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Which was the best European Championships tournament? *Poll, plus general nostalgia*

Rob1981

By Rob1981,
in Euro 2012 Forum

Which was the best European Championships tournament?  

132 members have voted

  1. 1. Which was the best European Championships tournament?

    • Euro 80 - Italy
      0
    • Euro 84 - France
      2
    • Euro 88 - West German
      13
    • Euro 92 - Sweden
      7
    • Euro 96 - England
      40
    • Euro 2000 - Holland/Belgium
      26
    • Euro 2004 - Portugal
      23
    • Euro 2008 - Austria/Switzerland
      21

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noikeee

noikeee

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I don't have a problem with the best player being recognized as the best player regardless of position or role, but it doesn't bode well for a tournament's entertainment and feel-good factor when a destructive player is its best player. I much prefer it when attacking players dominate a tournament.

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RBKalle

RBKalle

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I voted Euro92 just for the surprise/fairytale effect. (Greece winning on the other hand was a snoozefest)

Euro2000 was pretty epic too (Netherlands-Italy was a crazy game)

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robbert_o154

robbert_o154

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(Netherlands-Italy was a crazy game)

I still have nightmares about that game after particularly copious meals. Two penalties in normal time, ffs! Which has kinda tarnished the tournament as a whole for me, I can't think as fondly of it as about '88.

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Dean Gripton

Dean Gripton

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Also, saw France live twice in Euro2000. Wow they were good. Blanc made the game look so easy.

Stayed in Bruges for a week and had a brilliant time.

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Boltman

Boltman

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Wouldn't really go as far as 'epic'. It's been decent so far, can remember far worse groups stages, but it's still not really been anything to get that excited about. Hoping it really heats up now that we're essentially into knock-out football.

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noikeee

noikeee

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Well there's not a single 0-0 so far, very few clean sheets, only 1 or 2 genuinely poor games like England-France and Greece-Czech Rep (I'm going by the highlights because I thankfully missed those).

Perhaps there's no modern classic yet (Denmark-Portugal and Sweden-England maybe) and until there's a couple of 4-3s and 3-3s I won't rate it as high as Euro 2000, but it's been consistently packed with very positive football which is a massive surprise to me.

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deerokus

deerokus

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I remember only parts of '92, loved/hated '96 (best Scotland tournament performance I can remember, that England vs Scotland game at Wembley was a classic, and we were cruelly eliminated thanks to England conceding to Holland :( ), and 2000 had fantastic quality football.

Probably 2000 overall.

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Nørbæk

Nørbæk

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I really wish I had got into football earlier (no fans in my family). I vaguely remember bits of WC 1990 but Euro 1992 was the first tournament I watched on my own (I'm 32).

WC '90 and '94 were the World Cups I enjoyed the most. Probably more to do with my age rather than the quality of football and general excitement. Interestingly, Denmark didn't qualify for either.

WC 2010 was the worst yet for me, followed by WC 2006. I'm probably just getting older and less enthusiastic.

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robbert_o154

robbert_o154

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I really wish I had got into football earlier (no fans in my family). I vaguely remember bits of WC 1990 but Euro 1992 was the first tournament I watched on my own (I'm 32).

I didn't have any fans in my family either, so I also used to watch on my own. Mexico '86 was my first tournament, and it wasn't until WC 1994 that I started to watch in pubs with friends. Think I actually still prefer to see the most important matches on my own, the noise and chatter of people around you tend to be rather distracting when you're trying to follow the game really closely.

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dafuge

dafuge

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WC '90 and '94 were the World Cups I enjoyed the most. Probably more to do with my age rather than the quality of football and general excitement. Interestingly, Denmark didn't qualify for either.

I was exactly the same with WC '94, England weren't in it but I was at that age where I was just lapping it up. I was wearing Brazil shirts for the next four years :o

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noikeee

noikeee

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WC '90 and '94 were the World Cups I enjoyed the most. Probably more to do with my age rather than the quality of football and general excitement. Interestingly, Denmark didn't qualify for either.

WC 2010 was the worst yet for me, followed by WC 2006. I'm probably just getting older and less enthusiastic.

The first major international tournament I ever watched was WC94 and I loved it, pretty certain there's not been a better WC since albeit 98 was pretty good too.

Whilst I didn't watch it live I know WC90 was total rubbish tho, surprised to read you saying otherwise. That was the greatest height of defensive, negative football at international level. 0-0 draws everywhere. Boring final stages with only some spark from England vs Cameroon. It was so bad FIFA changed the rules because of that tournament, abolishing the back pass and instating 3 points for a win in the following World Cup.

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skybluedave

skybluedave

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I wonder if the firsst comp you watch will always be your favourite. The first tournament I remember was WC94 but only bits. Same with Euro96 and Euro98, I really only saw the England game. The first tournament I truely watched as a proper fan, watching all the games (not just England) was Euro2000 and that is my favourite.

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berty1978

berty1978

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I wonder if the firsst comp you watch will always be your favourite. The first tournament I remember was WC94 but only bits. Same with Euro96 and Euro98, I really only saw the England game. The first tournament I truely watched as a proper fan, watching all the games (not just England) was Euro2000 and that is my favourite.

I voted before reading the thread, and this. I voted for Sweden '92, which was the first tournament I watched. Forgetting England's performance, after they went out I was rooting for Denmark (always go for the underdog), and was so pleased when they won the final, and they won by playing good football unlike Greece. :D

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Nørbæk

Nørbæk

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I didn't have any fans in my family either, so I also used to watch on my own. Mexico '86 was my first tournament, and it wasn't until WC 1994 that I started to watch in pubs with friends. Think I actually still prefer to see the most important matches on my own, the noise and chatter of people around you tend to be rather distracting when you're trying to follow the game really closely.

