Europa 80
Europa
80 was the first European Championships to resemble a proper summer tournament
with eight teams now initially competing in a group stage, rather than
just four in a Semi-final > 3&4th play off > Final format. UEFA's
decision to expand the finals to eight teams, which had been agreed in
July 1976, required a host country to be selected before the qualifiers
began. No less than six countries offered to stage it - England, Greece,
Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany. England were one
of the final two up for consideration, but at a meeting on 19th October
1977 the tournament organising committee agreed to recommend Italy and
this was unanimously approved by UEFA's executive committee in Zurich on
12th November 1977. Regrettably, there would be no semi-finals stage, the
two group winners directly progressing to the final which naturally resulted
in teams approaching most of the games in an over cautious manner and some
countries losing interest earlier than normal. Had UEFA sacrificed the
3rd/4th play off for a semi-final stage, it would have only required squeezing
in one extra fixture, but as it was, the attendance's and TV viewing figures
were disappointing and the whole tournament proved to be a huge anti-climax,
particularly for England who were competing in the finals of an international
tournament for the first time in 10 years. In their opening match, following
Belgium's equaliser, England fans began fighting with locals who had taken
it upon themselves to gain access to the England end and chant for Belgium,
which led to Italian riot police taking the decision to use tear gas which
drifted onto the pitch, badly effecting goalkeeper Ray Clemence and holding
up the match in which no further goals were scored. The 2nd fixture against
the hosts was lost, a result that did at least avoid further hostility
being directed at English fans by the locals, but also rendered England's
3rd game against Spain as effectively meaningless.
Commentators
/ Theme tunes
ITV sent three commentators to Italy, Brian Moore covered the England
matches as well as the final* whilst Gerald Sinstadt and Martin Tyler voiced
the rest (no Hugh Johns). Ron Atkinson and Terry Venables were the co-commentators.
Presenting duties back home were handled by Dickie Davies. Other studio
personal included Brian Clough, Mick Channon, Ian St. John and Trevor Francis
(who was unable to play due to an injury). The studio had a black background
and a picture of the Colosseum. ITV's theme tune was by Nigel Hess.
The BBC's coverage went out under the "International Match of the
Day" banner and so they presumably used the familiar MOTD theme tune.
The three BBC commentators in Italy were John Motson, Barry Davies and
Des Lynam.
*Brian Moore always stayed behind in London in a presenting role during World Cups, so this was his first time commentating on a recognisably full length International tournament.
Dickie Davies hosting live coverage
of Italy v England (left), Francis, St John & Channon (centre) and
a shot of the studio with the end credits (right)
Qualification
The
qualifying draw was made on 30th November 1977 in Rome, 32 nations entered
with only Albania and Liechtenstein declining to take part. Seven groups
would ultimately produce seven group winners to join the hosts. England
and the Soviet Union were surprisingly among the seven seeded nations after
both countries had failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, but
they were chosen by UEFA because of "the importance their football gives
to Europe." England were
drawn in Group One along with Northern
Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria and Denmark, none of whom
had made it to Argentina '78. Temporary England manager Ron Greenwood said;
"We want our backsides kicking if we don't get through this time." Group
Two saw unseeded Scotland
paired up with Belgium (the seeded team), Austria, Portugal and Norway,
whilst Wales were in Group
Seven with West Germany, Turkey and Malta. Back on
9th July 1976, following crowd trouble at Wales' last Euro's match in the
Quarter-final home leg v Yugoslavia, it had been announced that UEFA had
banned the Welsh from taking part in Europa 80, but on 18th October 1976
the ban was reduced to forbidding Wales from playing home games at Ninian
Park.
By the time the qualifiers were due to begin, Ron Greenwood had been
given the England job full-time and he guided the team to the finals with
ease, winning all but one of the eight group matches. Johnny Giles' Republic
of Ireland were the only Group One opponents able to take a point against
England with a draw in Dublin. England also registered some impressive
friendly results during this period, beating the current World Cup holders
Argentina 3-1 at Wembley as well as winning 2-0 in Spain and recording
a third successive victory against Scotland in the Home Internationals
in 1980.
