Warsaw: As UEFA 2012 kicked off Friday with win of Russia over Czech Republic and draw between Poland and Greece, do you know some of the interesting facts from the history of the championship?
Did you know?
• Germany is the competition’s most successful side having lifted the trophy in 1972, 1980 (both as West Germany) and 1996, reaching the final in 1976, 1992 and 2008. Only Spain (1964, 2008) and France (1984, 2000) have also triumphed more than once.
• Only three sides have ever won the UEFA European Championship on home soil: Spain (1964), Italy (1968) and France (1984).
• No side has ever retained the trophy, and no player has ever appeared in two victorious UEFA European Championship finals. The Soviet Union (1960, 1964) and West Germany (1972, 1976) returned to the finals as holders only to lose, while Rainer Bonhof twice picked up a winners’ medal with West Germany (1972, 1980) but did not play in either tournament.
• Berti Vogts was a winner as a player with West Germany in 1972 and as coach of Germany in 1996, making him the only man to win as player and coach.
• Since 1980, when the final tournament expanded to become an eight-team event, the hosts or co-hosts have only failed to reach the semi-finals – or better – three times: Italy (1980), Belgium (2000) and Austria and Switzerland (2008).
• UEFA EURO 2012 is Germany’s 11th successive UEFA European Championship final tournament – they last missed out as West Germany in 1968. The Netherlands is taking part in the finals for the seventh successive edition.
• Germany is appearing in the finals for the eleventh time, one more than Russia. This is the ninth tournament for the Netherlands and Spain.
• Five teams have qualified for the finals with a perfect record, including Spain and Germany this time round. The others are France (1992 and 2004) and Czech Republic (2000).
• The Netherlands’ 6-1 defeat of Yugoslavia in the UEFA EURO 2000 quarter-finals is the biggest win in a final tournament. Three games have finished 5-0, most recently Sweden’s 2004 defeat of Bulgaria.
• Spain are seeking to retain the trophy having already become only the third team to hold the UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup at the same time. West Germany won the European title in 1972 and added the world crown two years later, while France won the 1998 World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000. No team has ever won three consecutive world and continental titles.
• A total of 15 players appeared in both those finals: for West Germany, Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeness and Gerd Müller played in both matches, while Fabien Barthez, Marcel Desailly, Bixente Lizarazu, Lilian Thuram, Didier Deschamps, Youri Djorkaeff, Patrick Vieira, Zinédine Zidane and Christophe Dugarry also achieved the feat for France.
• Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Cesc Fàbregas, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres played in Spain’s 2008 EURO final win and the 2010 World Cup success.
• Five players have appeared in European Cup and UEFA European Championship final victories in the same year:
Luis Suárez achieved the feat with FC Internazionale Milano and Spain in 1964, while in 1988 PSV Eindhoven quartet Hans van Breucklen, Ronald Koeman, Barry van Aerle and Gerald Vanenburg were all in the victorious Netherlands side.
• Wim Kieft and Nicolas Anelka narrowly missed out on this club. A Champion Clubs’ Cup finalist with PSV in 1988, Kieft was an unused substitute in the Netherlands’ European triumph, while Nicolas Anelka was similarly thwarted with France in 2000 after appearing in Real Madrid CF’s UEFA Champions League final. Anelka’s Madrid team-mate Christian Karembeu holds the unique position of being an unused substitute in both European Cup and European Championship final victories in the same year.
• In 2008 Germany’s Michael Ballack, then with Chelsea FC, became the first player to appear in European Cup and EURO final defeats in the same year.
• Four players have followed European Cup final defeat with EURO victory in the same year: Ignacio Zoco and Amancio Amaro (1964, Real Madrid CF and Spain) and Manny Kaltz and Horst Hrubesch (1980, Hamburger SV and West Germany).
• Lothar Matthas is the oldest player to appear in a UEFA European Championship finals; he was aged 39 years 91 days in Germany’s 3-0 loss to Portugal at UEFA EURO 2000.
• Belgium’s Enzo Scifo is the youngest player to feature; he was 18 years 115 days in the 2-0 defeat of Yugoslavia at the 1984 finals.
• Five players have appeared in four final tournaments: Lothar Matthäus, Peter Schmeichel, Alessandro Del Piero, Edwin van der Sar and Lilian Thuram.
• Austria’s Ivica Vastic is the oldest player to score having found the net in a 1-1 draw against Poland at UEFA EURO 2008 aged 38 years 257 days.
• Johan Vonlanthen was 18 years 141 days old when scoring in Switzerland’s 3-1 defeat by France at UEFA EURO 2004, making him the youngest player to strike in the finals.
• Russia’s Dmitri Kirichenko scored the fastest goal in a UEFA European Championship; his effort against Greece at UEFA EURO 2004 was timed at 67 seconds.
<p style=”text-align: justify;”>• There have been eight hat-tricks in a final tournament: Dieter Müller (1976), Klaus Allofs (1980), Michel Platini (1984, twice), Marco van Basten (1988), Sérgio Conceição (2000), Patrick Kluivert (2000) and David Villa (2008).</p>
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