Euro 92 - Sweden

The Gatecrashers

Danish forward Brian Laudrup kisses the Cup after Denmark defeated Germany 2-0 in the European Nations soccer championship final, 26 June 1992 in Gothenburg. It is the first-ever European title for Denmark.

Denmark had finished 2nd in the Group 4 eliminators but were subsequently called into the equation after Yugoslavia, who had finished first in the same group, were excluded because of their civil war.

Then in an amazing twist and against all the odds, the Danes went on to win the tournament beating world champions Germany 2-0 in the final.

The tournament took place in four principal cities (Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo and Norrkoping), and Euro-92 was the last time the competition utilised a a format of eight teams in the final phase.

After bringing major changes to European Cup competitions, notably with a new-format Champions League, UEFA decided to spend more time and energy on the game at national level expanding the tournament at Euro-96 in England, when 16 teams took part.

For the eighth edition of the European championships in Sweden the favourites were, predictably, Germany, title-holders Holland, England and Michel Platini's France. Denmark, most of whose players had already gone on holiday and who had to called back from beaches around the world ten days before the start of the competition, were hardly mentioned.

Spontanaeity and enthusiasm

In Group 1, France and England failed to live up to expectations and were eliminated in the first round as Sweden and Denmark booked semi-final places from the same pool.

In Group 2 Holland and Germany lived up to most people's expectations and qualified, in that order, for the semi-finals, courtesy of a pool victory by the Dutch 3-1 over their bitter rivals.

Danish midfielder Kim Christofte jubilates after scoring the winning penalty of the shoot-out session during the European Nations soccer championship semi final match between the Netherlands and Denmark, 22 June 1992 in Gothenburg. Denmark defeated the Netherlands 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out after the two teams were tied at 2 at the end of extra time.

The tournament late-comers, coached by Richard Moller-Nielsen, managed to mark their progression in style, beating Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit's classy Dutch squad in a classic semi-final.

After the match finished 2-2 after extra-time, the Danes finally prevailed winning a dramatic penalty shoot-out 5-4.

Germany, coached by Berti Vogts, fell briefly under the spell of an exciting Swedish team but secured its place in the final as goals from Thomas Haessler and a brace if goals from Hans-Peter Riedle did the job in a 3-2 win.

German midfielder Mathias Sammer (L) is tackled by Danish midfielder John Jensen during the European Nations soccer championship final, 26 June 1992 in Gothenburg. Denmark defeated Germany 2-0 to earn its first-ever European title.

With nothing to lose, Denmark came into the final against Germany and just played their natural game, one which was characterised by spontanaeity, simplicity and enthusiasm - a formula which ultimately had resounding success.

Against all expectations, Brian Laudrup and Co. supported by a certain Peter Schmeichel, who was brilliant in goal throughout the tournament, went on to hand Denmark its first ever European title.

A devastating strike from John Jensen after 18 minutes only his second goal in 48 internationals and a second-half insurance marker from Kim Vilfort guaranteed Denmark's place in footballing history and sparked wild celebrations by Danes around the world.

Danish players celebrate their victory after defeating Germany 2-0 in the Euro92 soccer championship final 26 June 1992 in Gothenburg, earning their first-ever European title.

Did you know ? - 1992

BLACK MARKET

With UEFA having only allocated 2,700 seats each to Denmark and Germany for the final, supporters of both teams had to start hunting for tickets around Gothenburg. On the black market a ticket could sell for 1000 Swedish Krona (around 1000 FF/80 pounds sterling). Almost 6,000 Danes made the journey to Sweden, with around 3,000 Germans also arriving in the Swedish capital for the final.

GENEROUS

Danish supporters were handing out cans of Danish beer to passers-by in the capital's main streets, even if, with the sunny weather, some of them were not just content to give their beer away....however no ugly incidents were recorded between the Danes and their German counterparts as a result of their joviality.

HELLO

The Euro-92 necessitated a major effort on the part of the Swedish telecommunications industry. 833 plugs, 6,200 metres of cable, 3,000 telephone lines, without counting fax machines, were installed, allowing the media to make around 17,000 calls around the world from the main press centre in Gothenburg - installed in a former textile factory near Ullevi stadium.

REWARDS

As well as basking in glory, the Danish players also took the chance to lavish themselves with gold as well - winning 225,000 Danish Krone (200,000 FF/25,000 pounds sterling) for their route through Euro-92, as well as a bonus of 75,000 Krone (67,500 FF/8,400 pounds sterling) for their success against Germany. The Danish travel agent "Spies" and the sports company "Hummel", the official team sponsor, also offered the team and their entourage a free week's holiday in the European destination of their choice.

NORDIC CHARM

While the Stockholm public bore witness to an opening ceremony that had all the charm and fun of the village fair, spectators in Malmo were given something of a treat in the shape of lovely young, and somewhat underdressed, Swedish women, whose choreography routine momentarily took the breath away from the Danish and English supporters.

Picture taken 05 June 1992 in Le Touquet, south of France, of the Euro-92 soccer championship mascot, "Bernie" the rabbit, that was created by an Italian jeweller. The competition will start 10 June in Sweden.

RABBIT

A box containing a Euro-92 mascot in gilded enamel and fine gold was received by the French team players and coach. The 15-centimetre long mascot represented a rabbit, called "Bernie", and had been made by an Italian jeweller.

PRIDE

The German daily newspaper "Bild" printed a rather presumptious headline on the day of the final : "Sorry Danes, it's us who are going to win today". It went on, "undoubtedly, the Danes' style of football, their combative nature and their amusing declarations have proved a breath of fresh air to Europe, but it will be Germany who wins the trophy today," affirmed the daily tabloid. 83 per cent of Germans were convinced of their team's victory according to a survey conducted by Cologne daily "The Express", therefore leaving 83 per cent of Germans crying into their beers.

INSPIRATION

The Community of Independent States (CIS) team, staying in a picturesque village called Hindas, 35 km from Gothenburg, stayed in the same hotel used by the famous Brazil team - in which a 17-year-old "kid" by the name of Pele made his debut - who won the World Cup in 1958. "I hope that this will inspire us as much as it did the Brazilians," said the CIS national team coach, Anatoli Bychovets.

ANTI-DRUG

As well as their traditional number and badge, the German players had also attached another badge to their traditional white shirts with the black and yellow cuffs, the inscription "drugs don't work".