Remembering the Euro '96 Team of the Tournament
Euro '96 was the ultimate festival of football. So many classic teams, so many classic players, so many classic kits and so many classic moments dictated that magical summer.
Germany went all the way to lift the trophy. But an emerging France shone, as did England on home soil, as well as surprise showings from Czech Republic and Croatia.
24 (?!) years on, here's a look back at the team of the tournament...
GK - Andreas Kopke (Germany)
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Andreas Kopke took over from 1990 World Cup winner Bodo Illgner following the 1994 World Cup and held onto the gloves for four years until 1998.
He didn’t concede a single goal during the Euro ’96 group stage and saved the penalty shootout spot-kick from Gareth Southgate that put Germany into the final at the expense of England.
DF - Paolo Maldini (Italy)
Club: AC Milan
Italy exited Euro ’96 at the group stage after winning only one of their three games, but it is a testament to Paolo Maldini’s quality that he was still chosen for the Team of the Tournament.
Maldini inherited the AC Milan captaincy that summer and remained among the world’s very best defender until the day he retired aged 40 in May 2009.
DF - Laurent Blanc (France)
Club: Auxerre
The seeds of France’s 1998 World Cup win on home soil had already been sewn at Euro ’96 and Les Bleus actually got within a penalty shootout of reaching the final.
Laurent Blanc, who joined Barcelona after the tournament, was a significant part of that. His defence kept consecutive clean sheets in 240 minutes of quarter and semi-final action.
DF - Marcel Desailly (France)
Club: AC Milan
Lining up alongside Blanc for France was Marcel Desailly. The versatile star was already a two-time Champions League winner and added World Cup and Euro glory in 1998 and 2000 respectively.
Desailly played every minute of France’s tournament, with the team navigating a very difficult group that featured Spain, Romania and Bulgaria – the latter two enjoying golden generations.
DF - Matthias Sammer (Germany)
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Matthias Sammer won the Ballon d’Or in 1996, making him the first defender to win the prestigious individual accolade since fellow countryman Franz Beckenbauer 20 years earlier.
Operating as a sweeper à la Beckenbauer had done, Sammer marshalled Germany’s supreme defensive efforts that ultimately paved the way for their overall triumph.
MF - Paul Gascoigne (England)
Club: Rangers
That goal against Scotland will perhaps be the lasting image of Paul Gascoigne’s maverick brilliance, with the midfielder proving once more to be England’s X-factor in resurgent displays.
Gazza only played at two major international tournaments in his career and reached the semi-finals both times. On each occasion, however, he was knocked out by Germany in cruel fashion.
MF - Dieter Eilts (Germany)
Club: Werder Bremen
German midfielder Dieter Eilts made the only international competition of his career count, helping his country lift the trophy and earning a place in the Team of the Tournament at the end of it.
Although 31 at the time, Elits was far less experienced at international level than many of his colleagues. But his functional performances contributed to Germany’s defensive strength.
MF - Karel Poborsky (Czech Republic)
Club: Slavia Prague
Karel Poborsky’s improvised scoop lob that knocked out a strong Portugal side at the quarter-final stage remains one of the more iconic moments of Euro ’96.
The Czech Republic winger helped his country get to the final at their first international tournament since the break-up of Czechoslovakia, and joined Manchester United soon after.
FW - Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
Club: Parma
A former Ballon d’Or and World Cup Golden Boot winner, Hristo Stoichkov was joint second top scorer at Euro ’96 despite going no further than the competition’s group stage.
He netted in each of his country’s three games and was the only Bulgarian to score. After this tournament he returned to Barcelona at club level, having previously been part of the 'Dream Team’.
FW - Alan Shearer (England)
Club: Blackburn Rovers
Going into Euro ’96, Alan Shearer hadn’t scored an international goal in nearly two years – a run lasing 12 games, but he netted in England’s Wembley opener and didn’t look back.
Shearer finished the tournament as the top scorer with five goals to his name and was soon the subject of a world record transfer battle between Newcastle and Manchester United.
FW - Davor Suker (Croatia)
Club: Sevilla
Croatia’s first international tournament since declaring independence from Yugoslavia was a positive one and paved the way to finish third at the 1998 World Cup two years later.
Davor Suker was a star at both, netting three times at Euro ’96. One of those included an effortlessly elegant chip against reigning champions Denmark over the head of Peter Schmeichel.
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