The sixth
tournament was the first expanded format.
Italy had been chosen as hosts, preferred to England, despite having
hosted the tournament in 1968 when they emerged as victors. Eight nations were split into two
groups. Each team plays each other in
the group once, with the winners progressing straight to the Final and the
second placed sides meeting in a Third Place Play-off.
Qualifiers
Italy, England, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Czechoslovakia,
Greece, West Germany
Greece had qualified for a major international tournament
for the first time in their history.
Italy were the hosts and West Germany were defending champions
GROUP A
West Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Czechoslovakia
GROUP B
Italy, England, Belgium, Spain
GROUP A
The tournament kicked off with a repeat of the 1976 Final as
Czechoslovakia met West Germany in Rome.
A disappointing crowd of just over 11, 000 turned up to see the Germans
gain revenge for four years previous as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored the only
goal just before the hour.
11th June 1980, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 11,059
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (0) 0
WEST GERMANY (0) 1 (Rummenigge 57)
Czechoslovakia:
Netolicka; Barmos, Ondrus, Gogh, Jurkemik; Kozak, Stambachr, Panenka;
Nehoda, Vizek, Gajdusek (Masny)
West Germany:
Schumacher; K-H Forster, B Forster (Magath), Dietz, Kaltz; H Muller,
Cullmann, Stielike, Briegel; Allofs, Rummenigge
Later that evening, Netherlands took on Greece. The Greeks were in their first ever major
tournament having won a tight group to qualify.
Barely 4,000 more turned up for this game in Naples, but still only
witnessed one goal. The penalty decision
was a stange one. Konstantinou rolled the ball to one of his defenders just to
the left of the area and as Vreijsen came in to try and nick the ball he
collided with the Greek keeper. The referee decided Konstantinou stuck his leg
out to trip the Dutchman and a penalty was awarded. Kees Kist converted a penalty midway through
the second half and that was enough to give the Dutch the points.
11th June 1980, Stadio San Paolo, Naples, 4,990
NETHERLANDS (0) 1 (Kist 65 pen)
GREECE (0) 0
Netherlands: Schrijvers (Doesburg); Wijnstekers, Krol,
Hovenkamp, van de Korput; W van der Kerkhof, Stevens, Haan; Vreijsen
(Nanninga), Kist, R van der Kerkhof
Greece: Konstantinou;
Kyrastas, Kapsis, Foiros, Iosifidis; Livathinos, Terzanidis, Kouis; Kostikos
(Galakos), Mavros, Ardizoglou (Anastopoulos)
Three days later saw the big clash between West Germany and
Netherlands in Naples. For two fierce
rivals, the Dutch had only once beaten West Germany in 8 previous meetings,
back in 1956. Cologne’s Klaus Allofs,
one of the young breed of footballers the Germans were trying out, opened the
scoring after 20 minutes. On the hour,
he scored his 2nd, and then completed his hat-trick five minutes
later. The Dutch were stunned, but
fought back with a Johnny Rep penalty ten minutes from time. When Willy van der Kerkhof scored to make it
2-3 with five minutes to go, the Germans had a nervous end to a game they were
cruising. They saw it home in the end,
and seemed destined for the Final.
14th June 1980, Stadio San Paolo, Naples, 26,546
WEST GERMANY (1) 3 (Allofs 20, 60, 65)
NETHERLANDS (0) 2 (Rep 79 pen, W van der Kerkhof 85)
West Germany: Schumacher; K-H Forster, Dietz (Matthaus),
Stielike, Kaltz; H Muller (Magath), Schuster, Briegel; Rummenigge; Allofs, Hrubesch
Netherlands: Schrijvers; Wijnstekers, Krol, Hovenkamp
(Nanninga), van de Korput; W van der Kerkhof, Stevens, Haan; Rep, Kist
(Thijssen), R van der Kerkhof
In Rome, Greece met Czechoslovakia. In a stadium which holds 86,500, there were
just under 5,000 people to witness this and the game deserved better. Panenka, the hero in 1976, gave the Czechs an
early lead, but Nikos Anastopoulos equalised soon after, only for Ladislav
Vizek to put the Czechs back in front and we’d had 3 goals in the opening twenty-five
minutes. The Greeks couldn’t get back
into it, and early in the second half Zdenek Nehoda completed the win for the
Czechs. If Greece could pull off a shock
win over the Germans, then the Czechs or the Dutch would have an outside chance
of the Final, but that seemed remote.
