With two teams from the East and two teams from the West, hidden away on the edge of the Mediterranean in Josip Tito’s socialist Yugoslavia, the stage was set for a clash between two Europes. With a kick and a surprise out of nowhere, the championship wrote itself into football history.
“I wanted people to talk about my actions and my goals in pubs and other places.”
– Antonin Panenka
Tito’s Bid
Eastern Europe had been strong since the introduction of the European Championship in 1960. In the inaugural year, the Soviet Union won, while Yugoslavia took silver and Czechoslovakia bronze. At the European Championship in 1984, it was the first time an Eastern European country did not reach a semifinal. The Soviet Union reached a total of four finals, the last in 1988, but only won the first in 1960. Hungary took bronze in 1964, Yugoslavia lost the final to Italy in 1968, and Czechoslovakia again took bronze in 1980. Yugoslavia in 1976 remained the only time the championship was held on socialist soil. Yugoslavia’s strongman since 1953, Josip Broz Tito, had succeeded in persuading UEFA to place the championship in the Balkans. Tito, more than any other socialist dictator, had distanced his country from the Soviet Union. He refused to take orders from Moscow, and letters from Stalin were answered coolly and independently. Allegedly, the Soviet Union planned to kill Tito, but Stalin’s own death in 1953 buried the plan. Yugoslavia was not a member of the Warsaw Pact, and Tito’s policy was seen in Europe as a small bridge between East and West, highlighted by the awarding of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark’s highest order, and state visits to Washington, Paris, and Bonn. Tito moved the tournament to the cities of Zagreb and Belgrade and personally orchestrated that the championship was held in the usual choreographed socialist festive spirit, where nothing was left to chance, and peace and order reigned.
Miracle Czechoslovakia
When the defending German world champions realized that the unheralded Czechoslovakia had beaten the mighty Holland led by Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Berti Vogts, and Uli Hoeness undoubtedly sensed the ultimate football throne with the addition of a European Championship. The Dutch world stars washed away at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb along with their ‘total football,’ where a soaked, torn-up pitch made it impossible for the Dutch to play their passing game. Conversely, it was ideal conditions for the hard-working, defensively strong Czechoslovakia, which also spiced things up with quick counterattacks and clinical efficiency on set pieces. The match was a rollercoaster for Janus Ondrús. The Czechoslovak captain sensationally brought his country ahead 1-0, before scoring an own goal 17 minutes before the final whistle, giving Holland a lifeline. Two red cards, heavy rain, and exhaustion were more than the Dutch could handle, and the Czechs capitalized by scoring twice in extra time. With West Germany having previously defeated Yugoslavia, the final was set between a representative of the capitalist West and the communist East.
The Czechs Start Like a Whirlwind
Czechoslovak national coach Václav Ježek, who balanced a lack of warmth and a fiery demeanor with formidable tactical knowledge and the ability to implement it in a team, had very well seen West Germany come back from 0-2 to beat Yugoslavia in the semifinal, but he had also seen weaknesses. In front of 31,000 spectators at Red Star Stadium in Belgrade, Ježek’s troops took the field determined not to let the Germans play their game. The physicality was immense. The Czechs came out blazing. Tackles flew through the air, and defensive strongmen like Ondrús and Gögh handed them out willingly. The lungs of Modér and Dobiáš seemed inexhaustible, and Pivarník ran 100 meters in under 11 seconds without blinking, using all his speed up and down the right flank throughout the match. And then there was the efficiency that had characterized the Czechoslovak team throughout the tournament. The first chance after eight minutes was converted by Jan Svéhlik into a 1-0 lead, and less than twenty minutes later, Zdeněk Nehoda made it 2-0. Now Ježek and his team had the game where they wanted it. But just three minutes later, the match picture changed when Dieter Müller reduced the score to 1-2.
In the second half, the impressive Czechoslovak physicality began to crack. West Germany increased the pressure, and it became clear that Czechoslovakia was just waiting for the referee to blow the final whistle. There were simply no more reserves of strength. It is said that football is a game where the Germans win in the end, and throughout football history, there are also numerous examples of the famous German comeback. Bernd Hölzenbein’s equalizer in the 89th minute left the Czech players bewildered. The Czech goalkeeper Ivo Viktor possibly made his only mistake of the tournament, and at the worst possible moment. Extra time became a shootout where one team couldn’t and the other didn’t dare to take serious chances. The match would be decided by penalty kicks. At 4-3, Uli Hoeness stepped up to the spot. He stepped back, took a run-up, and blasted it over the goal. One more score, and Czechoslovakia would be European champions. The man who was to take the final kick had personally asked to be the last kicker. His name was Antonin Panenka.
“Only a true champion would come up with such a solution.”
– Franz Beckenbauer
With the goalkeeper at his club, Panenka had competed for beer and chocolate for two years – and only missed once. He knew that no one was aware of this and said many years later that he was “1000 percent sure he would score.” Panenka began a very long run-up; it looked like a missile was about to come against Sepp Maier in goal. Just before the ball, Panenka stopped his run and with elegant grace pushed deeply into the ball, which lifted from the ground and gracefully floated into the goal. And Czechoslovakia were European champions.
“Anyone who takes a penalty like that must be either a genius or a madman.”
– Pelé
Panenka’s kick has been copied ever since. Lionel Messi, Francesco Totti, Andrea Pirlo. The most famous imitation was by Frenchman Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final in 2006. All beautifully executed, but there is nothing like the first time.
Cold War Records 