozen chimeras, as if guarding time ... We were unusually good.
The European Football Championship has been held under the auspices of UEFA every four years since 1960. Initially, the tournament was called the European Nations Cup (European Cup), and in 1968 the name was changed to the European Football Championship.
The history of the performance of the USSR / Russia team in the final tournaments of the European Championships began with the very first draw in 1960. The debut European Cup ended with the victory of the USSR team. Three times the Soviet team became vice-champion of Europe - in 1964, 1972 and 1988. In 1980 and 1984, the USSR national team failed to qualify for the final stage of the competition.
At the 1992 European Championship, the USSR national team played under the flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States (by that time the Soviet Union had already ceased to exist).
In recent history, the Russian team has qualified for the finals four times - in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012. In 2008, the Russian team won the bronze medals of the European Championship.
1960 European Cup (France)
In the first draw of the European Cup, the Soviet team entered the rank of champion Olympic Games Melbourne (1956). The tournament path to victory included an uncompromising rivalry with the teams of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, a boycott of the Spanish government, and ended with a tense final match against the most principled opponent at that time - Yugoslavia.
During the final match, the Soviet team led by Gavriil Kachalin was inferior to the Yugoslavs, but still pulled out a victory in extra time with a score of 2:1. The decisive goal seven minutes before the end was scored by 23-year-old Victor Monday.
1964 European Cup (Spain)
On the way to the European Cup final, the USSR national team, led by Konstantin Beskov, broke the resistance of the Italians, Swedes and Danes. In the final of the tournament, the USSR team met with the Spanish team. Four years earlier, the Franco government had banned the Spanish national team from playing against the USSR, but this time politics gave way to football. The decisive match of the tournament, held at the stadium "Santiago Bernabeu" in Madrid and gathered more than 120 thousand spectators, ended with a minimal advantage in favor of Spain (2:1).
1968 European Championship (Italy)
The format of the competition has undergone changes, for the first time a qualifying tournament was held, according to the results of which the participants in the playoffs were determined. At the qualifying stage, the USSR national team was ahead of Austria, Greece and Finland and reached the quarterfinals, in which they beat Hungary. In the goalless semi-final confrontation between the Soviet team and Italy, the strongest was determined by a simple lot with the help of a coin (a penalty shoot-out had not yet been used at that time). Fortune smiled at the hosts of the decisive part of the championship and did not allow the USSR national team to play in the final for the third time in a row. In the match for third place, the team of Mikhail Yakushin lost to the team of England (0:2).
1972 European Championship (Belgium)
In the qualifying tournament, the USSR national team took first place in the group with Spain, Northern Ireland and Cyprus and advanced to the playoffs of the competition.
In the quarter-finals, the team of Alexander Ponomarev confidently defeated Yugoslavia, in the semi-finals they defeated Hungary with a minimum score. However, in decisive match European Championship, Soviet football players lost to the German team with a score of 0:3.
1976 European Championship (Yugoslavia)
IN qualifying round the USSR national team successfully opposed Ireland, Turkey and Switzerland and took first place. In the quarter-finals, Soviet footballers led by Valery Lobanovsky lost to Czechoslovakia after two meetings.
1980 European Championship (Italy)
The USSR national team, led by Konstantin Beskov, participated in the qualifying tournament together with Hungary, Greece and Finland and could not qualify
1984 European Championship (France)
Valery Lobanovsky's wards took second place in the qualifying group along with Portugal, Poland and Finland and failed to qualify for the decisive stage of the competition.
European Championship 1988 (FRG)
In the qualifying tournament for Euro-88 in the group with France, East Germany, Norway and Iceland, the USSR team took first place.
In the final tournament, Lobanovsky's team confidently won the group stage, and left no chance for the Italians in the semi-finals. In the final of the tournament, the USSR national team lost to Holland with a score of 0:2.
