1964 European Nations’ Cup Finals
Host: Spain
Winners: Spain

Yes, you that read that correctly: Spain, the perennial underachievers of international football, actually won this tournament. Of course, like England two years later, Spain’s only major victory had a considerable assist from hosting the final tournament.

In the first part of this article, we looked at how the holders, the Soviet Union, powered their way past Italy to the semi-finals, where they’d face Denmark, who had progressed mainly thanks to a favourable draw. Meanwhile, the hosts Spain would play Hungary, perhaps not the force they had been in their 1950s heyday, but a dangerous threat all the same.

Remember, the tournament was very different from today in 1964: the finals (the host was chosen once the semi-finalists had been determined) only featured four teams.

Madrid, June 17, Santiago Bernabéu
Spain 2-1 Hungary [aet]
[Pereda 35, Amancio 115; Bene 84]; [ref: Blavier (Belgium); att: 125,000]

Managed by José Villalonga Llorente, who had won the first ever European Cup with Real Madrid at the age of 36 in 1956 and had done the La Liga/Copa Latina/European Cup treble in 1957, Spain had blitzed through the qualifying campaign. Their star players included Inter Milan’s Luis Suárez, European Footballer of the Year in 1960, and Real Madrid’s winger Amancio. Their intricate football was applauded by all, and Spain were not yet haunted by the interminable self-doubt that would later characterise their play.

Hungary, meanwhile, were still trying to shake off the shadow of the magnificent 1950s team, and reaching the semi-finals was an impressive feat in itself. Indeed, they would twice reach the World Cup quarter-finals in the 1960s, and were led by Ferencváros’ Florian Albert, who Jonathon Wilson recently said “stands among the greatest centre-forwards the world has ever known” (he would win the Ballon d’Or in 1967).

The game matched the pedigree of the two teams. Luis Suarez helped set-up Jesus María Pereda to give Spain the lead in the 35th minute, but Újpesti Dózsa’s Ferenc Bene forced extra time with an 84th minute equaliser. With just five minutes left in extra time, Amancio broke the deadlock, and Spain had reached the final.

Spain: Iribar, Rivilla, Calleja, Zoco, Olivella, Fusté, Amancio, Pereda, Marcelino, Suárez, Lapetra
Hungary: Szentmihalyi, Mátrai, Mészöly, Sárosi, Nagy, Sipos, Bene, Komora, Albert, Tichy, Fenyvesi

Barcelona, June 17, Nou Camp
Soviet Union 3-0 Denmark
[Voronin 19, Ponedelnik 40, V.Ivanov 87]
[ref: Lo Bello (Italy); att: 38,000]

In the other semi-final, Denmark were easily outclassed by the strong Soviet team, led by goalkeeper Lev Yashin — perhaps the greatest of all-time. Denmark had done well to get this far, but it’d be almost two decades before they’d be taken seriously as an international footballing force again. The Soviets, meanwhile, marched on as expected, but would now have to take on the hosts.

Soviet Union: Yashin, Chustikov, Shesternev, Mudrik, Voronin, Anichkin, Chislenko, V.Ivanov, Ponedelnik, Gusarov, Khusainov
Denmark: L.Nielsen, J.Hansen, K.Hansen, B.Hansen I, Larsen, E.Nielsen, Bertelsen, Sørensen, O.Madsen, Thorst, Danielsen

Madrid, June 21, Santiago Bernabéu
Spain 2-1 Soviet Union
[Pereda 6, Marcelino 84; Khusainov 8]
[ref: Holland (England); att: 105,000]

So, as some might see as fated, the Soviets would have to travel to the heart of Franco’s regime, Madrid, to defend their trophy. Four years earlier, Spain had refused to go to Moscow to take on the Soviets in the inaugural European Nations’ Cup, but this time, Franco would watch from the home stands as the Communist nation’s representatives played his team in front of 105,000 at the Bernabéu.

