UEFA Euro 1988

Lore & Background

Euro 1988 was a rare instance of a major football tournament ending without a single sending-off or goalless draw, nor any knockout matches going to extra time or penalties. This was the final European Championship to feature teams from West Germany and the Soviet Union, as the West and East Germans reunified to become Germany in 1990, and the Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 countries in 1991.

Reader's Guide

West Germany won the right to host the tournament with five votes ahead of a joint bid from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which earned one vote, and a bid from England. Because the Eastern Bloc disagreed that West Berlin was part of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Football Association ruled out playing Championship matches in West Berlin. This secured the participation of Eastern European members of UEFA. In the 1974 FIFA World Cup, however, West Berlin had hosted three games.

As a compromise, the Berlin Olympic Stadium hosted a Four Nations Tournament in 1988, with West Germany playing against the Soviet Union, Argentina and Sweden. The tournament featured two groups of four teams. Group 1 included West Germany, Italy, Spain, and Denmark. Group 2 included England, Ireland, the Soviet Union, and the Netherlands.

The semi-finals saw West Germany lose 2–1 to the Netherlands, and the Soviet Union defeat Italy 2–0. The final was played on 25 June between the Soviet Union and the Netherlands at the Olympiastadion in Munich. The Dutch won 2–0, with goals by captain Ruud Gullit and tournament top scorer Marco van Basten.