Five moments which will make you fall in love with the Euros

Euro 2012 kicked off at 9:30 p.m. IST on Friday with co-hosts Poland taking on Greece in a game that saw both teams reduced to ten men in a 1-1 draw. Five more games have been played since in a tournament that already seems to promise entertaining football with the potential to surprise ever-present. Here are my five top Euro moments in the history of the tournament. Turkey’s and Russia’s performances at Euro 2008 Turkey had qualified for their first tournament since the World Cup in 2002, and were placed alongside Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Despite losing to the Portuguese, they posted late-goal winners over the Czechs and the co-hosts to finish group runners-up. [caption id=“attachment_339301” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Trezeguet celebrates after scoring a golden for France in Euro 2000. AFP”]  [/caption] They followed that up with a dramatic win over Croatia in the quarters. The match went to extra time after a goalless ninety minutes. Ivan Klasnic put the Croats ahead with the game just a minute away from penalties. The Turks, however, refused to lie down, flinging everything and everyone forward, and in the final minute of stoppage time at the end of extra time, Semih Senturk equalised. Croatian coach Slaven Bilic vociferously protested on the sidelines, stating that the equaliser was scored after extra time had ended, but it stood nonetheless. Turkey triumphed 3-1 on penalties. Against Germany in the semis, they scored early and seemed to be heading for extra time with the score poised at 2-2, before a last-minute German goal in the dying seconds of the game by Philipp Lahm broke Turkish hearts. Like Turkey, Russia lost their group opener against Sweden but posted wins against Sweden and Greece to set up a meeting with the Netherlands. In a game the Oranje were expected to win, the Russians scored first through Roman Pavlyuchenko before Ruud van Nistelrooy equalised with four minutes left on the clock. Russia stepped their game up a gear in extra time, and goals from Dimitry Torbinsky and Andrei Arshavin secured a stunning win over the Dutch. Against Spain in the semis, however, they were just no match for the fluid passing game of the eventual winners. The side that beat them 4-1 in the group stages trounced them 3-0 with goals from Xavi, Dani Guiza and David Silva. Both Russia and Turkey were awarded bronze medals in their respective dressing rooms after their semi-final games. Michel Platini’s performance at Euro 1984 Platini was part of the legendary carre magique midfield which included Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Luis Fernandez. It was a team laden with talent that had reached the semis of the 1982 World Cup only be knocked out in extremely controversial circumstances courtesty of German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher. At Euro 1984, hosts France were pitted against Portugal in the semi-finals. Despite Les Bleus taking the lead, Portugal scored two to go in front, and it seemed like the potential of this great side would never be realised. But Jean-Francois Domengue scored to equalise for the French six minutes from time before Platini scored the dramatic winner in the dying seconds of the game. France beat Spain 2-0 in the final with goals from Bruno Bellone and Platini himself to win their first ever international trophy. Marco van Basten, Oliver Bierhoff and Paul Gascoigne I couldn’t choose between one of these goals as they are all brilliant strikes by top players. Holland went into Euro 1988 with a point to prove, having missed out on qualification for the FIFA World Cups in 1982 and ‘86 and Euro 1984. In 1988, however, they were a team on song, defeating England 3-1 and the Republic of Ireland 1-0 to face off against the Soviets in the final. Van Basten chose this moment to score one of the European Championships’ most exquisite goals ever. In the 54th minute, a cross from the left-hand side of the penalty area found him on the right, between the goal and the touchline, facing the Soviet keeper at an acute angle. Van Basten struck a glorious, sumptuous first-time volley that dipped on its way to crashing the back of the Soviet goal. The Dutch were crowned European champions following their 2-0 win, Ruud Gullit having scored the other goal. The other two goals took place at Euro 1996 on English soil. In the group stages of the tournament, England were drawn alongside ‘Auld Enemy’ Scotland. In the 79th minute, a long ball from David Seaman landed in midfield. Two passes later, Gascoigne was haring towards the Scotland goal chasing after the ball. With an exquisite flick, Gazza brought the ball under control before smashing home a brilliant volley to give England a memorable 2-0 win. In the final of the same tournament, Germany faced off against the Czech Republic. Patrik Berger’s penalty in the second half gave the Czechs the lead, but Germany’s talisman Oliver Bierhoff equalised with a pinpoint header in the 73rd minute. He would forever write his name in the history books in extra time. In an attack involved four German players, Bierhoff found himself with the ball at his feet with two Czech centre-back breathing down his neck. He swivelled and struck a shot goalwards. Czech keeper Petr Kouba parried the ball, but his relief turned to agony on seeing the ball hit the upright and bobble into the net. This was the first golden goal that had settled a European Championship, but it wouldn’t be the last. Click here to watch highlights of this match. Angelos Charisteas in the final of Euro 2004 The list just wouldn’t be complete without this goal. Greece had stunned the world going into this game. What added to their Cinderella run was that they had only qualified for two tournaments before, and their opening match win - also against Portugal - was their first ever in a major tournament. Having beaten France and the Czech Republic en route to the final in Lisbon, Greece had conceded just two goals throughout the entirety of the tournament. In the 57th minute, the Greeks won a corner following one of their many counterattacks. Angelos Basinas’ inswinging corner from the right found a clutch of players in the box. Charisteas leapt highest to thump the ball home, wheeling away in celebration. The rest, as they say, is history. David Trezeguet’s golden goal against Italy - Euro 2000 (Click here to watch highlights of the Italy vs France match) This was the Golden Generation of French football. A team that had won the World Cup in 1998 and had made it to the finals of the Euros. In Paris against Brazil, David Trezeguet - like Thierry Henry - was an unused substitute. There is no bigger occasion than the final of an international tournament to show how good you are. Marco Delvecchio gave Italy the lead in the 55th minute, and for ninety minutes of normal and three minutes of added time, it looked like the Azzurri would win the tournament. But the French had been mounting pressure on Francesco Toldo’s goal since they’d conceded, and in the last minute of regulation time, a long goal-kick from Barthez found Trezeguet, who flicked it on for Wiltord to equalise. In extra time, France controlled midfield. In the 13th minute of extra time, Zinedine Zidane found Robert Pires on the left. The ex-Arsenal man sprinted down the left and hooked the ball to Trezeguet, who was unmarked in the penalty area. Despite falling to his weaker foot, Trez positioned himself perfectly to blast the ball into the roof of the net to give France their second European title and make them the first side in the history of the game to follow up a World Cup win with a European triumph.