Euro 96 - England

A first for Bierhoff and Germany

Disappointing in regards to the number of goals (only 64 were scored, with an average of 2.06 per match), Euro-96 in England, the first to feature 16 teams in the final phase, threw up a number of dramatic finales.

German team captain Juergen Klinsmann celebrates with the trophy as British Queen Elizabeth II applauds after Germany defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 with a golden goal in extra time in the Euro 96 final at London's Wembley stadium, 30 June.

Undoubtedly, the most notable was on Sunday, June 30. More precisely, at 9.05pm, for a brief moment in time everything stopped.

Petr Kouba, the Czech Republic goalkeeper, failed to stop a shot by German striker Oliver Bierhoff in the 95th minute of the game, handing the substitute his second goal of the game and an historic victory for Germany.

For its part, a more historically-mature Germany won their third European title, an achievement that no other country had attained, taking advantage of the recently-introduced innovation of the "golden goal" ruling to get their hat-trick.

No serious incidents

German Oliver Bierhoff celebrates after scoring the first-ever golden goal in international soccer during the Euro96 final against the Czech Republic at London's Wembley stadium 30 June. Germany won 2-1 in extra time.

Although certainly not what could be described as an "outstanding" team, Germany's success did however reflect its ability to produce results when it most mattered in major competitions.

A special mention must also be awarded to the effectiveness of their defensive organisation (3 goals conceded in 6 matches).

Also not to forget the contribution of the experienced Matthias Sammer, Thomas Hassler, Andreas Moller and Jurgen Klinsmann.

Lady luck herself also played a cameo role, as Oliver Bierhoff will testify. Having come on as substitute in the 69th minute, the German striker's influence was felt after only four minutes when he scored the equaliser. A more decisive effort, however, was his strike in the opening minutes of sudden death overtime - although Kouba will feel he could have done better - to hand Germany victory and the European title.

French midfielder Zinedine Zidane (L) tries to control the ball under pressure from Czech forward Karel Poborsky during their semi-final match of the European Nations soccer championship at the Old Traford stadium in Manchester, 26 June 1996.

An impressive, although perhaps deflated, Czech Republic team was not to be criticised however.

Having strode defiantly through the various group matches, including a 2-1 win over fancied Italy, they beat Portugal in the quarters and then sent France packing in the semi-finals virtue of a penalty shoot-out.

By this time the men in the red, white and blue had won much respect for their efforts, and were widely regarded as the revelation of the tournament.

A team in evolution, France would have to wait two years for its moment of glory at the 1998 World Cup. For its part, England gave value for money throughout, especially their 4-1 destruction of the Netherlands, only to lose a dramatic penalty shoot-out to Germany in the semi-finals.

Beaten in competition, England can however take credit for the relative lack of external incidents during the course of the competition - most of which, sadly, was held in half-empty stadiums.

Did you know ? - 1996

ATTACK

Just before England's pool match against Russia the Irish Republican Army (IRA) claimed responsibility for a van-bomb that went off next to a shopping centre in the heart of Manchester. The bomb left 206 people injured and caused damage estimated at 100 million pounds (155 million dollars). The bomb was one of the most powerful ever used by the IRA. Miraculously noone was killed!

MARRIAGE (1)

Terry Venables, the England team coach who resigned after the elimination of his team in the semi-finals against Germany, and the whole of the England squad, were among the 150 guests invited to the wedding of one of the game's most exuberant players, Paul Gascoigne, and his fiance Sheryl Failes. The marriage was celebrated the day after the final in a castle in north London, at a total cost of 100,000 pounds, 10,000 of which was for the wedding dress, 30,000 for the meal and 20,000 for...the flowers.

Pavlina Vizkova, daughter of the former Czech soccer star Ladislav Vizek, puts a wedding ring on the finger of Czech forward Vladimir Smicer during their wedding ceremony at Prague's Old Town Hall 28 June 1996. Shortly after the ceremony the newlyweds flew to England where Smicer will play against Germany in the Euro96 finals.

MARRIAGE (2)

On the Friday before his team's final against Germany, the Czech Republic's Vladimir Smicer completed a return express journey between London and Prague to marry his fiancee Pavlina Vizkova, the daughter of the former international footballer, Ladislav Vizek. His club-mate, Pavel Novotny however preferred to suspend his wedding, initially planned for June 15 then postponed until the evening before the final, until June 29. He left for England just after the ceremony.

DEFEATISM

Representatives of the Croatian team did not initially hold out much hope for their team reaching the latter stages of the competition. In fact, they did not even expect Suker and co. to go beyond the pool stage. Sitting comfortably in the shadows of the 'giants' in Group C - Italy, Germany and Russia - the team was due to fly home just after the pool matches. In total, and because of their unexpected success, the team had to change their flight dates on three separate occasions.

GOLD (1)

The quarter-final stage of Euro-96 marked the adoption of the "golden goal" or "sudden death" rule in major international football events. The ruling comes into play when both sides are still tied at the end of regulation time : the game ends when, in overtime, a team scores a goal.

GOLD (2)

The introduction of the "golden goal" put England's electricity boards on permanent alert. Not knowing when the goal would be scored, industry controllers were obliged to follow the match closely in order to anticipate the sudden increase in the wattage of electricity used in around 20 million homes. The cause ? At the end of matches the British have a habit of putting the kettle on for a cup of tea !

BETS (1)

British betting took a tumble as soon as England went out of the tournament in the semi-finals. Thus the London bookmakers only took bets totalling 2 million pounds for the final between Germany and the Czech Republic. The match between England and Germany alone had attracted bets worth 5 million pounds.

BETS (2)

A shrewd punter came up trumps after betting on a German victory in the final. He had placed 122 pounds (around 980 FF) a few weeks before the start of the competition on 9 separate British sports events, including the winners of the three principle English football leagues, Scotland's Premier and first divisions, the names of the winners of two horse races, and the winner of the England Rugby Cup (XIII). Having bet on Germany for the ninth and final bet, the lucky man walked away with 201,069 pounds.

HAPPY (1)

England's elimination by Germany in the semi-finals made at least one Englishman happy. Roger Clark, a television retailer, promised to reimburse everyone who had bought a television from his shop if England won the tournament. Undoubtedly, Mr Clark gave a huge sigh of relief when Gareth Southgate missed his penalty - with good reason : 30,000 pounds (240,000 FF) were at stake...

HAPPY (2)

John Hudson, a South London pub landlord also gave a huge sigh of relief after England's 0-0 draw with Spain. In an attempt to liven up proceedings in the pub, and to entertain his habitual clientele, the generous Mr Hudson came up with the idea of serving free drinks for three minutes after every England goal. During the England - Holland encounter, he endured a veritable nightmare - since Shearer and Sheringham scored four goals between them, he had to serve a total of 200 pints. "I'm absolutely delighted that England won. But they could have gone easy on the goals front. One would have been enough, wouldn't it ?", he said.

TELEVISION

Around 24 million British viewers followed the England - Germany semi-final on the BBC and ITV television channels - the largest British audience for a major football event since the 1990 World Cup where 25.21 million British viewers watched the semi-final in which England were put out of the competition by Germany....on penalties.

SUMMIT

John Major and Jose Maria Aznar recorded a dramatic first at the European summit in Florence which took place during Euro-96. The British and Spanish prime ministers succeeded in convincing their 13 European Union counterparts to end the summit one Saturday early...on the day of England and Spain's quarter-final match.