14th June 1980, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 4,726
GREECE (1) 1 (Anastopoulos 14)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (2) 3 (Panenka 6, Vizek 26, Nehoda 63)
Greece: Konstantinou; Kyrastas, Kapsis, Foiros, Iosifidis;
Livathinos, Kouis, Terzanidis (Galakos); Kostikos (Xanthopoulos), Mavros,
Anastopoulos
Czechoslovakia: Seman; Barmos, Ondrus, Gogh, Jurkemik;
Kozak, Berger (Licka), Panenka; Nehoda (Gajdusek), Vizek, Masny
UEFA hadn’t found the need to have the final group matches
kick off at the same time, so Netherlands and Czechoslovakia were up first in
Milan, with the Germans waiting to see what they needed to do. In front of another poor crowd Nehoda gave
the Czechs an early lead, which they held till the hour, before Kees Kist
equalised. The game ended in a draw
which suited neither side and the Czechs finished second in the group, ahead of
the Dutch on goal difference.
17th June 1980, San Siro, Milan, 11,889
NETHERLANDS (0) 1 (Kist 59)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1) 1 (Nehoda 16)
Netherlands: Schrijvers; Wijnstekers, Krol, Hovenkamp, van
de Korput; W van der Kerkhof, Poortvliet, Thijssen; R van der Kerkhof, Rep
(Kist), Nanninga (Haan)
Czechoslovakia: Netolicka; Barmos, Ondrus, Gogh, Vojacek;
Kozak, Jurkemik, Panenka (Stambachr); Nehoda, Vizek, Masny (Licka)
By the time the last game in the group kicked off in Turin,
West Germany already knew they’d reached the final. It showed too as a dull game almost came to
life when Ardizoglu hit the post with 20 minutes to go, but that was about
it. Greece had given a good account of
themselves, but ultimately went home without a point. The Germans had simply been clinical in
reaching their 3rd successive European Championship Final.
17th June 1980, Stadio Comunale, Turin, 13,901
GREECE (0) 0
WEST GERMANY (0) 0
Greece: Poupakis; Gounaris, Ravousis, Nikolaou; Livathinos,
Nikoloudis (Koudas), Xanthopoulos, Kouis; Galakos, Mavros (Kostikos),
Ardizoglou
West Germany: Schumacher; K-H Forster, B Forster (Votava),
Kaltz; Memering, Stielike, Cullmann, H Muller; Hrubesch, Rummenigge (Del’Haye)
GROUP B
England had managed to qualify for a major tournament just
once since 1962, having made the 1966 and 1970 World Cup as hosts and holders,
respectively. They were hopeful of doing
well after an impressive qualification campaign. They started brightly too, and midway through
the first half, Brooking’s cross wasn’t cleared properly and it fell to Ray
Wilkins, just outside the box. He
controlled the ball on his chest and then as it bounced, he calmly lobbed the
ball over the keeper for probably his finest goal in an England shirt.
But England were unable to keep control of the game and
Belgium equalised within three minutes through Jan Ceulemans. England had a goal from Kenny Sansom
disallowed in the second half, but the game will be remembered for the violence
that erupted on the terraces just before half-time. Unfortunately, this was becoming an all-too
familiar occurrence with England games at that time. Many England fans would point to the local
police being heavy-handed, but unfortunately England fans reputation often preceded
them. The game was held up as the police
used tear-gas to try and quell the trouble, which had broken out because locals
had gained access to England’s end and started chanting for Belgium. England goalkeeper, Ray Clemence, was
particularly affected by the gas.
