1988 European Championships - West Germany

Brilliant Van Basten

(FILES) - Dutch forward Marco Van Basten jubilates as he holds aloft the European cup after his team defeated the Soviet Union 2-0 in the European Nations championship final, 25 June 1988 in Munich.

Having won the title in 1972 and 1980 West Germany played host to the 1988 European championships with Spain, Italy, Denmark, the USSR, Holland, England and Ireland taking part.

Title-holders France, however, failed to make it past the eliminators, and were the only major absentee at a tournament soured somewhat by battles between German and English hooligans.

In Group 1, West Germany and Italy sailed through to the semi-finals. As a finalist in 1984, Spain could only manage third place and packed its bags early. In Group 2, Valeri Lobanovski's USSR team led the table ahead of Holland, who they had beaten England 1-0 helping to eliminate Bobby Robson's team.

Dutch defender Ronald Koeman scores on a penalty kick as German goalkeeper Immel is caught wrong-footed during the European Nations soccer championship semi-final match between the Netherlands and Germany, 21 June 1988 in Hamburg. The Netherlands won 2-1.

The semi-finals proved an exciting affair and effectively saved the tournament. In Hamburg, the "Orange" led by the unforgettable Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit, who put on a show to beat Franz Beckenbauer's West Germany 2-1.

The Germans were considered a team still "under-construction", but a Ronald Koeman penalty and a strike from Van Basten were enought to overcome Lothar Matthaus's early penalty and took Holland to its first ever European championship final.

Van Basten shines

The other semi-final, featuring an impressive USSR against an equally composed Italian squad, provided the match of the tournament, with the two Soviet goals coming from Litovchenko and Protassov in the space of three second-half minutes.

The final between Holland and USSR, being staged in the Munich Olympic stadium, was thus qualified as a "revenge" match due to the Soviet victory in the first round.

Revenge or not, Rinus Michels' Dutch squad had more than a few tricks up its sleeve. Ruud Gullit opened their account on the half-hour mark, but it was his revered compatriot Van Basten who provided one of the most memorable goals in tournament history by scoring a spectacular right-foot volley (54) from a near-impossible angle inside the area.

Dutch Ruud Gullit (L) and Frank Rijkaard celebrate their victory (2-1) over Germany at the end of the European Nations soccer championship semi-final match between the Netherlands and Germany at Hamburg 22 June 1988.

Beyond the 2-0 victory of a Dutch masterclass containing the combined talents of Gullit, Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, and Koeman, this particular competition belonged to the giant Marco.

Not only had the AC Milan striker demonstrated his full array of technical wares, but he also provided proof of his terrifying efficiency.

Top scorer in the competition with five goals, Van Basten just about handed his countrymen the title on a plate.

Did you know? - 1988

An English fan is arrested by a German police officer during street fightings between hooligans prior to the start of the European Nations soccer championship match between the Netherlands and England, 15 June 1988 in Dusseldorf.

HOOLIGANS

3,500 West German police were given the task of making sure the final went off without a hitch. On June 25 in Munich, this brigade was backed up by a second unit of customs officers.

TV

Pictures of the final phase of the European nations championships were shown by 71 television stations. Some 3,400 journalists were accredited for the event, a new record for the competition.

SUDDEN DEATH

A Dutch tourist on holiday in Benidorm on the north east coast of Spain, died from a heart attack while watching Marco van Basten score his spectacular goal in the final against the USSR.

CONFUSION

Denmark was given a 1,000 Swiss franc fine by UEFA for having infringed on the rule regarding the wearing of shirts against Spain. The defender John Sivebaek, wearing the number 2 shirt, had in fact changed during the half-time interval, returning with the number 12 shirt. The same number 12 shirt was also later worn by substitute Lars Olsen.

BONUSES

Financially, the Italian players were among the most rewarded during the tournament. For reaching the final they would each have received approximately 85,000 euros. The English, Germans, Spanish, Dutch and Danish were not in the same price bracket, although all were within a reasonable range, offered between 36,000 and 42,000 euros to win the European title. The Irish were given 10,000 euros per match, while the money made from sales of a record they recorded with Irish rock group U2 allowed them to end their sojourn with a luxury holiday.

"BODYGUARDS"

Music lovers at heart, all the players from the Dutch squad had promised to attend the concert by American singer Whitney Houston beside the Olympic stadium in Munich. When the star from the film "Bodyguard" made her entry into the room she was given a huge ovation - much like the one given to Dutch forward Ruud Gullit when he also arrived on stage.

THEFT

Following German defender Manfred Kaltz, the victim of a theft during the 1980 tournament, it was the turn of the Italian substitute goalkeeper Stefano Tacconi to experience the same fate eight years later. The result was the theft of 29,000 euros worth of articles. "We simply must win this tournament," said a seemingly gutted Tacconi, "since the bonuses we have earned up until now will have to be used to buy all the things that were stolen from me."

ATTENDANCE

The 12 first-round matches attracted 729,998 spectators, namely a record average of 60,833 per match. The top attendance was registered at the Munich Olympic stadium for West Germany-Spain (72,308). During the 1984 competition in France, the average had been 40,027 per match.