2000 at a glance
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Article summary
A new century gave way to Ferrari's Formula One domination and ancient Rome was all the rage as Gladiator swept the board at the Oscars; but in the Low Countries Italy were upstaged by France.
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Having conquered the world two years earlier France were bidding to become the first country to follow up FIFA World Cup success with a European Championship triumph. Held by Belgium and the Netherlands, the first time the tournament had been co-hosted, France again shone, although they would require a golden goal to win a dramatic final and confirm the stellar status of their golden generation.
Teams
Winners: France
Runners-up: Italy
Semi-finals: Portugal, Netherlands
Quarter-finals: Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Spain
Group stage: England, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Denmark
Top scorers: Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), Savo Milošević – 5
Did you know?
France, who had to negotiate a group containing only previous winners, remain the only FIFA World Cup holders to win the UEFA European Championship – Spain are bidding to match them in 2012.
Also in 2000
European Champion Clubs' Cup winners: Real Madrid CF (3-0 v Valencia CF)
European Footballer of the Year: Luís Figo (FC Barcelona/Real Madrid CF)
Eurovision Song Contest winners: Olsen Brothers (Denmark) singing Fly on the Wings of Love
ESM Golden Shoe winner: Kevin Phillips (Sunderland AFC)
Nobel Peace Prize: Kim Dae-Jung (for work towards democracy and human rights in Korea Republic and East Asia, and for peace with DPR Korea, South Korea)
Olympic 100m champion: Maurice Greene (United States) running 9.87 seconds
Formula 1 world champion: Michael Schumacher (Germany) driving a Ferrari
Oscar for Best Picture film: Gladiator
Key events
1 January – Y2K passes without serious widespread computer failure, as many experts and businesses had feared
1 June – Mount Etna erupts in Sicily
6 October – The last Mini is produced at the Longbridge car plant in England