4. Euro 1988 – Van Basten Trademarks the Volley
Despite all their quality, all their flair and all their splendid football, Holland have come to wear the tag of runners-up far too often. It happened in 2010, it happened 1974, it happened in 1978 as well – all of them World Cups. In the Euros, they made 4 semi-final appearances, coming 3rd in 3 of them. This despite their teams being littered across the years with the likes of Arjen Robben, Patrick Kluivert, Rudi Voller and Johan Cruyff. Why? Nobody knows; they lack nothing apparent, but at the very end they always tend to fall. Except in 1988, when one man made sure his nation would take home a major tournament for the first and last time since.
Marco Van Basten, one of the greatest footballers to have ever lived, was a joy to watch when he was fit. A top-notch dribbler, pacy runner and a brilliant footballing brain all melded into a frail, precocious body that would give out by the age of 28. Even then, he’d scored 300 goals by then, his undoubtedly greatest one coming in the 1988 final against the Soviet Union. He had downed their bitter German rivals in the semi-final for his 4th tournament goal, driving his side to a meeting with the mighty Soviets, who they’d lost 1-0 in the group stage. Ruud Gullit’s opener in the first half had put the Dutch in the ascendancy this time, and on 54 minutes, he received a sweet cross from Arnold Muhren from the left. Such was it’s angle, he could nicely take it down and go forward to score – but that’s not the kind of man Van Basten was.
With one of history’s most gilded touches, he smashed a volley in with all of his elegance and grace to score of the the greatest goals anyone has ever seen. The Netherlands won 2-0, and they have not had anyone who could affect a final like that ever since, or ever before.
