By the end of the fifties of the XX century, continental championships were held in South America, Asia and Africa, and therefore the very idea of ​​holding a similar tournament in Europe was in the air. The ideologist of the idea was the Secretary General of the French Football Federation, Henri Delaunay, who had been nurturing this idea since the mid-twenties.

To implement it, a group of enthusiasts led by Delone and the Secretary General of the Italian Football Federation, Ottorino Barassi, had to first lobby for the creation of a union of European football associations (better known as UEFA). In 1958, the UEFA executive committee, after long discussions, decided to hold the first EuroCup in the summer of 1960 in the homeland of Henri Delaunay in France.

By the way, the silver cup awarded for winning the tournament bears the name of Delaunay, the main promoter of this idea.

WHO WON THE FIRST TOURNAMENT?

The format of the first European Championships was very different from that adopted now. The final part of the tournament consisted of four matches (two semi-finals, a match for third place and a final), and four teams took part in it: France, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the USSR. Having dealt with the Czechoslovaks in the semi-finals (3:0), the Soviet team with the great Lev Yashin at the gate in the decisive match met with the Yugoslavs.

The main time of the match ended in a draw - 1:1, and the decisive goal was the striker Victor Monday in the 113th minute of the game. Thus, the USSR national team became the first European champion.

WHO WINS THE EURO MORE THAN OTHERS? WHAT TEAM?

More often than others, the national teams of Germany and Spain became European champions - three times each. Two victories - the French, one each - the teams of the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece and Denmark. It is with the Danes that one of the most amazing stories of continental championships is connected.

The fact is that in 1992, Denmark, in principle, did not get to the European Championship, in the qualifying tournament, skipping ahead of the Yugoslav national team. However, the Balkan team was unable to take part in the tournament due to UN sanctions, and therefore, just a few days before the start of the tournament, the Danes had to be urgently collected - someone was already resting at the resort, and the head coach of the team, Richard Möller-Nielsen, was repairing his own kitchens. Of course, no preparations were made for the tournament held in Sweden.

However, the Danes managed to do the impossible. They not only got out of the "death group" with the Swedes, French and British, beat the Netherlands on penalties in the semi-finals, but also dealt with the Germans in the final, having won the title of European champion.