Euro-1984 football tournament

The football tournament Euro 1984 is a championship, which attracted a lot of attention for a number of different reasons. There you could see both the "shot" beginners, and an incredible hail of goals, but most often it is characterized as a benefit of the French team, which was also the hostess at the same time. So, if you are interested in this tournament, then this material is for you. Here you will find all the necessary information about the Euro-1984 - which teams participated, who scored the most goals, who left the group and how he played in the playoff games, and much more.

The participants

Start reviewing Euro-1984 is necessary with the participants who qualified to participate in the final part of this tournament. At that time, after the qualification stage, a large percentage of teams were being eliminated, and then only those teams that took first place passed. In total there were seven groups, and from each of them the strongest teams came out - in 1984 they were: Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Yugoslavia and West Germany. Thus, the competition in the final part promised to be very high, and many fans were waiting for the start of the tournament with great impatience. However, it was said about seven teams, and after all in Euro-1984 eight teams participated. What is this team that was not mentioned above and which, accordingly, did not participate in the qualification stage?

Hostess of the tournament

According to the tradition, the French team directly got into the final part of Euro-1984. Qualifying tournament was held for all teams, except this, as she was the hostess of the tournament. It was in France that year it was decided to hold the European Championships, which meant that the French would not have to fight for a ticket to the final part of the tournament. They got a ticket there automatically - and at the same time before the start of the championship were considered one of the favorites, because they had a fairly strong line-up of famous players. Moreover, as everyone knows, native walls always help a lot, and fans in their own stadium are a kind of twelfth player on the field. Therefore, many believed that the French could well win the Euro-1984. The composition of the teams in the tournament was equal, but the twelfth player could have a direct impact on the outcome.

Debutants

Separately, it is worth paying attention to the two teams, which until 1984, never in history took part in the final stage of the European Championships. This is the combined teams of Portugal and Romania, which sensationally made their way to the final part of the tournament, but many experts believed that they would not even be able to leave the group, because they faced such giants of football as Germany, Spain and Yugoslavia - what to speak of French, about the advantage of which it was said earlier. The composition of the Portuguese national team for Euro 1984 was very different from what modern fans are accustomed to seeing. Now many fans of Portugal are associated mainly with the figure of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is today one of the strongest players on the planet. Moreover, the Portuguese national team has other prominent players, such as Nani or Pepe, as well as a number of rising stars such as Renata Sansheesh, João Mariou or Andre Gomes. At the same time, the Portuguese had no particularly outstanding world stars, so no one expected the team to show something spectacular. And while the composition of the Portuguese national team for Euro 1984 was still better than the composition of the Romanians, who were generally considered the main outsiders.

Format of the tournament

As you could already understand, the format of the tournament in 1984 was very different from what modern fans are used to. In 2012, at the European Championship there were four groups of four teams, from each group there were two teams that fell into the quarterfinals. In 2016, the number of participating teams increased, the number of groups increased from four to six, and the playoffs started not with the quarterfinals, as four years ago, but with 1/8 finals. But in those days the format was completely different - eight teams formed two groups, out of which two teams came out, which then collided immediately in the semifinals. Thus, the tournament lasted much less than now. But Euro-1984 in football is still remembered for its brilliance and color, and most importantly - an incredible game, which showed the French team.

Group A

The first group turned out to be the so-called "death group", in which practically all the strongest representatives of the Euro of 1984 - France, Yugoslavia, Belgium and Denmark - were found. The opening match took place between the teams of France and Denmark, and he did not particularly remember entertainment. Only one goal was scored - Michel Platini, the main hero of this tournament, won his team a victory in the end of the meeting. The Belgians slightly more confidently defeated the national team of Yugoslavia - the balls scored Vanderberg and Grün. But the second round turned out to be a real goal - both matches ended with a score of 5: 0. The French defeated the Belgians (Gisress and Fernandez scored, and Platini registered a hat-trick), and the Danes were left out of the national team of Yugoslavia (Berggreen, Elker-Larsen and Lauridsen recorded on their account one exact hit, and Arnesen - just two) . The last round was decisive - the French have already secured a way out of the group, and for the second place in the internal opposition fought the Danes and the Belgians. France again could thank Platini for the victory, as he filed another hat-trick on which the Yugoslav team could respond with only two goals of six and Stojkovic. Well, in an extremely dramatic duel the Danes were able to turn the course of the meeting completely and secure their way out to the playoffs. Kulemans and Werkautheren, it seemed, already in the first half guaranteed their team a place in the semifinals, but Arnesen from the penalty spot right before the end of the first half reduced the advantage, and the second forty-five minutes became a nightmare for the national team of Belgium. First, Brill equalized the score, and five minutes before the end of the match, Elker-Larsen brought the national team of Denmark forward, providing her with an exit to the semifinals. For Euro-1984 teams were, of course, not equal, but practice has shown that not always high-sounding names can guarantee success. This is particularly true of the second group, which will now be discussed.