12th June 1980, Stadio Comunale, Turin, 15,186
BELGIUM (1) 1 (Ceulemans 29)
ENGLAND (1) 1 (Wilkins 26)
Belgium: Pfaff; Gerets, Meeuws, Renquin, Millecamps;
Vandereycken, van Moer (Mommens), Cools, van der Elst; Vandenbergh, Ceulemans
England: Clemence; Neal, Thompson, Watson, Sansom; Coppell
(McDermott), Wilkins, Brooking; Johnson (Kennedy), Woodcock, Keegan
Later that evening in Milan, the hosts made their bow in
front of over 46,000. The game was a
cagey affair with both sides cancelling each other out. Spain had a goal disallowed in the second
half, which seemed harsh but the points were shared.
12th June 1980, San Siro, Milan, 46,816
SPAIN (0) 0
ITALY (0) 0
Spain: Arconada; Tendillo, Alexanco, Migueli, Gordillo;
Asensi, Saura, Zamora; Dani (Juanito), Quini, Satrustegui
Italy: Zoff; Gentile, Scirea, Collovati, Cabrini; Causio,
Tardelli, Oriali, Antognoni; Bettega, Graziani (Benetti)
After both opening matches were drawn, a win in the second
game would give any of the four sides a good chance of making the final. Belgium took the lead through right-back,
Eric Gerets after seventeen minutes.
With ten minutes of the first half to go, Quini then equalised for the
Spanish. Both teams had chances in the
second period, but it was veteran, Julien Cools, who scored the winner midway
through the half. Belgium now put the
pressure on Italy.
15th June 1980, San Siro, Milan, 11,430
BELGIUM (1) 2 (Gerets 17, Cools 65)
SPAIN (1) 1 (Quini 36)
Belgium: Pfaff; Gerets, Meeuws, Renquin, Millecamps;
Vandereycken, van Moer (Mommens), Cools; Van der Elst, Vandenbergh (Verheyen),
Ceulemans
Spain: Arconada; Tendillo (Carrasco), Alexanco, Migueli,
Gordillo; Asensi (del Bosque), Saura, Zamora; Juanito, Quini, Satrustegui
England and Italy took the field in Turin, in front of the
largest crowd of the tournament. England
manager, Ron Greenwood sprung a surprise by selecting Garry Birtles for only
his second cap, and he struggled to make an impact. England relied so heavily on Keegan, who was
busy as usual creating chances. Ray
Kennedy hit the post, just before Marco Tardelli finally broke the deadlock
with just over ten minutes to go. The
Italians were far from dominant but knew how to defend a lead. They would now need to beat Belgium to get to
the Final. England could only hope for second
place in the group.
15th June 1980, Stadio Comunale, Turin, 59,646
ITALY (0) 1 (Tardelli 79)
ENGLAND (0) 0
Italy: Zoff; Gentile, Scirea, Collovati; Causio (G Baresi),
Benetti, Tardelli, Oriali, Antognoni; Graziani, Bettega
England: Shilton; Neal, Thompson, Watson, Sansom; Coppell,
Wilkins, Kennedy; Woodcock, Birtles (Mariner), Keegan
After two games in Turin, England moved to Naples to meet
Spain. They were desperate to restore
something from a tournament they were so confident of doing well in. Trevor Brooking gave England a first half
lead after nineteen minutes, but early in the second half, Spain were awarded a
penalty. Their substitute, Dani, took it
and scored. Five minutes later they got
another penalty. Dani took it and again
scored. Only this time the referee
ordered it to be re-taken. Dani stuttered
in his run-up and it wasn’t clear whether that was what the referee objected
to, or whether other players had encroached.
Either way Dani took it again and this time Clemence saved it. Within ten minutes, England were back in
front through Tony Woodcock, and they got the win they finally craved.
