EURO-winning captains: Giorgio Chiellini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas

UEFA.com shines a light on the 15 EURO-winning captains.

EURO-winning captains

1960: Igor Netto (USSR)
1964: Ferran Olivella (Spain)
1968: Giacinto Facchetti (Italy)
1972: Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
1976: Anton Ondruš (Czechoslovakia)
1980: Bernard Dietz (West Germany)
1984: Michel Platini (France)
1988: Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
1992: Lars Olsen (Denmark)
1996: Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany)
2000: Didier Deschamps (France)
2004: Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece)
2008 & 2012: Iker Casillas (Spain)
2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
2020: Giorgio Chiellini (Italy)

Youngest EURO-winning captain

25 years and 298 days Ruud Gullit (Netherlands, 1988)

Oldest EURO-winning captain

36 years and 331 days Giorgio Chiellini (Italy, 2020)

Five of the last eight EURO-winning captains were 31!

EURO-winning captains by position

2 Goalkeepers
7 Defenders
3 Midfielders
4 Forwards

EURO-winning captains by club

3 Real Madrid
2 Bayern, Juventus
1 Spartak Moskva, Barcelona, Inter, Slovan Bratislava, Duisburg, AC Milan, Trabzonspor, Chelsea, AEK Athens

1960: Igor Netto (USSR)

Netto led his country to glory at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and the inaugural EURO in France. An inspirational leader and exceptional footballer, the versatile midfielder is probably best remembered for an extraordinary act of sportsmanship at the 1962 FIFA World Cup when he told the referee to disallow a goal against Uruguay because the ball had entered the net from the wrong side. Netto's devotion to Spartak Moskva brought him five USSR championships and three domestic cups.

1964: Ferran Olivella (Spain)

Although he won only 18 caps for Spain, the Barcelona defender was his country's captain at the 1964 EURO and carried out the role with discipline and authority. A born-and-bred Catalonian, Olivella spent his entire career with Barça, making 513 competitive appearances for the club from 1956 to 1969. A 5-0 win against Belgium in Brussels in March 1957 marked his first cap while his final match for Spain was a 2-0 home defeat by England in December 1965.

1968: Giacinto Facchetti (Italy)

One of the greatest left-backs the game has seen, Facchetti was the heart and soul of Inter for almost half a century. Club captain during their halcyon era of the mid-1960s, he made 634 official outings, scoring 75 goals, for the Nerazzurri; while, with the No10 on his back, he captained Italy to glory at the 1968 EURO. He was the man who made the right call on the coin toss after Italy's goalless draw with the Soviet Union, enabling the hosts to progress to the final.

1972: Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)

An all-time great, Beckenbauer confirmed his presence on the international stage when he skippered West Germany to their first EURO title. Commanding matters from his new role of sweeper, he helped his side prevail in 1972 and two years later they added a World Cup on home soil. Beckenbauer also led home-town club Bayern München to a hat-trick of European Cup victories (1974–76) and was twice European Footballer of the Year, in 1972 and 1976.

1976: Anton Ondruš (Czechoslovakia)

Ondruš led by example in Yugoslavia in 1976. Excellent against the Netherlands and West Germany, the tall, teak-tough centre-back was a dominant figure, especially in the air. He scored the opening goal against the Dutch with a towering header and although he was credited with the Netherlands' equaliser after deflecting in a cross from Ruud Geels, he made amends with the third successful penalty in the shoot-out triumph against West Germany in the final.

1980: Bernard Dietz (West Germany)

Dietz was a strong, if discreet, leader and an essential component of Jupp Derwall's champion team. Indeed, the coach valued his skipper and left-back so highly that he rested him for the third group game against Greece as a booking would have ruled him out of the final. A stalwart at Duisburg, where he played from sweeper via full-back to defensive midfielder, Dietz earned 53 caps, also representing West Germany at EURO '76, helping them to the final, and the 1978 World Cup.