Despite finishing 2nd in England's group, Northern Ireland's manager
Danny Blanchflower quit after their final fixture, which was a home win
over the Republic of Ireland after the historic first ever meeting of the
two Irish nations in Dublin had ended on a goalless draw.
Scotland's opening match in Austria proved to be Ally MacLeod's last
as the manager and he was replaced by Jock Stein for what was to be his
2nd spell in charge, but the Scots finished next to bottom of their group,
largely due to poor away form. Mike Smith's Wales never had much hope of
topping a group including West Germany, but to finish 3rd behind Turkey
was disappointing.
Elsewhere, Spain topped Group Three ahead of Yugoslavia despite losing
to them at home. Poland took three out of four possible points off the
Dutch in Group Four, but it was the Netherlands who ultimately came out
on top. Czechoslovakia saw off the challenge of France and Sweden in Group
Five and a closely fought Group Six ended with only 2 points separating
top from bottom, Greece taking 1st place whilst the Soviet Union failed
to take advantage of their seeding - unable to beat either Hungary or Finland,
they finished in last place.
British TV coverage of Europa 80
Wed 16/Jan/1980 Europa 80 Finals
Draw
Rome
BBC1
*The BBC included coverage of
the draw on "Sportsnight" at 9:55-11:10pm, though presumably it was not
live. After being drawn into the hosts group Ron Greenwood - who was in
Rome - told the press "England are not going to win this competition without
beating some very good teams, I believe Italy are probably the best side,
so we have to beat them." Italy manager Enzo Bearzot said "Ideally I hoped
Italy would meet England in the final. What makes the England-Italy match
so special is the contrast in attitudes, Italy play defensive football,
England play an attacking game. It could be the most spectacular game of
the championship. I have worries for Italy for one reason, the England
team are more motivated than any other team in the competition. West Germany,
Holland and Italy have done well in big competitions in recent years, England
have not and will be all the more determined because of this."
Europa
80 Finals
Held in Italy (Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin)
The eight finalists were split into two groups
of four, the two group winners contested the final, the runners-up played
off for 3rd place (no semi-finals).
TVTimes
Wall Chart
Tue 10/06/1980 "The European Football
Championship"
*ITV's preview programme was broadcast from 9:30-10pm,
presented by Brian Moore with guest Brian Clough and an interview with
England manager Ron Greenwood whose team had flown to Italy from Luton
airport in the afternoon. BBC1 also had a preview of the tournament at
10:20-10:50pm.
Game 1
Wed
11/06/1980 West Germany 1 (Rummenigge) Czechoslovakia
0
Group A (4:45pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Terry Venables
*ITV had LIVE coverage of the
opening game at 4:25-6:45pm, the fixture was a repeat of the the final
played four years earlier, yet only 11,000 turned out to see it. The match
was disappointing but a goal did come on 57 minutes when Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
was on the end of a looping high cross from Hansi Müller to head it
back across the face of goal and in. Jupp Derwall, the West German manager,
said afterwards "We had problems with the temperature and humidity. During
an opening match like this teams are trying hard not to lose and perhaps
that's the reason the game did not live up to expectations." John Motson
commentated on the game for highlights on BBC1.