1992 European Championship (Sweden)
The USSR national team, which was received by Anatoly Byshovets, the victor of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, qualified for the finals through a qualifying tournament in which they met with the teams of Italy, Norway, Hungary and Cyprus. In the decisive stage of the competition, the team was already playing under the flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States, by that time the Soviet Union had already ceased to exist. At the end of the group stage final tournament the CIS team finished fourth, behind Scotland, Germany and the Netherlands, and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
1996 European Championship (England)
In 1996, the Russian national team for the first time in history took part in the continental championship. The opponents of our team in the group in qualifying round were the national teams of Scotland, Greece, Finland, Faroe Islands and San Marino. During qualifying games our team took first place in the group.
In the final stage of the tournament, the teams of Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic became the rivals of the Russian team. Having scored only one point during the group stage of the tournament, the Russian team, led by Oleg Romantsev, which meant the end of the fight for the championship medals.
European Championship 2000 (Belgium, Netherlands)
The qualifying tournament for Euro 2000, in which France, Ukraine, Iceland, Armenia and Andorra became our rivals, was dramatic for the Russian team. After three defeats at the start of the qualification, Oleg Romantsev replaced Anatoly Byshovets as the head of the coaching staff. Our team won six victories in a row, including on the road over the current world champions of the French. However, for the first place in the group, a home victory over Ukraine in the final match was not enough: the guests answered the goal of Valery Karpin with an accurate shot by Andriy Shevchenko.
European Championship 2004 (Portugal)
IN group stage qualifying tournament European Championship rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Switzerland, Georgia, Ireland and Albania. Before decisive autumn games Valery Gazzaev left the post of coach of the national team, he was replaced by Georgy Yartsev. With 14 points, the Russian players took second place in the group. In the play-offs, the Russian team met with the Wales team. The first match between the teams in Moscow ended in a goalless draw. In the second match, our players managed to win with a score of 0:1 and got a ticket to the final part of the European Championship.
At the group stage of the final part of the tournament, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Spain, Portugal and Greece. scoring three points, Russian team took fourth place in her group and finished the fight for championship medals.
European Championship 2008 (Austria, Switzerland)
In the group stage of the qualifying round of the European Championship, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Croatia, England, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra. The Russian team finished the qualifying round of the 2008 European Championship in 2nd place in their group, gaining 24 points.
Second place gave the Russian team, led by the Dutchman Guus Hiddink, the right to directly qualify for the finals of the championship. At the group stage of the final part of the tournament, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Spain, Sweden and Greece. Having scored six points, our team took the second place in the group and advanced to the playoffs of the tournament. In the 1/4 finals, the Russian team defeated Holland in extra time - 3:1. In the semi-finals, opponents Russian football players became the Spaniards, the meeting ended in their favor - with a score of 3:0. Thus, the Russian team won the bronze medals of the European football championship.
European Championship 2012 (Ukraine, Poland)
In the group stage of the qualifying round of the European Championship, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Ireland, Armenia, Slovakia, Macedonia and Andorra. Having scored 23 points, the Russian team took first place in the group and qualified for the final part of the championship. At the group stage of the final part of the tournament, the rivals of the team of Dick Advocaat were the teams of the Czech Republic, Greece and Poland. Having scored 4 points, the Russian team took third place in the group and left the European championship.
Prepared on the basis of materials from open sources
The European Football Championship, also known as the EURO, is the main competition of the Union of European Football Associations, which determines the best team in Europe. The European Championship is held every four years in even years, between the Football World Cups.
All teams that are part of UEFA this moment there are 55 of them) other than the host country of the EURO, qualify, and best teams groups compete with each other in the finals. At the moment, 24 teams are participating in the final stage.. The winner of the European Championship is given the right to participate in the next Confederations Cup.