Named after Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, who fought for Franco’s army during the Spanish Civil War and later became Real Madrid’s president, the stadium had been expanded to keep ahead of Barcelona’s Nou Camp. The huge crowd exploded when Jesús María Pereda opened the scoring in the sixth minute (though Pereda played for Barcelona, perhaps not entirely to Franco’s delight). A cross from the right-wing had been muffed by two Soviet defenders, with Pereda on hand to lash it home from ten yards out.

But just two minutes later, Galimzyan Khusainov’s shot wriggled under the grasp of José Ángel Iribar to make it 1-1. Deadlock remained until the 84th minute, when Marcelino Martínez powered in a winning downward header from just right of the penalty spot.

Franco was delighted, and it soon became known that, not surprisingly, the defeat had deeply disappointed Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschchev. Neither team has won a major title since.

Spain: Iribar, Rivilla, Olivella, Calleja, Zoco, Fusté, Amancio, Pereda, Marcelino, Suárez, Lapetra
Soviet Union: Yashin, Chustikov, Shesternev, Mudrik, Voronin, Anichkin, Chislenko, V.Ivanov, Ponedelnik, Korneev, Khusainov

Here are the goals from the final:

Tournament Facts:Top scorer, overall: O.Madsen (Denmark) 11 goals
Top scorers, finals tournament: Pereda (Spain), Bene and Novák (Hungary) 2 goals
Goals scored (finals only): 13 (3.25 per match)Sources: RSSF.com; Jonathon Wilson, Behind the Curtain; David Goldblatt, The Ball is Round

1964 European Nations’ Cup Qualifiers

Like four years earlier, the format was vastly different from the extravaganza put on by UEFA today, and it was also still known as the “European Nations’ Cup”. Only 29 nations entered the qualifying stage — albeit an improvement on the seventeen who had taken part in the first event. And it was only when a knock-out tournament had reduced that number to four teams that a host was selected for the finals, Spain.

On the way to Spain, there would be some fantastic scorelines, a hard lesson for England and a major upset as we’ll look at in the first of a two-part piece.

The Preliminary Round

Unlike in 1960, England and Italy entered the qualifying tournament this time, though West Germany still sat it out. England faced France in the first round, drawing 1-1 at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground, Hillsborough, in the first leg on October 3rd, 1962. The return leg didn’t take place for four more months, but when it did, France’s superiority was evident as they won 5-2 at the Parc des Princes.

In what could have been a headline from 2007, the Times of London headlined their report with the depressing line “England footballers no longer thinkers, no teamwork in attack and lapses in defence.”

Still, England had kept the game competitive, Bobby Smith of Tottenham and Bobby Tambling of Chelsea pulling England back into the tie with headers that left it poised at 2-3 in the 74th minute. But the French scored in the next minute, with new England coach Alf Ramsey admitting that was the “killer goal”. The Times‘ correspondent praised the flashes of skill from Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Charlton, but found “no teamwork” from England. Looking ahead to England hosting the World Cup three years hence, the correspondent gloomily concluded that “Where England goes henceforth, is anyone’s guess.”

Meanwhile, Denmark destroyed Malta 9-2 on aggregate, Ireland took care of Iceland, Northern Ireland beat Poland 2-0 twice over, Spain ousted Romania, and Yugoslavia saw off Belgium comfortably. Perhaps the most exciting tie was Bulgaria against Portugal — tied after two legs, a one-off replay in Italy saw the former move on to the next round. Hungary, East Germany, Italy and the Netherlands progressed too, and the Soviet Union, Luxembourg and Austria were gifted byes. Greece withdrew after they were drawn to play Albania.

The Second Round

Spain were declared peacemakers by the Times, as they ousted Northern Ireland 2-1 on aggregate, preventing a Republic vs. Northern Ireland matchup in the quarter-finals (the Republic had beaten Austria 3-2 already) that the Times warned was “The match that might have caused civil war.” The Spaniards were praised for their skill and composure, winning 1-0 in the second leg in Belfast.

Sweden saw off Yugoslavia in an exciting second leg 3-2, after a goalless first leg. Denmark easily took care of Malta, and France dispatched Bulgaria 3-2 on aggregate. Indeed, almost all of the matches at this stage were close, goal-filled affairs, as Hungary edged out East Germany 5-4.