Wed 11/06/1980 Netherlands 1
(Kist(pen)) Greece 0
Group A (7:30pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt*
*This match was not shown live
on either channel, though it was ITV's featured match on their late night
highlights programme at 11:10-11:55pm presented by Dickie Davies with Ian
St John and Mick Channon (Czechoslovakia v West Germany was shown as the
2nd match). Des Lynam voiced the match for BBC1 who only showed highlights
of both of today's games at 10:30-11:40pm. Note:- One source says Tyler
commentated for ITV, but Sinstadt penned a report on this match for the
Times. The Netherlands had to substitute their keeper after only 15 minutes
when Peter Schrijvers injured himself, but Kees Kist scored the only goal
from the penalty spot on 65 minutes to give the Dutch the points after
the Greek keeper Konstantinou had kicked out at Dick Naninga as the Dutch
player beared down on a defender turning to take the ball away from danger
at the byline, Konstantinou threw himself down to the ground as if
it was he who had been kicked in an apparent attempt to confuse the referee,
but the penalty was awarded. Greece almost equalised minutes from the end,
Kapsis met a corner with his head but the Netherlands substitute keeper
Pim Doesburg fingertipped it onto the crossbar.
Thu 12/06/1980 Belgium 1 (Ceulemans)
England 1 (Wilkins)
Group B (4:45pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*BBC1 had LIVE coverage with
John Motson & Bobby Charlton commentating at 4:35-6:50pm. Ray Wilkins
scored a great goal to put England ahead on 25 after Belgium had failed
to properly deal with a cross by Brooking, Wilkins lobbed the ball over
the defence and then ran on to half-volley a chip into the top corner.
Jan Ceulemans soon equalised on 29, stabbing home after a goalmouth scramble.
It was then that trouble erupted behind the goal into which Belgium had
scored, police used tear gas bombs and charged into the England support
swinging their batons. Ray Clemence and Kenny Sansom suffered from the
effects of the tear gas and play was held up for 5 minutes. In the 2nd
half, Tony Woodcock found the back on the net on 75, Sansom - who had supplied
the cross - was tentatively ruled offside by the linesman who raised his
flag before putting it down again, but the Belgium players made sure the
referee upheld his colleague's initial instinct. England manager Ron Greenwood
said afterwards; "It was an even first half and they shut up shop in the
second half, we found it difficult to break them down." On the trouble-makers
Greenwood said; "I wish they could all be put in a boat and dropped in
the ocean." On Friday morning The Mirror's sensationalist back page headline
warned of an "ENGLAND BAN THREAT", but they then went on to quote FA secretary
Ted Croker as merely stating; "UEFA have the power to suspend us, but I
don't believe they will take such a severe course, they will probably fine
us heavily." A fine of £8,000 was announced later that day,but many
of those who were there insisted that local thugs were as much to blame
for the trouble as visiting England fans and that the police reaction had
been totally disproportionate. The match turned out to be the 8th and final
England appearance for David Johnson. ITV showed highlights at some point
during the live broadcast of the night match.
Thu 12/06/1980 Italy 0 Spain
0
Group B (7:30pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Ron Atkinson
*ITV had LIVE coverage at 7:00-9:30pm.
The Italians forced some good saves out of Arconada in the 1st half and
Graziani might have won a penalty had he not resorted to theatrics to underline
the challenge in the box, he was booked for his protests. Spain were unlucky
not to go ahead as early as the 12th minute when they had a goal ruled
out by a marginal offside decision. The unfancied Spanish team also went
close in the 2nd half when a Juanito free-kick crashed down off the underside
of the crossbar into the grateful arms of Dino Zoff. A shot from Tardelli
clipped the bar at the other end and the game ended scoreless, with the
hosts leaving the field to jeers and whistles. It was a good result for
England that saw them share top spot in Group B with Belgium on goals scored
at completion of the first set of fixtures. BBC1 had Barry Davies call
the Italy v Spain game for highlights of today's matches at 10:15-11:05pm.
Sat 14/06/1980 "World of Sport"
*ITV's Saturday afternoon Sport
show included a review of the European Championships at 12:35pm. BBC1 had
a "Football Focus" as part of "Grandstand" from 12:35-12:50pm.
Game 2
Sat 14/06/1980 West Germany
3 (Allofs 3) Netherlands 2 (Rep(pen), Willy van de Kerkhof)
Group A (4:45pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*BBC1 showed this LIVE as part
of "Grandstand" with Barry Davies & Lawrie McMenemy commentating, coverage
of the actual football from 4:35-6:30pm. A winner in this fixture would
be clear favourites to win the group and book their place in the final.
