Euro 2008 Tournament Schedule

The UEFA European Championship has turned into a massive success story as it enjoys the status of one of the world's major sporting events - although the championship's creation five decades ago was more difficult than might be expected.

The first idea for a pan-European football tournament was proposed by the French Football Federation's Henri Delaunay in 1927, however it was not until 1958 that the tournament was started. In honour of Delaunay, the trophy awarded to the champions is named after him. The 1960 Tournament, held in France, had 4 teams competing in the finals, out of 17 that entered the competition. It was won by the Soviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2-1 in a tense final in Paris. Spain withdrew from its quarter-final match against the USSR due to political protests. Of 17 teams that entered the qualifying tournament, notable were absentees West Germany and Italy. Spain held the next tournament, in 1964 which saw an increase in entries to the qualification tournament, with 29 entering; however, Greece withdrew after being drawn against Albania, whom they were still at war with. The hosts beat the holders the Soviet Union 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.

Championships for national associations had already begun in other continents by the time the idea of a European competition for national teams began to reach fruition in the 1950s. There were various reasons for the comparatively late emergence of a championship on the European continent. For example, in addition to differing opinions and interest circles throughout Europe, there were fears in some quarters that such a competition might threaten the status of the FIFA World Cup.

At the time that UEFA was born, in 1954, the impetus for a European championship was coming from the distinguished French sports newspaper L'Equipe, which proposed a competition with home-and-away matches to be played in midweek in the evening. Adding to the French drive for such a tournament was Henry Delaunay, first UEFA General Secretary and former French national association general secretary. In 1927, Delaunay had already submitted a proposal to FIFA, in conjunction with the great Austrian official Hugo Meisl, for the creation of a European cup, to run concurrently with the World Cup, which would involve a qualifying competition every two years.

Delaunay wrote after UEFA's inaugural Basle assembly in 1954 that the idea was for a competition open to all of the European associations. A three-member committee, he said, had been entrusted with examining this difficult problem. Delaunay insisted that this competition should not lead to an infinite number of matches. Nor should it harm the World Cup, and participants should not always be forced to meet the same opponents in the same group.

Following Henry Delaunay's death in 1955, his son Pierre joined the French journalists in the drive towards initiating the European Nations' Cup. Pierre Delaunay was subsequently appointed secretary of the European Nations' Cup Organising Committee, and was therefore able to observe at close quarters the blossoming of the competition that his father had wanted. After agreement had been reached that the championship would be founded, the new competition was named the Henri Delaunay Cup in recognition of his outstanding services in the cause of European football.

The inaugural tournament was entered by around half of UEFA's member associations, 17 in total, and one more than the minimum required. The Republic of Ireland were eliminated by Czechoslovakia in a qualifying play-off (the two teams met after the drawing of lots). The first championship match proper was held on 28 September 1958 in Moscow's Central Stadium - the USSR beating Hungary 3-1, with the home side's Anatoli Ilyin scoring the first goal after four minutes - and the inaugural competition took place over 22 months between 1958 and 1960. From small acorns do great oaks rise...

The tournament format stayed the same for the 1968 edition. Italy were the hosts and champions: for the first and only time a match was decided on coin toss (the semi-final against the Soviet Union) and the final went to replay, after the match against Yugoslavia finished 1-1. Italy won the replay 2-0. More teams entered this tournament (31), a testament to its burgeoning popularity. Belgium held the 1972 edition, which West Germany won, beating the USSR 3-0 in the final in Brussels, this tournament would provide a taste for things to come, as the German side contained many of the key members of the 1974 FIFA World Cup Champions. The 1976 tournament would be the last in which only four teams took part in the final tournament, and the last in which the hosts had to qualify themselves, Czechoslovakia beat Germany in the newly introduced penalty shootout, with Antonín Panenka's famous chipped shot.

Eight teams took part in the next tournament hosted by Italy. It involved a group stage, with the winners of the groups going on to contest the final, and the runners-up playing in the third place play-off. West Germany won their second European title by beating Belgium 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. France won their first major title at home in the 1984 tournament, with their captain Michel Platini scoring an amazing 9 goals in just 5 games, including the opening goal in the final, in which they beat Spain 2-0. The format changed also, with the top two in each group going through to a semi-final stage, instead of the winners of each group going straight into the final. The third place play-off was also abolished.

In Euro 88 held in West Germany, the Netherlands pulled off one the the greatest moments in their sporting history, when they beat the hosts (traditional rivals) 2-1 in the semi-finals, which sparked vigorous celebrations back home. The Netherlands went on to win the tournament, beating the USSR 2-0 at the Olympia Stadion in Munich, a match in which Marco Van Basten scored one of the most memorable goals in football history, a spectacular volley over the keeper from the right wing. UEFA Euro 1992 was held in Sweden, and was won by Denmark, in one of the most surprising outcomes ever. Denmark were only in the tournament because of the withdrawal of Yugoslavia due to the wars of yugoslav secession. However, they produced a shock, beating World Champions Germany 2-0, having beaten holders the Netherlands on penalties in the semi-finals. This was the first tournament in which a unified Germany took part and also the first major tournament to have the players' names printed on their backs.

Euro 96, held in England, would see the number of teams taking part double to 16. The hosts, in a replay of the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-final, were knocked out on penalties by Germany, who would go on to win in the final 2-1 against the newly born Czech Republic thanks to the first golden goal ever in a major tournament, scored by Oliver Bierhoff. This was Germany's first title as a unified nation. Euro 2000 was the first tournament to be held by two countries, Netherlands and Belgium. France (reigning World Champions) were favourites to win, they lived up to expectations when they beat Italy 2-1 after extra time, in an amazing come back from 1-0 down: Sylvain Wiltord equalised on the very last minute of the game and David Trezeguet scored the winner in extra time. Like in Euro 92, Euro 2004 produced an upset no one could predict. Greece, who had only qualified for one World Cup (1994) and one European championship (1980) before, beat the hosts Portugal 1-0 in a dramatic final (after having beaten them also in the opening game) to win a tournament that they had been given odds of 150-1 to win before it began. On their way to the final they also managed to beat holders France as well as dark horses the Czech Republic with a silver goal, a rule which replaced the previous golden goal in 2003 before being abolished itself shortly after this tournament.

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