Prior to 1980, the European Championships final tournament consisted of just four nations, competing over semi finals and a final. Since this meant no team could play more than two matches in the finals (except in the event of replays) few individuals registered a notable number of goals. In 1960 five players shared the accolade of top goal scorer, each netting twice. Four years later three players were tied, also on two goals. In 1968 Dragan Dzajic of Yugoslavia was the first outright top scorer - but he still only scored twice across three matches.
West Germany Dominate the European Championships
The great West German striker Gerd Muller was the first man to make a real goalscoring impact on the tournament, scoring twice in the 1972 semi final against Belgium, and twice more in the final against the Soviet Union to lead his side to the title. His namesake, Dieter Muller, was the hero four years later, grabbing a late equalizer in a semi final against Yugoslavia, before going on to complete his hat-trick in extra time. He also scored in the final against Czechoslovakia, matching Gerd Muller’s tournament record of four.
1980 saw the tournament expand to eight teams, but there was still no spectacular accumulation of goals from specific individuals. For the third tournament in succession, a West German was the most prolific scorer. Klaus Allofs helped himself to a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over the Netherlands, and although they were the only goals he scored in the competition, they were enough to win him the outright honour of top goal scorer.
Platini Sets the Goal Standard
Michel Platini, now famous - or infamous - as a UEFA administrator, made a significant impact for France on home soil in 1984. The influential captain netted the winner against Denmark, before scoring three times in a 5-0 annihilation of Belgium, and completing another hat-trick against Yugoslavia. In the group stage alone he had grabbed seven goals, shattering the tournament record. But he was not finished yet. Platini netted in the last minute of extra time to seal a semi final win over Portugal, and then opened the scoring in the final against Spain as France clinched the title. In only five matches Platini scored nine goals, a record that even with the expansion of the tournament will be hard to match.
Marco Van Basten was the hero for the Netherlands in 1988, kick starting his nations tournament with a hat-trick against England in the group stages, and scoring late in the semi final against West Germany to seal a place in the final. The Dutchman then scored one of the most memorable goals in the tournament's history in the final, lashing home a volley from a tight angle to clinch a 2-0 win over the Soviet Union and leave him with five goals in the competition.
After the heroics of Platini and Van Basten, 1992 produced no such individual fireworks. Four players managed to score three goals, including Henrik Larsen for champions Denmark.
Shearer and Kluivert are Among the Goals
Alan Shearer entered Euro 96 in an international goal drought, but an early goal against Switzerland in the opening match of the tournament set him on his way. Shearer scored in the next match against Scotland, and added two against the Netherlands as England gained momentum. They seemed destined for the final when Shearer gave them the lead after just three minutes in the semi final against Germany, but were eventually undone after a penalty shoot out, leaving Shearer stranded on five goals.
Two men reached the magic number of five in 2000. Savo Milosevic guided Yugoslavia through the group stage with four goals, but by the time he netted in time added on in the quarter final against the Netherlands, his country's hopes had already been extinguished. The Dutch ran out 6-1 winners. On target with a hat-trick in that match was Patrick Kluivert, but he was unable to score again in the semi final, and finished tied with Milosevic on five for the tournament.
Milan Baros was the stand-out striker in 2004, as the Czech Republic won three out of three in the group stage, including victories over Germany and the Netherlands, with Baros scoring in every match. Baros scored twice more in a quarter final win over Denmark, and seemed to be leading his team to a memorable over-all victory, but he was well shackled by Greece in the semi final, as the Czech Republic were surprisingly beaten. For the third tournament in a row, the leading scorer finished on five goals - and did not leave with a winner's medal.
Villa Helps Spain to Glory
In fact, Larsen of Denmark in 1992 had been the last man to be leading scorer while winning the tournament, and Van Basten in 1988 had been the last to do so outright. David Villa of Spain changed that in 2008, opening the tournament in style with a hat-trick against Russia. Villa managed only one more goal in the competition, a late winner against Sweden, but his four goals were enough to make him top scorer as Spain went on to become champions.
Jonathan Squirrell - Jon Squirrell is a freelance writer and 3-dimensional cartoonist currently living on Humberside. As well as writing for Suite 101, Jon ...
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