Klaus Allofs netted a hat-trick to fire the Germans into a 3-0 lead, the
first coming on 20 after Bernd Schuster had turned on the edge of the box
and struck against the post leaving Allofs with the simple task of rolling
the rebound into a gaping net. The Dutch should have had a penalty on 52
when René van de Kerkhof was brought down by Uli Stielike, but the
referee inexplicably awarded the Dutch an indirect free-kick for obstruction
which came to nothing. then came two further West German goals - it was
2-0 on the hour when an Allofs shot with the outside of his left foot from
the edge of the box found the far corner of the net after being set up
by Hansi Müller, and 5 minutes later Allofs volleyed in from close
range at the end of a pull-back by Schuster. The Dutch did get a penalty
on 79 for a clear cynical foul on Bennie Wijnstekers by Lothar Matthaus,
although ironically the TV replay showed that it had been committed well
outside the box. Johnny Rep converted. There was a late scare for
West Germany when Willy van de Kerkhof pulled it back to 3-2 on 85 with
a fizzing low 25 yarder. ITV highlights were shown during their live coverage
of the night match.
Sat 14/06/1980 Czechoslovakia
3 (Panenka, Vizek, Nehoda) Greece 1 (Anastopoulos)
Group A (7:30pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Ron Atkinson
*ITV had this match LIVE at
7:15-9:30pm. Less than 5,000 spectators turned up to see Antonín
Panenka put the Czechs ahead on 6 with a direct free-kick that the keeper
could only help into the near corner of the net, Nikos Anastopoulos equalised
on 14 with a flicked header on the end of a cross from the right, but the
Czechs soon restored the lead on 26 via a swift break and fine ball out
to the right which Ladislav Vízek hit first time past the advancing
keeper. In the 2nd half Zdenek Nehoda made it 3-1 on 63 at the end of a
corner. There was no BBC coverage of this one today, although Des Lynam
commentated for goal clips broadcast on the Sunday.
Sun 15/06/1980 "The European
Football Championship"
*A preview of the Italy v England match presented
by Dickie Davies at 2:30-3:00pm
Sun 15/06/1980 Belgium 2 (Gerets,
Cools) Spain 1 (Quini)
Group B (4:45pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Curiously not shown live by
either channel, BBC1 included the match in a late night highlights show
with Barry Davies commentating at 11:05-12:05pm whilst ITV showed a highlights
package of the day's events at 11:35pm-12:05am. Belgium went ahead on 17
with a goal fashioned by a purposelful forward run by defender Meeuws and,
after an exchange of passes, finished by a right foot srike by Eric Gerets.
Quini equalised on 36 with a looping header on the end of a deep free-kick
from wide-left, but Julien Cools netted a winner for Belgium on 65 after
Ceulemans had skillfully left two defenders for dead on the right flank
and then played a deflected ball into the box which Cools was able to prod
in at the far post.
Sun 15/06/1980 Italy 1 (Tardelli)
England 0
Group B (7:30pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Ron Atkinson
*Exclusively LIVE on ITV at 7:15-9:30pm introduced
from London by Dickie Davies, joined by Ian St John, Mick Channon and Trevor
Francis. This fixture was watched by the highest attendance of the tournament
(including the final), 59,646. Following crowd trouble in their opening
match, most of the 1,000 England fans decided to take a safety in numbers
approach and arranged to meet at the railway station and walk to the ground
together from there, forcing the police into giving them an escort (a request
for which had earlier been turned down), the fans were met at the stadium
by riot police with shields and drawn batons and they were searched before
being allowed in. England were unfortunate not to take a 2nd half lead
when Ray Kennedy (in his 17th and final appearance in England colours)
snapped a superb shot against the upright on 57, Kevin Keegan was also
agonisingly close with a shot that flashed across the face of goal. On
78 Phil Neal failed to make an effective challenge on Graziani which left
the Italian free down the left and his hard low cross found Tardelli in
the six-yard area who turned the ball past Shilton for 1-0. Ron Greenwood
said afterwards; "Phil Neal is blaming himself but no one else is blaming
him. No honour was lost out there on the field. We feel we belong in top
company and in top competitions, everybody did a great job and the match
itself was even, both teams played much better than in their first games."
