Source: euro2008.uefa

06-02-2008 16:19

There was change in the air in 1968 and it swept through both the tournament and its host nation. Having hit rock bottom at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Italy rebuilt to become the first winners of the newly formed UEFA European Championship.

German debut

The revamped title was likewise accompanied by a new format, with the knockout stage replaced by the system of qualifying groups still in place today. Only Malta and Iceland opted out, and that meant West Germany finally made their debut, with a certain Gerd Müller in their ranks. Despite his emergence, however, the Germans finished second in their section behind Yugoslavia, who advanced to the quarter-finals. The British Home Championships doubled up as another qualifying group, which England eventually won. After suffering a famous 3-2 defeat by Scotland at Wembley, the world champions ultimately graduated by holding their old foes to a 1-1 draw in front of 130,711 spectators at Hampden Park, the biggest crowd for any UEFA European Championship match.

Top form

Elsewhere, there were surprises as Eusébio's Portugal came second to Bulgaria and talented Belgium finished runners-up to France. Defending champions Spain experienced no such trouble as they set up an intriguing quarter-final with England. Alf Ramsey's charges triumphed 1-0 at home and 2-1 in Madrid to open the doors to the final tournament. The semi-final quartet was completed by 1960 finalists Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, plus Ferruccio Valcareggi's new-look Italy team. Pelted with rotten tomatoes following their 1966 FIFA World Cup loss to North Korea, the Azzurri were determined to win back their fans' respect, not least because they would be competing on home soil.

Coin toss

As it happened, Italy's progress came down to the toss of a coin, when their semi-final with the USSR ended goalless after 120 minutes. The referee applied the correct procedure at the time and the Azzurri were thus awarded a Rome showdown with Yugoslavia, who had Dragan Džajić's goal to thank for overcoming ten-man England 1-0. Alan Mullery became the first senior England player to be sent off in that game and was therefore sidelined as his colleagues went on to take third place.

Squad depth

When the day of the final came, Italy fell behind to a Džajić effort after 39 minutes and looked to be heading for defeat. "To be honest, we didn't deserve to draw," admits goalkeeper Dino Zoff now, but Angelo Domenghini struck with ten minutes remaining to force a replay two days later. Blessed with the stronger squad, Valcareggi brought in Sandro Mazzola and Luigi Riva, and the latter shared scoring duties with Pietro Anastasi to finally see off Yugoslavia 2-0. "We definitely deserved to win that game," adds Zoff. "The memories are fresh even now."

 

Editor:Zhang Ning