Euro 1960 In Retrospect
Written by Oyediji Oluwaseun
The first European Championship, popularly known as the Euro took place in 1960 and hosted in the French cities of Paris and Marseille with four teams; France (host), Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union.
The first semi-final match at Parc de Princes between host, France, and Yugoslavia was a nine-goal thriller with the latter securing a 4-5 victory.
Milan Galic’s 11th-minute goal for Yugoslavia was equalled by Jean-Vincent a minute later for France.
The French side took the lead in the 43rd minute via a goal from François Heutte and increased their lead in the 53rd minute thanks to a goal from Maryan Wisniewski.
Yugoslavia responded in the 55th minute as Ante Zanetic pulled a goal for them before François Heutte made it 4-2 in favour of France.
A late surge from the Yugoslavian saw them score three goals from Tomislav Knez and Drazan Jerkovic’s brace which salvaged a win for the Communist county.
In the second semi-final game at Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, Soviet Union eased past Czechoslovakia 0-3.
A brace from Valentin Ivanov and a goal from Viktor Ponedelnik took the Soviets into the final.
Before the final match, a third-place play-off game took place on July 9, 1960, between France and Czechoslovakia which ended 2-0 in favour of the latter courtesy of goals from Vlastimil Bubník and Ladislav Pavlovic.
The present format does not support a third-place payoff after the team’s elimination from the semi-final.
The final of the Inaugural UEFA European Championship (Euro 1960) at Parc de Princes ended 2-1 in favour of the Soviet Union over Yugoslavia after extra time.
Both sides could not be separated after Milan Garlic’s goal for Yugoslavia was canceled by Slava Metreveli.
Viktor Ponedelnik’s 113th goal sealed victory for the Soviet Union.
Five players with two goals each emerged as top goal scorers; François Heutte (France), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Viktor Ponedelnik (Soviet Union), Milan Galic (Yugoslavia), and Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia).
The European Championship that now takes place every four years among European countries started 61 years ago in France and continues to take place as one of the biggest football showpiece alongside the FIFA World Cup.
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