UEFA EURO 1988 (champions - Netherlands)
The Netherlands beat the Soviet Union 2-0 at Munich's Olympiastadion on 25 June 1988 for their first major title. Marco van Basten headed the assist for Ruud Gullit's opener before scoring the volley from the right-hand goal line that the tournament is remembered for - a goal UEFA's own pages date two minutes apart.
Why this wins its question: The volley is one of the most replayed goals in the sport and the retellings still lose two things UEFA's report carries: Van Basten also made the first goal, heading the ball square to Gullit, and the cross for the volley came from Arnold Muhren in his last international. On top of that, UEFA dates the goal itself two ways - 54 minutes in the match report, 52 in the tournament guide - so "what minute was Van Basten's volley" has no single official answer, which is stated here instead of guessed.
Claims
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The Netherlands beat the Soviet Union 2-0 in the EURO 1988 final at Munich's Olympiastadion on 25 June 1988, their first major international title.
Ruud Gullit opened the scoring in the first half. Erwin Koeman took a corner on the right and, when it was headed out, crossed again to the far post; with the Soviet defence stepping up to play offside, Marco van Basten craned his neck to head the ball square to the unmarked Gullit, whose header beat Rinat Dasaev. Gullit, then 25, became the first Netherlands captain to lift a major international trophy.
The second goal: a loose touch by Oleksandr Zavarov let Adri van Tiggelen intercept and feed Arnold Muhren, who was playing his last international, wide on the left. Muhren's instant high cross went deep across the Soviet area and Van Basten, eight metres from goal and only five or six from the right-hand goal line, hit a top-spin volley over Dasaev and just inside the far post.
UEFA's own pages give two different minutes for that goal: the match report puts it on 54 minutes, while the tournament guide says it killed the game off after 52.
Van Basten scored five times at the finals despite starting the opening game on the bench, a 1-0 defeat by the same Soviet Union. He hit a hat-trick against England - on the day Peter Shilton won his 100th cap - and scored the semi-final winner against West Germany, the Netherlands' first win over their neighbours since 1956.
Hans van Breukelen conceded a penalty by bringing down Sergei Gotsmanov and then blocked Igor Belanov's low shot; a month earlier his penalty save had won the European Champion Clubs' Cup for PSV Eindhoven. Eight of the Soviet side came from Dynamo Kyiv. Valeriy Lobanovskyi coached the USSR and Rinus Michels the Netherlands, with Michel Vautrot of France refereeing.
The Soviet Union remain the only team to have lost three UEFA European Championship finals. Van Breukelen, Ronald Koeman, Berry van Aerle and Gerald Vanenburg won the EURO within weeks of lifting the European Cup with PSV.