StoryTop 30 matches that marked the Euro. Until 2021, "Le Monde" has classified the 30 matches that made the legend of the tournament. In 4th position, the Dutch finally won their first international title, while the USSR team experienced its last shivers.
The end of the ball. The song by Vladimir Vissotsky, the famous Soviet songwriter, perfectly prophesies the participation of the team of the USSR in Euro 1988. Only three years before the collapse of the Union of Socialist Republics, which may suspect that the Soviet footballers live during that summer their last great adventure?
Their final upheavals – a last failed World Cup in 1990 and a sad end to Euro 1992 under the fleeting banner of the Commonwealth of Independent States – do nothing to change this nostalgic finding. Despite an inaugural coronation in 1960, in the particular circumstances of a four-participant Euro, no Soviet team had perhaps as much deserved to win a great competition as the Valeri Lobanovski gang in 1988.
Yes, but on June 25, after defeating the Netherlands and England in the pools and eliminating Italy in the semi-finals, striker Igor Belanov and his teammates miss consecration in the final against the same Dutch.
Page Contents
"What could I have done? "
Finally, this West German campaign takes on the air of a requiem with a knockout, engraved in all memories, inflicted by Marco van Basten with a volley in an impossible angle. The best goalkeeper of the tournament, Rinat Dassaev, was struck down on the spot.
"Some people who don't understand anything have accused me of not having anticipated the volley. But what could I have done? The trajectory of the ball was so fantastic that no goalkeeper in the world could have stopped the shot ", later told the victim of Van Basten. The striker will reveal the secret of his masterpiece: his past as a gymnast has helped him find that perfect balance.
Cantor of the collective, the Ukrainian trainer of the USSR, Valeri Lobanovski, has been wearing a double hat for two years when he leads his troops to the Euro: that of coach of the legendary Dynamo Kiev, winner of the European Cup cup winners in 1986, and that of coach of the USSR.
For its premiere, it brought Soviet footballers to the knockout stages of the Mexican World Cup in 1986, beaten only in overtime by Belgium (4-3). For Euro 1988, eleven of his twenty players also played for him in Kiev. In the final, seven of the holders even belong to Dynamo.
Deliverance for the eternal losers
Very inspired by the revolution in total football, initiated precisely in the 1970s by his opponent of the day, the Dutchman Rinus Michels, "Loba" developed his philosophy of play in this declaration in pre-match conference, translated by the specialized site At the first post in 2016:
“The 86 World Cup was the Maradona tournament. This Euro can be the football tournament “Ssocialized” of the USSR. We are not talking about an other or another who stood out, but rather whether the teams are playing well or badly in this tournament. And I include in the lot a footballer of the talent of Gullit able to make such exploits but who is above all “a team player”. This is precisely what makes the Netherlands the most dangerous team in this tournament. It is a very flexible block where it is very difficult to determine who are the attackers, who are the defenders. "
At the Olympic Stadium in Munich, the atmosphere is hostile. The bleachers are invaded by an “oranje” tide, revenge fourteen years after the World Cup final lost here even against the German rival, which his protégés have just struck down after an electric semi-final.
The 25,000 Dutch supporters have no plans to leave again without success, perhaps this is what motivates them to adopt an unsportsmanlike attitude by whistling the Soviet anthem before the kick-off.
Fate has chosen sides
Surprised in the first match by the Soviets, the Netherlands of Rinus Michels will coolly take advantage of the grains of sand which stop the machine set up by Lobanovski. The two defense centerpieces are indeed missing: Vladimir Bessonov and Oleg Kuznetsov. To top it off, his two best offensive individuals are not in the form of their lives: Oleg Protasov and especially the 1986 Golden Ball, Igor Belanov, left at rest in the semi-finals because of a thigh pain .
From the half hour of play, Ruud Gullit justifies the praises of Lobanosvki. Erwin Koeman recovers the ball following a poorly cleared corner, his center is stored from the head by Marco van Basten for that of Gullit, who propels the ball under the crossbar (1-0). Twenty minutes later, the most complete and elegant attacker of his generation knocked out the Soviets, relegating "socialized football" to history. "My goal was totally overshadowed by Marco's work of art", Gullit smiles again.
Igor Belanov has plenty of time to find the post on a shot and miss a penalty, magnificently diverted by Hans van Breukelen, at fault on a seemingly harmless action along the line. Fate has chosen its side: deliverance of eternal losers (two World Cup finals lost in 1974 and 1978) for some and defeat heralding a decline for others.
It will take twenty years to witness the international renaissance of former Soviet football when Russia reaches the semi-finals of Euro 2008. Great architects of this ultimate Soviet epic, Ukrainian footballers have never much shined since, not exceeding the group stages in three participations in the European Nations Championship. As if the charm was broken.
Find our Top 30 matches that marked the Euro
