The club football season is over and as we move into June, all eyes will be drawn to Euro 2016. As the quadrennial summer tournament kicks off in France on 10 June, the 15th edition of Europe’s most prestigious international competition will see 24 teams vie for the title in an all-new format.
With such tournaments that take place only once every four years, the records set by players and teams become that much more difficult to break. Milestones achieved are that much more difficult to surpass while there are also a few records nobody would want to be associated with.
We look at five such records that could be associated with a new player or team by the end of Euro 2016.
1) Top Goalscorer in Euro history
1984 was a truly memorable year for hosts France. They won their first ever title on the back of Michel Platini’s fine performance in the competition as they beat Spain 2-0 in the final in front of nearly 50,000 fans at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
While Platini may have been in the news for the wrong reasons in the past year thanks to the scandals at FIFA, he was making headlines at Euro ‘84 when he scored in each and every game for Les Bleus. In the group stage, he scored against Denmark before grabbing two hat-tricks – against Belgium and Yugoslavia. In the semi-final, Platini scored the winner in extra-time to help France beat Portugal 3-2 before scoring in the final against Spain. In all, he scored 9 goals in the competition.
Surprisingly, 9 goals is the highest goal tally by a player in Euro history. And Platini achieved that feat in just one tournament. He won the Ballon d’Or as a result – the second of three consecutive titles at the time.
In Euro 2016, the active players most capable of surpassing his tally are Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Both players are currently on six goals. With the chance to play a maximum of seven games if a team reaches the final, it is highly possible.
| # | Player | Country | Goals | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michel Platini | France | 9 | 5 |
| 2 | Alan Shearer | England | 7 | 9 |
| 3 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands | 6 | 8 |
| Patrick Kluivert | Netherlands | 6 | 9 | |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Sweden | 6 | 10 | |
| Thierry Henry | France | 6 | 11 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 6 | 14 | |
| Nuno Gomes | Portugal | 6 | 14 |
2) Most Euro championship wins
The two big favourites for Euro 2016 are the world champions and the defending champions – Germany and Spain. The two countries have also won the competition a total of three times – the only teams to do so.
Germany first won the title in 1972 when there were only four teams. The first fixture was literally the semi-final followed by the third-place playoff and final. Germany (then called West Germany) beat Belgium and Soviet Union to take home the trophy.
Their triumphs in 1980 and 1996 saw an increasing number of teams participating (eight in 1980 and 16 in 1996). Germany won four and drew two in 1996 (they beat England on penalties in the semi-final) to lift their third title but haven’t won it since.
On the other hand, Spain have had a tougher run to their last two titles. While their 1964 triumph also saw La Furia Roja just win two games (against Hungary and Soviet Union) to lift their first title, the 2008 and 2012 triumphs were much more challenging campaigns.
2008 saw Spain win five and draw once (against Italy who they beat in penalties in the quarter-finals) while 2012 also saw them draw Italy in the group stage while Portugal took them to penalties in the semi-final.
Both teams have a good chance of going all the way in France. If either of them do, they will be the only team to win Euro four times.
3) Tournament with most goals
Since the first edition of Euro in 1960, the number of participating teams has steadily increased. It was four teams for the first five editions until the 1980 tournament saw the number of teams double.
It wasn’t until 1996 that the number doubled again to see 16 teams fight it out for the title. The addition of more teams saw more matches being played as an extra round of games was added.
Till Euro 2012, the format seemed to be the best as teams played three matches in the group stage followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. This year, however, there are now 24 teams split into six groups, adding an additional round – the Round of 16.
Therefore, instead of the usual 31 matches, we will see an extra 20 matches due to the increased number of teams, groups and an extra round. Judging by the recent trend, there is almost no question that this tournament will see the most number of goals scored in a single tournament.
| Edition | Teams | Matches | Goals | Champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16 | 31 | 85 | France |
| 2004 | 16 | 31 | 77 | Greece |
| 2008 | 16 | 31 | 77 | Spain |
| 2012 | 16 | 31 | 76 | Spain |
| 1996 | 16 | 31 | 64 | Germany |
| 2016 | 24 | 51 | ? | ? |
4) Most goals scored by a single team in a tournament
In the past five editions of Euro, a team played a maximum of six games if they reached the final. With an average of two goals per game, it is no wonder then that the highest-scoring teams in a single edition have all come in the past two decades.
Save for one. The incredible France squad from 1984 led by an inspirational Michel Platini plundered their opponents and scored 14 goals. Platini himself scored nine – including two hat-tricks.
With the extra game added in Euro 2016, ironically a decision championed by Platini himself, it is possible that a team reaching the semi-finals or final could break the record set by France in 1984.
Who could it be?
| # | Country | Edition | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 1984 | 14 |
| 2 | France | 2000 | 13 |
| Netherlands | 2000 | 13 | |
| 4 | Spain | 2008 | 12 |
| Spain | 2012 | 12 | |
| 7 | Czech Republic | 2004 | 10 |
| England | 2004 | 10 |
5) Most finishes as runners-up in Euro
This is one record no team will want. But it could belong to the World Cup champions if they reach the final and lose yet again.
Germany have reached the Euro final a record six times. The next best is Spain and the now defunct Soviet Union with four each. But Spain won it thrice (1964, 2008 and 2012) and the Soviet Union won it once (1960).
One other team to reach three finals is Italy. And they managed to win it only once in 1968 before losing to France and Spain in 2000 and 2012 respectively.
Die Mannschaft, on the other hand, have won three times but also lost the final three times. While they won the title in 1972, 1980 and 1996, they lost in 1976 (Czech Republic), 1992 (Denmark) and 2008 (Spain).
It is a record they will want to rectify and improve their final winning percentage. Will they reach yet another major final? And if they do, can they go all the way as they did in the Maracana Stadium in Brazil two years ago?