The tie of the round saw the Soviet Union, defending champions, against twice world champions Italy, led by the mercurial Gianni Rivera (Alf Ramsey was once asked who he thought the four best Italian players were: ‘Rivera, Rivera, Rivera, Rivera’, he replied). But in front of 102,358 in Moscow for the first leg, Rivera was ineffective. Goals from Viktor Ponedelnik, who had scored the winning goal in the 1960 final, and Igor Chislenko gave the Soviets a 2-0 win. The USSR proved their superiority in the return leg in Rome, with only a last minute strike by Rivera preventing a home defeat. The Soviets looked good as they aimed to defend their title.

The surprise of the round came when Luxembourg beat the Netherlands 3-2 on aggregate, though the Dutch were not yet the Total Football force they would be in the 1970s. Luxembourg had been regularly crushed in recent years, including by the Dutch in a 1957 World Cup qualifier, but had proved themselves capable of springing the odd upset, beating Portugal 4-2 in a 1960 World Cup qualifier.

In front of just 6,921 at the Stade Municipal in Pétange, Luxembourg, a 3-3 thriller was played out, before Luxembourg shocked the Netherlands in Rotterdam with a 2-1 win.

The Quarter Finals

Luxembourg were out to prove their victory over the Dutch had not been a fluke, and they proved this against Denmark. After a 5-5 aggregate tie over two legs (all of Denmark’s goals were scored, amazingly, by Ole Madsen), a one-off replay was organised, ironically in the Netherlands. Denmark edged out Luxembourg 1-0, ending the latter’s best ever major championship performance to date.

Elsewhere, the Spanish juggernaut moved on as they crushed the Republic of Ireland 7-1 on aggregate. The Soviets disposed of Sweden handily 4-2 overall, Ponedelnik scoring two more. Hungary reminded the football world of their traditional strength, beating the French quite comfortably in front of 70,120 at the Népstadion in Budapest. In the era after the demise of the “Magnificent Magyars”, Hungary remained a serious force in the 1960s (winning Olympic gold in 1964 and 1968) and were led by Lajos Tichy, who scored twice in that tie as part of his remarkable strikerate of 51 goals in 72 internationals, and the brilliant Florian Albert.

So the semi-finals were set. It was quite a line-up: the defending champions the Soviet Union, the powerful Hungarians, the talented hosts Spain, and the unheralded Danes. Spain’s choice as host was surely controversial, as it meant two communist nations had to head to Franco’s turf. Check back soon to see how the games played out, with East-West politics rearing its head.

Sources: The Times digital archive; RSSF.com
Photo credits: Draconiansleet; hamrun43; Gábor Marik

1960 European Nations’ Cup
Host: France
Winners: Soviet Union

Like the World Cup and the European Champion Clubs’ Cup before it, the European Nations’ Cup (as it was then known) was the brainchild of a Frenchman, in this case Henri Delaunay, the secretary of the French Football Federation. The tournament was almost stillborn as it struggled to gain the required sixteen entrants, with all the British countries along with Italy and West Germany sitting it out.

The tournament was structured vastly differently back then: only seventeen countries entered it in the end, and the teams played two-legged home and away fixtures until the semi-finals. And it was only when the final four was set that the host was chosen.

It all begun with a bang, as 100,572 people crowded into Lenin Stadium in Moscow to watch the Soviets beat Hungary 3-1 in September 1958. This was just the start of a long route to Paris for the final almost two years later, as the inaugural European Nations’ Cup was soon pockmarked by Cold War politics.

After going on to beat Hungary 4-1 on aggregate, the Soviet Union were drawn against Spain in the quarter finals. But General Franco refused to allow the Soviets into his country for the first leg, forcing Spain to withdraw. This put the Soviets into the semi-finals, where they brushed aside Czechoslovakia 3-0.

Franco’s controversial decision was a reminder that a football tournament featuring East and West European nations would have been unthinkable just a decade earlier. The slight easing of East-West tensions as the 1950s progressed, after the death of Stalin and the end of the Korean War (both in 1953), transformed the possibilities for intra-European sport.

