Winning a European Championship is not easy. Winning it at home already seems like a damn thing even if your name is Cristino Ronaldo, Matthaus, Gascoigne, Deco, Griezmann, Kane...It is another reading that leaves Spain-Germany, a match that has already remained in the anthology of the competition. The result confirms that since 1984 the organizing country of the Euro Cup has not won the competition. The curse of 40 years.
It did not seem like fodder for fortune tellers to think that France, in that 84, was going to close the alliance of the organizers with victory. In that final, in which the Gauls beat Spain 2-0, we had to wait for the second half to see goals. The first came with the absence of Platini that slipped under Arconada’s body. The second appeared when Bellone sentenced the match.
Goal by Mikel Merino (2-1) in Spain 2-1 Germany
From that moment, when the France of the aforementioned Platini, Giresse, Tigana or Bossis, among other figures, lifted the trophy, the curse of the organizer has imposed itself on everything. If the host is always given a higher pool of possibilities, the Euro Cup is made to blow up predictions.
Van Basten’s Revenge
In 1988 the cursed ferris wheel began. Germany set the fields and Holland took the glory. Those of Van Basten, Koeman and Gullit They eliminated the host (1-2) with Matthaus or Klinsmann in a match with the aroma of revenge for the ’74 World Cup and Russia awaited in the final. The match went down in legend for being the one with the famous shot of Van Basten from the side of the area against Dasaev.
Euro 1984 Final: Summary and goals of France 2-0 Spain
The beach and Wembley
In 1992 in Sweden a local victory was not expected despite its potential. But even less so from Denmark. The Danish team was caught from the beach for the sanction against Yugoslavia for the Balkan war. The Danes, with Schmeichel y Brian Laudrup, but without Michael Laudrup, they gave one of the surprises in history by defeating Germany in the final 2-0.
In 1996 England hoped to win again 30 years after the ’66 World Cup. With Gascoigne and Shearer In command he had a team capable of anything. The dream died in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals against Germany at Wembley. The final ruling was made by Southgate, the current disputed coach. In the final Germany beat the Czech Republic (2-1).
In 2000 the competition was divided between Belgium and Holland. Those in orange had a high school selection with the brothers De Boer, Kluivert etc. In the semifinal a penalty shootout eliminated them against Italy, which would later succumb to Zidane and Henry’s France in the final.
This was the penalty shootout that led Italy to glory thanks to Donnarumma
In 2004 the surprise was huge. Portugal had prepared everything to achieve a great victory for its team. The Portuguese team seemed solvent with Figo, Deco, Carvalho and a young promise who was going very fast, Cristiano Ronaldo. Greece, without glamour, defeated the Portuguese in the first phase and in the final, an unexpected outcome with a goal from Charisteas rewarded Greek defensive football under the direction of the German Rehhagel.
Greece 2004 national team: More with less
In 2008 the Euro went to Austria and Switzerland. The two organizers were not on the list of candidates. The subsequent champion did not appear in the front row either, Spain, which under the leadership of Luis Aragonés They beat Germany in the final with a goal from Fernando Torres.
Nobody expected Eder
In 2012, with Spain installed on the world football podium, The competition went to Poland and Ukraine. The prediction came true and Del Bosque’s players gave their rivals no option. In the final at the kyiv Olympic Stadium, Spain put on a display with a 4-0 victory over Italy.
In 2016 France could repeat the title achieved in 1984. The French, with players like Griezmann, Pogba, Kanté and Giroud, They were aiming high in the bets. Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, injured in the first minutes of the match. In extra time a surprising shot from Eder from outside the area broke the score. Another surprise in the bag.
Eder’s goal to become Portugal’s national hero
Donnarumma Day
In 2020 the competition was postponed for a year due to the pandemic. The event was held in 2021 at various European venues until the final phase in England. The local team once again appeared with a chance of success. Thus, until the final. The England-Italy match at Wembley appeared with a local forecast. However, the match (1-1) went to penalties and the errors of Rashford and Saka They made Italy champion, with Donnarumma as hero.
Mikel Merino’s goal, and his detour to the pennant, They sealed another four years of barrier between the organizer and the champion title. The Euro Cups are like that.
