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The big picture: 1988 UEFA European Championship

Friday, January 20, 2012

In the 1988 finals the Republic of Ireland surprised, the Soviet Union impressed but it was the Netherlands who took the trophy as UEFA.com speaks to the stars of the tournament.

The big picture: 1988 UEFA European Championship
The big picture: 1988 UEFA European Championship ©UEFA.com

There was drama from the off in the 1988 UEFA European Championship after debutants the Republic of Ireland stunned England and went on to only just miss out on the semi-finals, as Ronnie Whelan recalls in the latest of our video reviews of past tournaments. Of course, in the end the two teams that topped Ireland met in the final with the Netherlands beating the Soviet Union 2-0 in a memorable encounter starring Marco van Basten; we have memories from fellow scorer Ruud Gullit and the goalkeeper they both beat, Rinat Dasayev.

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