In fact, historian Antonio Missiroli has even argued that the development of the European Champions’ Cup (now Champions League), the Inter-Cities’ Fair Cup (now UEFA cup) and the European Nations’ Cup signified a certain “anticipation” of the developing lines of European history and politics.

Alan Milward reminded us a few years ago that it is precisely with football and in football that the first bilateral exchanges were re-established and the first pluri-national networks initiated in a continent that had just come out of the Second World War. UEFA was founded in 1954, on FIFA’s 50th anniversary, in the wake of a joint Franco-Belgian-Italian initiative. The first European Champions’ Cup came about after the European Coal and Steel Community but before the Treaty of Rome – even though it was initially dominated by clubs (Real Madrid and Benfica) that did not belong at all to the EEC ‘core’ – as did the Inter-Cities’ Fair Cup. The European Nations’ Cup – later called European Championship, and now Euro – came with détente, in the late 1950s, and the Soviet Union even managed to win its first edition in 1960.

The Soviet success was not a great surprise. Whilst never as consistently competitive in football globally as it was in ice hockey, this was a strong era with Lev Yashin inspirational in goal. After entering their first international competition at the 1952 Olympics, they won gold at the same tournament four years later, and would reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1966.

In between, 1960 was perhaps the peak as organised sport in the U.S.S.R. had solidified in the era of postwar reconstruction in the 1950s, and was entering a period of remarkable growth — over 2,000 stadiums would soon be built. Attendance had tripled in the Soviet league in the 1950s, reaching over ten million annually. By 1960, football was televised in Moscow.

The team picked in 1960 was the first to really look beyond the Moscow-based clubs and draw from the talent available elsewhere. This approach would be increasingly important for Soviet teams in later decades.

But it was Lev Yashin, from Moscow, who was the team’s heart and soul at the 1960 tournament. I can’t do a better job of describing him than Eduardo Galeano has in Soccer in Sun and Shadow:

When Lev Yashin covered the goal, not a pinhole was left open. This giant with long spidery arms always dressed in black and played with a naked elegance that disdained unnecessary gestures. He liked to stop thundering blasts with a single claw-like hand that trapped and shredded any projectile, while his body remained motionless like a rock. He could deflect the ball with a glance.

It took Yashin’s spidery best to keep Yugoslavia at bay in the final, for Tito’s nation were their biggest competitors both politically and in footballing terms in Eastern Europe. They would reach the Olympic final four times in a row from 1948-1960, finally winning it in Rome a few months after the European Nations’ Cup ended.

And by the 1960 European Nations’ Cup final, the Yugoslavs had already demonstrated their firepower: after brushing aside Bulgaria in the preliminaries, they headed to Belgrade for the second leg of their tie with Portugal 2-1 down. By halftime they had erased the deficit, and they poured in three goals in the second half to set up a semi-final with France.

It what must be one of the most exciting semi-finals ever seen, witnessed by a mere 26,370 in Paris despite the presence of the home team, Yugoslavia prevailed in a titanic battle featuring nine goals scored by seven different players.

France seemed to be on their way to victory when they went 4-2 up in the 53rd minute, thanks to goals from Vincent, Heutte and Wlsnieski (2). Then all hell broke loose between the 75th and 79th minutes: Jerkovic scored twice and Knez once as the Yugoslavs tore apart a shellshocked French team to clinch a 5-4 victory.

The final between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia could only be something of an anti-climax after that game, despite the political tensions — based off the Tito-Stalin split, though relations had improved somewhat after Nikita Khrushchev took over the Kremlin — bubbling under the surface.

In front of just 17,966 in Paris, Milan Galic opened the scoring for the Yugoslavs just before half-time. The Soviets pulled level in the 49th minute thanks to Torpedo Mosvow’s Slava Metreveli. The winning goal in the first European Nations Cup final came deep into extra time, when SKA Rostov-on-Don’s Viktor Ponedelnik headed home to win the Soviets first and ultimately only major championship.

Sources: CBC Sports; Antonio Missiroli, “European Football Cultures and their Integration; UEFA.com; Eduardo Galeano, Soccer in Sun and Shadow; David Goldblatt, The Ball Is Round.