1984: Michel Platini (France)

Platini exceeded all expectations when he captained the Bleus to their first international trophy, scoring in all five matches, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Belgium and Yugoslavia. The attacking midfielder's other three goals were all winners, including strikes in the semi-final and the final against Spain. Having top-scored in Serie A for Italian champions Juventus just before the tournament, Platini retained the Ballon d'Or and would become the only player to win it three years running. He netted 41 goals in 71 national-team games.

1988: Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)

Gullit was one of the continent's most illustrious players. European Footballer of the Year in 1987, the tall, dreadlocked total footballer inspired AC Milan to their first league title in nine years and captained the Netherlands to their first major international trophy in 1988, heading the opening goal in the final against the Soviet Union. Versatile attacker Gullit landed two European Cups with Milan and ended up with three Scudettos to match his haul of Eredivisie titles. He finished his international career, with 66 caps and 17 goals, in 1994.

1992: Lars Olsen (Denmark)

Denmark captain Olsen drove from Turkey to Scandinavia when he learned of his country's belated reinstatement in 1992. The centre-half's passion and leadership – playing every minute in Sweden – helped inspire the side to the most unlikely of successes. Olsen was at Trabzonspor when he got the call, having moved there following a fabulous six-season shift at Brøndby that yielded five league championships. He ended his career with 84 caps, including a record 69 as captain.

1996: Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany)

In a career that incorporated World Cup glory in 1990 and 47 international goals in 108 outings, EURO '96 was arguably Klinsmann's finest hour. With Lothar Matthäus injured, Klinsmann captained the team in England and led by example, bagging three goals and playing the final despite a calf strain that had kept him out of the semis. The ending was a happy one after a season in which he had hit 15 goals in Bayern's UEFA Cup victory. Striker Klinsmann registered in all six major tournaments he graced.

2000: Didier Deschamps (France)

The first captain to lift the World Cup for France, midfielder Deschamps added to his legend by hoisting aloft the Henri Delaunay Trophy two years later, moreover during a tournament in which he had become the first Frenchman to reach a century of international caps. The man once branded a 'water carrier' by Eric Cantona had not done too badly. A UEFA Champions League winner and three-time domestic champion with both Marseille and Juventus, Deschamps retired in 2001.

2004: Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece)

Player of the tournament in 2004. The journeyman midfielder did not score at the finals – his first goal for Greece did not arrive until his 101st cap against Denmark seven months later – but nonetheless he was Greece's most effective player in the final. Zagorakis could never have imagined, during spells at Kavala, PAOK and Leicester City, that he would reach such lofty international heights. He retired in 2007 with 120 caps: his only major club honour was a Greek Cup victory with AEK Athens in 2002.

2008 & 2012: Iker Casillas (Spain)

An outstanding servant for Real Madrid and Spain, who broke records for national-team clean sheets and wins. The goalkeeper inherited the captain's armband on the eve of EURO 2008 and led the Spaniards impeccably, posting shut-outs in the quarter-finals – when he also saved two penalties in the shoot-out against Italy – semi-finals and the final. Casillas proved inspirational once more at the 2010 World Cup, and later shipped a solitary goal as Spain became the first side to defend the EURO title in 2012.

2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

Ronaldo's three goals, brilliance and determination hauled Portugal through to the final in Paris. The first player to score at four EUROs, he also became the finals' record appearance maker, although he was conspicuous by his absence in the decider itself. Injured early on, he watched the remainder of the game from behind the touchline, baying his team on. Éder eventually claimed Portugal's extra-time winner, but the general consensus was that forward extraordinaire Ronaldo had won them the tournament.

2020: Giorgio Chiellini (Italy)

A master of the defensive arts, age was but a number for 36-year-old Chiellini as he marshalled Italy's back line at EURO 2020. The competition's oldest ever winning captain, the centre-back played five of the Azzurri's seven games en route to their triumph, missing only the final group match against Wales and the round of 16 win over Austria with a knock. His central partnership with Leonardo Bonucci was one of the cornerstones of the team's success as they conceded just four times throughout the campaign.