Italy boss Enzo Bearzot said; "I thought our 2nd half display was as good
as anything we produced in the World Cup in Argentina, we were more effective
because we moved Bettega in from the left wing to the centre and created
room for all our attacks down that flank." ITV also had a late night highlights
programme from 11:35pm-12:05am, BBC1 had John Motson at the game for highlights
included on their late show at 11:05pm-12:05am. The following day, many
newspapers abroad were reporting that Kevin Keegan had accused the referee
of taking a bribe, though the tape of his interview revealed that what
he actually said was; "On their own ground, well, they always seem to get
a bit of help from referees, but I'm not saying they are bought or anything,
just that fifty-fifty decisions always went to Italy." Ron Greenwood would
only comment; "Anything I say might indicate that we are taking this seriously
and we most definitely are not."
Game 3
Tue 17/06/1980 Czechoslovakia
1 (Nehoda) Netherlands 1 (Kist)
Group A (4:45pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*BBC2 showed this match LIVE
at 4:35-6:40pm with Barry Davies & Bobby Charlton commentating. Both
sides had to win to have any hope of reaching the final, though a draw
would be enough for the Czechs to make the 3rd place play-off. The
Dutch made a purposeful start to the game and Frans Thijssen hit the woodwork
on 5 minutes, but against the run of play Zdenek Nehoda slid into the the
six yard area to prod the Czechs ahead on 16 after some good build up play
by Masny and Vizek. Arie Haan, famed for his long range shooting in 1978
World Cup, came on as a sub for the Netherlands in the 2nd half and was
close with a couple of trademark efforts, but it was Kees Kist who equalised
on 59 - receiving a square ball from Krol's free-kick he took a touch and
then, as he fell to the ground, managed to get in a shot which just squeezed
into the corner of the goal. A late Dutch header on 81 by van der Korput
also found the net but was ruled out for offside. ITV showed highlights
of this one during the live broadcast of the night match.
Tue 17/06/1980 Greece 0 West
Germany 0
Group A (7:30pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Ron Atkinson
*LIVE on ITV from 7:00-9:30pm.
The result of the afternoon match rendered this fixture meaningless - The
West Germans were now guaranteed a place in the final whilst Greece were
destined to finish bottom of the group, though they did salvage some pride
with this point. West Germany rested their hat-trick hero Allofs as well
as the players on yellow cards in danger of being suspended for the final
- they created the better chances but were probably satisfied to maintain
their 2 year unbeaten record. BBC1 showed a highlights programme at 10:25-11:15pm
with Des Lynam commentating on this game.
Group A Final Table
1. West Germany +2 5
2. Czechoslovakia +1 3
3. Netherlands 0
3
4. Greece
-3 1
Wed 18/06/1980 England 2 (Brooking,
Woodcock) Spain 1 (Dani(pen))
Group B (4:45pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Ron Atkinson
*ITV had exclusive LIVE coverage at 4:25-6:45pm including
an interview with Glenn Hoddle. It was still possible for either side to
make the 3rd place play-off with a victory, though a 2 goal winning margin
would give the winners a better chance. Trevor Brooking put England ahead
on 19 by lashing the ball in from the right of the 6 yard area after a
high cross by McDermott had been headed back across goal by Wilkins. On
48 Zamora made a strong run at goal, exchanged a one-two and then went
down as Clemence attempted to push the ball away from his feet - The referee
awarded the penalty and Dani equalised from the spot for 1-1. Spain won
another penalty only four minutes later when Dave Watson tripped Enrique
Saura as he turned in the box, Dani again netted from the spot but the
referee ordered a re-take and this time Ray Clemence saved it. England
went 2-1 ahead with a goal by Tony Woodcock on 61, prodding in a re-bound
after McDermott's tremendous volley on the end of a corner had been parried
by Arconada. Spain then had an effort blocked on the line, a goal ruled
out for offside and also saw a header come back off the crossbar, whilst
at the other end England somehow failed to score with a series of successive
strikes in a mad scramble. Sub Trevor Cherry made his 27th and final international
appearance. Barry Davies commentated for BBC1 who showed highlights during
their live broadcast of the night match.
