History, we are often told, is written by the victors but legends are often made by the losers. Perhaps for this reason, the modern day tradition of ripping off the second place medal as soon as possible makes many casual observers of football feel queasy. Finishing as a runner up in arguably the second most competitive international tournament by no means makes a footballer a loser and below is an eleven of the best Euros runners-up whose failure to lift the Jules Rimet trophy have given them mythic status. A few house rules: only one player per edition of the tournament and players who later went on to lift the trophy are excluded.
Dasayev claims his spot by arguably being the proudest runner up in this side: He is the supporting act to the most iconic moment in Euros history, yes that Marco van Basten volley, and has no qualms about it, saying in 2016:
“Marco scored it, I conceded it and we both have our place in history.”
He has publicly stated the lost final of 1988 to be the proudest moment of his career and wears the silver medal with pride.
Gerets was part of a swashbuckling Belgium side that ticked almost all of the ‘plucky loser’ boxes at the 1980 Euro hosted in Italy. The Red Devils took most people by surprise that year playing a highly entertaining brand of football falling, appropriately, at the last hurdle to a juggernaut-like West Germany side in the dying embers of normal time.
Geret was an attack minded right back in the modern mould and the right side of the team was particularly enterprising. He scored one of the best team goals in the history of the tournament in Belgium’s 2-1 victory over Spain in the group stage, therefore cementing his place in Euros folklore.
Don’t tell England fans but Euro 96 was not a scintillating festival of football. Mostly half empty stadiums witnessed a litany of negative football perhaps best encapsulated by the Czech Republic’s mastery of the defensive arts in their knock out games against France and Portugal. Kadlec was the conductor of this misery, serving as a wiley sweeper in the Czech side’s back three: the backline went 283 knockout minutes without conceding a goal.
In the final, Olivier Bierhoff proved too much for the Czech defence, with Kadlec left struggling to cope with three strikers to supervise in extra time, as the German striker turned past Karel Rada to secure the golden goal and win Euro ‘96.
All but four of West Germany’s losing finalists at Euro 1992 would go on to win the following edition of the tournament and one of this quartet partners Kadlec in defence. Buchwald is perhaps best known for keeping Diego Maradona quiet in the 1990 World Cup Final but he could not match this performance against Denmark in the biggest upset in the history of the Euros.
Buchwald suffered a brutal head injury against Scotland in the Group Stage and, through modern eyes, it is incredible to think his tournament didn’t end there owing to concussion. Perhaps this foggy perspective played a part in the uncharacteristically disorganised German defence for Denmark’s second goal.
Shaw’s Euro 2020 was so nearly a perfect redemption story. Written off by Jose Mourinho as well as a large section of his club side’s fans, the England left back finished the tournament as his side’s chief creator with three assists and sent a powder keg Wembley into delirium with his goal just two minutes into the final.
Despite this, Shaw’s dream Euros ended in disappointment as the weight of expectation weighed him and his teammates down in the final. Like his teammates, Shaw immediately removed his medal when presented with it - a sign of a player trying a little too hard to speak back to his critics.
Pirlo’s Euro 2012 is perhaps the finest individual performance over the course of an edition of the tournament. His sumptuous work from the base of midfield heralded a kaleidoscope of career defining highlights.
Pirlo may have finished as a runner-up but his all round game was showcased perfectly. First came his mouth watering assist for Antonio di Natale, then a glorious free kick goal against Croatia followed by the exemplar regista performance against England capped by a shoot out panenka. He won his third man of the match award in a row against Germany in the semi final before Spain brutally ended his majestic run with a 4-0 win.
Sometimes gold is not enough to tell the true story of greatness.
The king of finishing second is the natural choice for captain of this side however it is easy to forget just how brilliant Ballack was for Germany in 2008. History needs revising to see his performance at the tournament as a heart lifting example of mental fortitude.
Just six weeks before the tournament Ballack’s tears at losing the Champions League final were broadcast to the world. He returned to his young family and joined up with Germany with a determination and realigned perspective. Once Joachim Löw gave Ballack tactical freedom to roam, he caused terror and chaos with goals against Austria (a wonder strike) and Portugal in the knockout stages.
Ballack dragging a Germany team in transition to the final against a legendary Spain side is something to celebrate.
A golden generation who were hosting the tournament had all the ingredients for Portugal to fatally disappoint and the great Luis Figo provided the goods for a classic runners up performance.
Figo’s journey through Euro 2004 matched the fluctuation of despair and triumph of his side. The opening day defeat to Greece led Figo to step up into a captain’s role and his close control, passing range and training ground mentoring of a young Cristiano Ronaldo had a huge impact on Portugal.
Looking back at the footage it is extraordinary how often the 31 year old beat his man owing to technique and brains over explosive pace. A cantankerous early exit off the pitch in the quarter final with England was not repeated in his wonderful semi final display against Holland.
Greece would end up shocking the world and Luis Figo’s golden generation ended up with silver.
Totti was either sublime or ridiculous at international tournaments and the Roma legend gave the world his best in Belgium and Holland. Coach Dino Zoff defied his establishment figure reputation by giving the 23 year old a free role.
Two memories of Totti with his alice band, blond locks and snugly fitted kappa shirt leave most Italians weak at the knees. His panenka penalty against the giant frame of Edwin van der Sar in the semi final shootout shocked even the vastly experienced Paolo Maldini. His tournament highlight, though, was surely his back heel to set up the move which produced the final’s opening goal.
The freedom and joy that Totti brought to the tournament may have been briefly snuffed out by David Trezeguet’s golden goal but the Italian number 20’s man of the match performance endures 24 years on.
The star of Euro 68 was undoubtedly the Yugoslav left winger, Džajić who finished as top scorer and could be considered unlucky to not pick up the Ballon D’Or that year.
His pace, finishing and dribbling are still impressive to modern eyes and England were denied a second final in as many years by his performance in the semi - encapsulated in the finish which decided the match 1 - 0. Džajić wasn’t phased by the partisan home support in Rome in the final and put Yugoslavia ahead, but Italy would force and win the replay, buoyed by a returning Gigi Riva.
Griezmann’s six goal haul in 2016 is remarkable no matter the context but the fact that all of them came under pressure makes his achievement all the more
impressive.
France were heading for a disappointing 0-0 draw against Albania in the second group stage match before his last minute winner and the rest of his goals all came in the knock out stages.
The diversity of strikes which the French number seven managed also was worthy of a cup winner; his headers, toe pokes and chips were the work of a striking superstar created. Portugal in the final had other ideas but, with hindsight, football fans can see that Griezmann was warming up for glory at the 2018 World Cup to finish with ten goals in two back-to-back international tournaments.