EURO 1980: All you need to know
Sunday, January 1, 2023
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Horst Hrubesch was the hero of West Germany's second triumph; UEFA.com explains all.
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Who won the 1980 EURO?
West Germany's second EURO came courtesy of a 2-1 final win against Belgium at Rome's Stadio Olimpico on 22 June 1980. Horst Hrubesch put the fancied Germans ahead but René Vandereycken levelled from the spot in the second half, and then – with extra time looming – Hrubesch beat Belgium goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's cross, and the 'Kopfball-Ungeheuer' (Heading Monster) made no mistake.
"We wouldn't have made it in extra time because it would have been too much," the Hamburg forward remembered. "It was very hot that day and I recall being so tired after the game that it was hard to lift the trophy."
Who were the top scorers at the 1980 EURO?
Klaus Allofs hit three goals to become the third West German in succession to finish as EURO top scorer, emulating Gerd Müller (1972) and Dieter Müller (1976). The 1.74m-tall forward was a Fortuna Düsseldorf player at the time – both he and his brother Thomas had featured in a 4-2 loss to Barcelona in the 1979 European Cup Winners' Cup final. Allofs would win that competition 13 years later, scoring in Werder Bremen's 2-0 victory over Monaco.
England's Kevin Keegan top-scored in the qualification competition with seven goals. The attacker had won two UEFA Cups and a European Cup with Liverpool before heading abroad to join Hamburg in 1977. During his German sojourn, he was named 1978 and 1979 European Footballer of the Year and also made it to the 1980 European Cup final, which his side lost to Nottingham Forest.
Where was the 1980 EURO held?
Italy was chosen to stage the first eight-team EURO, with four stadiums being used: Rome's Stadio Olimpico, Milan's San Siro, Naples' Stadio San Paolo and Turin's Stadio Comunale. Rome hosted the final while Naples held the last ever third-place play-off, Czechoslovakia pipping the hosts 9-8 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Who managed the winning team at the 1980 EURO?
Jupp Derwall led West Germany to victory at the 1980 EURO. Replacing Helmut Schön as West Germany coach was no easy task, but nobody was better placed than Derwall who had served as Schön's assistant for eight years. He was duly given the top job in 1978. His first major challenge was the 1980 UEFA European Championship and Derwall – capped twice as a forward – diligently guided West Germany to glory in Italy.
Who was the winning captain at the 1980 EURO?
Left-back Bernard Dietz captained West Germany to victory at the 1980 UEFA European Championship. Dietz was a strong, if discreet, leader and an essential component of Derwall's triumphant side. He spent the bulk of his career at Duisburg and remains the top-scoring defender in the history of the Bundesliga with 70 goals. He won 53 caps, and played at the 1978 FIFA World Cup as well as the 1976 and 1980 European Championships.
What was the format for the 1980 EURO?
The success of the 1976 UEFA European Championship fed the clamour for more places at the final tournament in 1980, and UEFA responded by doubling the number of participants as the competition came to Italy for a second time. With eight teams now involved instead of four, the hopefuls were divided into two groups, from which the winners were to advance directly to the final, while the runners-up contested a third-place play-off. In another change to procedure, one of those eight finals places went automatically to hosts Italy. The tournament ran from 11–22 June 1980.
How many teams featured in the 1980 EURO?
The 1980 EURO finals featured eight teams for the first time. Host nation Italy were joined by England, Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Belgium, West Germany and debutants Greece – who finished above Hungary and previous winners Soviet Union in their qualifying group.
How did 1980 EURO qualifying work?
Thirty-one countries vied for EURO '80 qualification; the qualifying group stage entailed four groups of four teams and three groups of five. The sides in each group played each other home and away between May 1978 and February 1980 (two points for a win, one for a draw). The seven group winners joined hosts Italy in the finals.
Who was in the 1980 EURO team of the tournament?
GK: Dino Zoff (Italy)
DF: Claudio Gentile (Italy)
DF: Gaetano Scirea (Italy)
DF: Karlheinz Förster (West Germany)
DF: Hans-Peter Briegel (West Germany)
MF: Marco Tardelli (Italy)
MF: Jan Ceulemans (Belgium)
MF: Bernd Schuster (West Germany)
MF: Hansi Müller (West Germany)
FW: Karl-Heinze Rummenigge (West Germany)
FW: Horst Hrubesch (West Germany)
Who scored the first goal at the 1980 EURO?
Karl-Heinze Rummenigge headed in the opening goal of the 1980 EURO finals just before the hour mark as West Germany beat Czechoslovakia 1-0 in Rome, earning a measure of revenge for their shoot-out defeat in the 1976 EURO final. "It was an important match and a very tough start to the tournament for us," Rummenigge said later. "We had a new, very young team who weren't favourites to win at all."
Five top facts about the 1980 EURO
• Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won the 1980 Ballon d'Or for his efforts after West Germany beat Belgium 2-1 in the final, with team-mate Bernd Schuster finishing as runner-up.
• West Germany's feat of reaching three consecutive UEFA European Championship finals remains unmatched – they achieved a similar hat-trick in the World Cup between 1982 and 1990.
• In the last third-place play-off in EURO history, Fulvio Collovati missed after 17 successful penalties as Czechoslovakia beat Italy 9-8 in a shoot-out.
• Greece got to their first major finals in 1980 but would not appear at a EURO final tournament again until they won the competition in 2004.
• A master of headed goals with Hamburg, final match-winner Horst Hrubesch was seen as a one-trick pony by some and only made it into the EURO 1980 squad because Schalke's Klaus Fischer broke his leg.