Table of winners of the European Football Championships by years
| Year | Venue (country) | Winner | 2nd place | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | France | USSR | Yugoslavia | 2:1 add. time |
| 1964 | Spain | Spain | USSR | 2:1 |
| 1968 | Italy | Italy | Yugoslavia | 1:1 2:0 replay |
| 1972 | Belgium | Germany | USSR | 3:0 |
| 1976 | Yugoslavia | Czechoslovakia | Germany | 2:2 (5:3) on penalties |
| 1980 | Italy | Germany | Belgium | 2:1 |
| 1984 | France | France | Spain | 2:0 |
| 1988 | Germany | Netherlands | USSR | 2:0 |
| 1992 | Sweden | Denmark | Germany | 2:0 |
| 1996 | England | Germany | Czech | 2:1 golden goal |
| 2000 | Belgium and the Netherlands | France | Italy | 2:1 golden goal |
| 2004 | Portugal | Greece | Portugal | 1:0 |
| 2008 | Austria and Switzerland | Spain | Germany | 1:0 |
| 2012 | Ukraine and Poland | Spain | Italy | 4:0 |
| 2016 | France | Portugal | France | 1:0 before. time |
| 2020 | ? | ? |
The first European Football Championship in history took place in 1960. The winner of that EURO was the team of the Soviet Union, which defeated Yugoslavia in the final. A total of 15 European Championships were held in 2016.
Spain and Germany are the most titled teams of the tournament (3 wins each). Note that Germany has won two EUROs like Germany. The Spanish national team is the only team that managed to win the competition 2 times in a row (in 2008 and 2012). In addition to the Spaniards and Germans, the previously mentioned USSR national team, Italy, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Denmark and Portugal also won once at the European Championship. France has 2 wins.
It is worth noting that the USSR national team, in addition to winning in 1960, played three more times after that in the finals of the European Championship (1964, 1972, 1988), but lost all of them.
The last European Championship was held in France in 2016. In the final at the Stade de France, the hosts of the tournament, the French, and the Portuguese national team met. The winner of the match was the “European Brazilians”, who managed to put the squeeze on the French only in extra time. The score of that final is 1:0.
3 of the 15 final draws of the European Championship were held in two states at once. For example, in 2000 EURO was hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, in 2008 by Austria and Switzerland, in 2012 by Ukraine and Poland.
In 2020, the European Championship will be held in 12 countries at 12 stadiums. This is described in detail.
Russian team at the European Football Championships
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian national team for almost 20 years could not overcome the group stage of the final parts of the European Football Championship. Only in 2008, the Russians finally managed to leave the group, and moreover, they left the race only at the semi-final stage, losing to the future champions, the Spaniards. So Russia and Türkiye automatically received the bronze medals of Euro 2008.
The European Football Championship (until 1968 it was called the European Nations Cup) is main tournament among the national teams of the old world, which has been held under the auspices of UEFA since 1960. Henri Delaunay founded the competition, and the USSR national team became the first European champion.
European Football Championship: The Way of the Winners
Like the World Cup, the European Championship is held every 4 years. During its history, the rules of the final part of the tournament have changed several times. To a greater extent, this concerned the number of participating teams. UEFA is trying to make the competition more interesting and popular, and on last championship Europe 2016, the organization decided to increase the number of national teams to 24 teams.
To get into the final part of the tournament, the European teams qualify. The choice of the country in which the Cup will be held is determined by lot. In 2000, 2008 and 2012, the championship was hosted by two countries, but then there were only 16 participating teams.
The last European Championship was held in France, and in 2020 the tournament is planned to be held in 13 European countries, since in 2020 the championship will turn 60 years old.
All European football champions by year
1960 - USSR
1964 - Spain
1968 - Italy
1972 - Germany
1976 - Czechoslovakia
1980 - Germany
1984 - France
1988 - Netherlands
1992 - Denmark
1996 - Germany
2000 - France
2004 - Greece
2008 - Spain
2012 - Spain
2016 - Portugal
Germany and Spain won the most European titles (3 times each). In addition, the Red Fury managed to become the first team in history to win the tournament twice in a row (in 2008 and 2012).