Wed 18/06/1980 Italy 0 Belgium
0
Group B (7:30pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*LIVE on BBC1 at 6:55-9:35pm with John Motson &
Bobby Charlton commentating. Italy required a victory to go through to
the final whilst a draw would be good enough for rank outsiders Belgium
(as they had scored more goals in the earlier group games). The Belgians
did venture forward and held the initative for long periods, testing Zoff
with two free-kick efforts in the opening half-hour of a rough game that
saw five players cautioned. Italy were denied a clear penalty when a defender
cleared with his hand near the edge of the box and the last 20 minutes
were desperate with Belgium hanging on until the final whistle. ITV had
a highlights programme at 11:05-11:50pm.
Group B Final Table
1. Belgium
+1 4
2. Italy
+1 4
3. England
0 3
4. Spain
-2 1
Sat 21/06/1980 "World of Sport"
*A Europa 80 report was included
during the early part of the programme.
3rd & 4th Place Play Off
Sat 21/06/1980 Czechoslovakia
1 (Jurkemik) Italy 1 (Graziani) *Czechs won on 9-8 on
pens (no extra-time)
Naples, 7:30pm bst
BBC Highlights
Barry Davies
*BBC1 showed highlights of this
at the very late time of 12:15am prompting letters of complaint to the
Radio Times (they had originally intended to show it live), After a goalless
1st half Ladislav Jurkemik put Czechoslovakia ahead on 54, Francesco Graziani
equalised for Italy on 73 and the match then went straight to a penalty
shoot out. Both sides netted all 5 spot kicks and both then netted the
next 3 in sudden death, but Fulvio Collovati finally failed for Italy.
ITV showed brief clips the following day ahead of the final called by Gerald
Sinstadt.
The Final
Sun 22/06/1980 "The European
Football Championship"
*A 30 minute slot at 5:00-5:30pm to preview the final,
hosted by Dickie Davies with Ian St John and Mick Channon.
Sun 22/06/1980 West Germany
2 (Hrubesch 2) Belgium 1 (Vandereycken(pen))
Rome, 7:30pm bst
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Ron Atkinson
*Both channels showed the final LIVE. ITV from 7:15-9:45pm
with England manager Ron Greenwood billed to appear, BBC1 at 7:15-9:35pm
with John Motson commentating. TVTimes
incorrectly billed Jack Charlton as the co-commentator. Belgium set out
to smother and spoil their opponents but Horst Hrubesch put the West Germans
ahead on 10 after Schuster and Allofs had combined to send Hrubesh clear
to chest the ball under control and sweep home. The Germans were much the
better side - particularly in the first half, but on 75 Belgium were awarded
a controversial penalty when Stielike chopped down van der Elst, seemingly
outside the area. Despite the German protests the Romanian referee stuck
to his judgement that the foul was committed inside the box and René
Vandereycken equalised from the spot for 1-1. Justice was done at the end
when Horst Hrubesch scored his 2nd goal in the final for a late winner
on 88 with a header at the end of a Rummenigge corner. ITV would have showed
a highlights programme at 11pm if England had made it to the final. Had
the final ended in a draw, a replay would have taken place on Tuesday 24th
June.
Email
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01.05.2022