Group B

In the second group were the teams of West Germany, Spain, Portugal and Romania. Many believed that it was here that the real extravaganza extravaganza would be, since the Spaniards and the Germans had to simply destroy the Portuguese and Romanians, playing the first and second places among themselves. But in reality everything turned out to be quite different. Already in the first match, the Germans could not beat the Portuguese, and the Spaniards also played a tie with the Romanians. In the second round the team of Germany was corrected, having beaten the national team of Romania with a score of 2: 1 and coming to the first place, as in the second match the Spaniards again could not win. It was enough for the Germans to play a draw with the Spaniards, but they did not want to give up so quickly - and a sensation happened on the 90th minute. Maseda scored a goal, which deprived the Germans of places in the semifinals, as in a parallel duel the Portuguese beat the Romanians. As a result, the Spaniards came from the first place, and the Portuguese made a sensation and made their way to the semifinals from the second.

First semifinal

So, the teams of Spain, France, Denmark and Portugal came out of their groups in the semifinals. The Euro of 1984 is a tournament that did not bring any special surprises at the playoff stage. In the first match, the hosts played the championship and the surprise team. Unfortunately, the dream of the Portuguese ended at this stage. In the first half, Domerg led the hosts forward, but in the second half, Jordão equalized the score, thereby transferring the match into overtime. There already at the 98th minute he was able to bring his team forward, giving all the Portuguese hope. But Domerga and Platini had their own plans - it was they who scored two goals in the last five minutes of overtime, which beat Portugal's national team out of the tournament, and the French secured a place in the final.

Second semifinal

The second semifinal match was no less dramatic - while in it the outcome did not dare even in overtime. Almost immediately after the starting whistle Dane Lerby opened the scoring, but after an hour the Spaniards still managed to recoup - scored the same Maseda, who buried the team of West Germany. As a result, the rest of the match went without goals, as well as overtime. Penalty time came, and here the error was made by the only player - the same Elker-Larsen, who actually brought the Danes to the semi-finals, scoring the decisive ball in the third round at the gates of the Belgians. As a result, the Spaniards won in the penalty shootout, thereby achieving a very impressive result for Euro-1984 in football. The final between the teams of France and Spain promised to be very interesting, as two favorites met.

The final

June 27, almost fifty thousand people gathered at the main stadium of the country "Park de Prens" to see the incredible football Euro 1984 - the final of this tournament. The first half of the match was without goals scored, but the second started immediately very cheerfully. At the 57th minute, Platini made an incredible - he scored a very important ball, but the most important thing is that this match was the fifth in the tournament, in which Michel was noted as a result. Until the last minute the Spaniards kept hope to score the return ball and transfer the game into overtime, but their dreams were not destined to come true. Point in the match put Bellon, who scored just before the final whistle. France became the winner of the European Football Championship, showing just an incredible game.

Bronze medal

As you understand, the silver medal of the tournament was taken away by the national team of Spain, but who got the bronze? Until 1984, the European Championship always held a match for third place, which determined which of the teams that lost in the semifinals, will receive a medal. But it was this tournament that decided not to hold more matches for third place. Thus, the bronze medals went to both the Danes and the Portuguese. The Portuguese national team surprised everyone no less than the French - in its debut tournament, it was able to win a bronze medal, albeit divided with the Danes.

Gold boot

Separately it is necessary to tell about the award to the best scorer, and also about the main hero of this championship. France striker Michel Platini broke all records and hit the whole world with his game, which he showed at the European Championship in 1984. As mentioned above, he scored in each of the five matches in which he participated, while twice having scored a hat-trick. Thus, it was Platini who became the top scorer, having recorded nine goals in his five matches - the absolute record of the European Championship, which no player could beat until today. Especially this result stands out against the background of the closest pursuer, Platini, the Dutchman Frank Arnesen, who scored just three goals, two of them from the penalty spot. What the Frenchman showed to the European Championship was skill and skill, and he was remembered for good in many ways precisely at the expense of this tournament.

National team championship

As after every major tournament, after the European Championships in 1984, experts identified eleven players who formed the "symbolic team of the European Championship." It included the best players in their positions. The best goalkeeper was recognized as German Harald Schumacher, the defensive line consisted of two Germans, Karl-Heinz Ferster and Andreas Bremet, as well as Portuguese João Pinto and Dane Morten Olsen. In the midfield, there were five people at once, three of whom were French: Alain Giesress, Jean Tigana and, of course, Michel Platini. They were compiled by Portuguese Fernando Shalana and Dane Frank Arnesen. The best forward of the tournament was recognized by the German Rudy Feller.