18th June 1980, Stadio San Paolo, Naples
ENGLAND (1) 2 (Brooking 19, Woodcock 61)
SPAIN (0) 1 (Dani 48 pen)
England: Clemence; Anderson (Cherry), Thompson, Watson,
Mills; McDermott, Hoddle (Mariner), Wilkins, Brooking; Woodcock, Keegan
Spain: Arconada; Cundi, Alexanco, Olmo, Uria, Gordillo;
Cardenosa (Dani), Saura, Zamora; Juanito (Carrasco), Santillana
Italy and Belgium met in Rome, knowing a draw was enough for
the Belgians. The game followed a
similar pattern to previous ones in this group involving these teams. Belgium were dogged in defence and Italy were
blunt in attack. The game ended goalless
and, against all the odds, Belgium had reached a major international
Final. Italy and Italians were distraught,
as they expected more. They were
unbeaten but 2nd place to Belgium was almost the end for manager,
Enzo Bearzot. He survived, and Italy
went on to lift the World Cup two years later.
18th June 1980, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 42,318
ITALY (0) 0
BELGIUM (0) 0
Italy: Zoff; Gentile, Scirea, Collovati; Causio, Oriali
(Altobelli), Benetti, Tardelli, Antognoni (G Baresi); Graziani, Bettega
Belgium: Pfaff; Gerets, Meeuws, Renquin, Millecamps;
Vandereycken, van Moer (Verheyen), Cools; Mommens (Vandenbergh), Ceulemans, van
der Elst
THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF
Czechoslovakia had defended their title with distinction,
and competed well against the hosts.
Under pressure for most of the game, they took the lead just into the
second half through Ladislav Jurkemik.
Italy, who had only scored once in their 3 games so far, finally managed
to get a goal from one of their attackers, Francesco Graziani. The game ended 1-1 and went to
penalties. Remarkably, each side had
been successful from their first eight kicks.
Jozef Barmos, who had played in the Final in ’76, made it 9-8 to
the Czechs before Fulvio Collovati had his kick saved and the Czechs had
finished third.
21st June 1980, Stadio San Paolo, Naples
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (0) 1 (Jurkemik 54)
ITALY (0) 1 (Graziani 73)
Czechoslovakia: Netolicka; Barmos, Ondrus, Gogh, Vojacek;
Kozak, Jurkemik, Panenka; Nehoda, Vizek (Gajdusek), Masny
Italy: Zoff; Gentile, Scirea, G Baresi, Cabrini; Causio,
Tardelli, Oriali; Altobelli, Bettega (Benetti), Graziani
Penalties
Czechoslovakia: Masny, Nehoda,
Ondrus, Jurkemik, Panenka, Gogh, Gajdusek, Kozak, Barmos
Italy: Causio, Altobelli,
Baresi, Cabrini, Benetti, Graziani, Scirea, Tardelli, Collovati (missed)
Czechoslovakia won 9-8 on penalties
FINAL
22nd June 1980, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
WEST GERMANY (1)
2 (Hrubesch 10, 88)
BELGIUM (0)
1 (Vandereycken 75 pen)
West Germany:
Schumacher; Kaltz, Dietz, K-H Forster, Briegel (Cullmann); Schuster,
Stielike, H Muller; Rummenigge; Allofs, Hrubesch
Belgium: Pfaff: Gerets, Millecamps, Meeuws, Renquin; Vandereycken, Van Moer, Cools, Mommens; Van
der Elst, Ceulemans
CONCLUSION
Had the new expanded format been a success? The TV and stadium attendances would suggest
not, but UEFA are hardly an organisation to often change their mind, and they
continued with this format for the next three tournaments. The format probably allowed an unfancied side
like Belgium to go further than they might have done with just a Semi-Final and
Final. Italy, as hosts, were
disappointing as were the World Cup finalists from 1974 & 1978,
Netherlands. Italy were under great pressure
as hosts but suffered from their failure to score goals. Just before the tournament they lost the
services of Paolo Rossi, who’d won the Golden Boot at World Cup ’78, as he was
embroiled in a betting scandal and banned from football for three years.
England gave us glimpses of their ability, but for a side so
dominant in qualification, the finals had been a let-down.
They relied so heavily on Kevin Keegan yet the Hamburg
striker had, had such a long season in West Germany and was clearly tired. Hamburg reached the European Cup Final where
they were beaten by Nottingham Forest, so domestically it had been a good
season but the international disappointment tarnished it somewhat. For West Germany, Italy and Kevin Keegan the
World Cup in Spain two years later would have completely contrasting fortunes.