How did you feel during WC 86 and what did you think of it? As far as I know, Holland weren't there.

I remember all our group matches (the horrible second round match was played after midnight and I wasn't allowed to stay up) but I was probably too young to get i to the excitement sourrounding a WC. I remember playing Commodore 64 rather than watching the final :D

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Nørbæk

Nørbæk

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Whilst I didn't watch it live I know WC90 was total rubbish tho, surprised to read you saying otherwise. That was the greatest height of defensive, negative football at international level. 0-0 draws everywhere. Boring final stages with only some spark from England vs Cameroon. It was so bad FIFA changed the rules because of that tournament, abolishing the back pass and instating 3 points for a win in the following World Cup.

I didn't? I specifically said that my enjoying WC 90 was mainly due to my age at the time rather than the level of football :)

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robbert_o154

robbert_o154

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How did you feel during WC 86 and what did you think of it? As far as I know, Holland weren't there.

I remember all our group matches (the horrible second round match was played after midnight and I wasn't allowed to stay up) but I was probably too young to get i to the excitement sourrounding a WC. I remember playing Commodore 64 rather than watching the final :D

Holland hadn't qualified for '82 or '84 either so I just took it as the normal state of affairs. I don't think I even knew at the time we'd been runners up only 8 years previously. :D

But Holland not being there didn't matter to me at all, I thought the whole thing was fantastic. I'd mostly been following football from reading the newspapers (because no-one in my family watched any sports on television, it took me a while to figure out events like football tournaments and the Tour de France were being broadcast to begin with) so seeing all those players I'd only been reading about in moving images was terribly exciting. The heat and it being played in a completely different time zone only added to that. It all looked so different from summaries of league games on drab Sunday afternoons in Waalwijk.

I remember rooting for Denmark because I knew Lerby, Arnesen and Jesper Olsen from their time at Ajax, and because of the 6-1 (although at present I can't remember against which team that was). After they were knocked out I went with Belgium.

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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I really wish I had got into football earlier (no fans in my family). I vaguely remember bits of WC 1990 but Euro 1992 was the first tournament I watched on my own (I'm 32).

I'm a little bit younger than you Dafuge but I'm pretty much the same. Vaguely remember WC 1990 and Euro 1992. However, World Cup 1994 was my first full tournament in the sense that I watched every single minute of football possible whilst the tournament was on! And Euro 1996 was my first Euros and my favourite both from a biased England point of view and also due to how much I remember enjoying the tournament overall.

I was exactly the same with WC '94, England weren't in it but I was at that age where I was just lapping it up. I was wearing Brazil shirts for the next four years :o

Ditto except no Brazil shirts here. I was obsessed with Italy and, in particular, Roberto Baggio!

WC '90 and '94 were the World Cups I enjoyed the most. Probably more to do with my age rather than the quality of football and general excitement. Interestingly, Denmark didn't qualify for either.

WC 2010 was the worst yet for me, followed by WC 2006. I'm probably just getting older and less enthusiastic.

I really do feel as if WC 2010 was lacking in terms of stand out thrilling games and the quality on show. Maybe the Jabulani was to blame but I think it's the least entertaining World Cup I've watched.

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TM

TM

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have vague recollections of Euro 88 as I remember watching the Final but most of those recollections are because I've seen footage of games since. First real football tournament to watch for me was Italia 90 when me and my mates would go out and pretend we were players like Toto Schillaci :D

favourite Euros of all the ones I've watched would be Euro 2000, some really good teams at their peak and some fantastic games, although I've not really had a tournament I've disliked. One that was probably the least interesting was probably Euro 2004

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Nørbæk

Nørbæk

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I remember rooting for Denmark because I knew Lerby, Arnesen and Jesper Olsen from their time at Ajax, and because of the 6-1 (although at present I can't remember against which team that was). After they were knocked out I went with Belgium.

It was against Uruguay. Nobody here thought we had a chance.

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noikeee

noikeee

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I really do feel as if WC 2010 was lacking in terms of stand out thrilling games and the quality on show. Maybe the Jabulani was to blame but I think it's the least entertaining World Cup I've watched.

I thought it was a little underwhelming but personally I thought WC2002 was the worst, it was quite frustrating given there were a lot of surprise teams but none of them very exciting, South Korea knocking out everyone purely because of the refs was annoying as hell. Germany had a pretty poor team and still made the final despite having a lot of difficulties against theoretically poor teams like the USA - and to top it off their one proper really good player (Ballack) was off for the final, same as Brazil's emerging star Ronaldinho who I enjoyed watching...

I can't think of a single game in the knockout stages of that tournament I'd name as a modern classic neither. At least 2010 had the crazy epic trashings of Argentina and England by a hugely exciting Germany, and the mental Uruguay-Ghana finale with the Luis Suarez handball. Actually I think 2010 Germany and 2010 Spain (even if Spain were playing the most defensive, patient, slow tempo tiki-taka ever) were much better to watch than any 2002 team.

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Barnzy

Barnzy

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Has to be 96 for me, around then are my first vivid memories of football (WC 94 being the first), I can remember bits of Italia 90 but not much. Gazza's goal and the thumping of the dutch are great memories then for us English it was all down hill :(

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