The European Chelsea past

The Chelsea European Championship Past: part one

FEATUREMON 6 JUN 2016

With the 2016 European Championships set to kick off in France on Friday, we bring you the first article of a three-part series looking back on Chelsea involvement at previous competitions.

Europe’s international football tournament may be younger in age than its South American, African and Asian counterparts, but its history is no less storied. The first UEFA European Nations Cup, as it was initially known, took place in France in 1960. In those days - indeed up to and including the 1976 tournament - only four teams contested the main competition, with a lengthy qualifying process used to determine who reached the semi-final stage.   

It was in the preliminary round of the 1964 European Nations Cup that Chelsea’s Bobby Tambling made an impact, scoring a header for England in a 5-2 second leg reverse against France at the Parc des Princes.

As those early fixtures were deemed to be qualifying matches, though, Tambling’s contribution in Paris is not included in our new feature about those European Chelsea players to have represented their nation at the continental showpiece. Instead, we fast-forward more than 30 years to the tournament when football came home…
 

1996

Sixteen nations competed in a European Championships for the first time at Euro ‘96, hosted by England. It was also the first time there was Chelsea representation in the tournament proper, in the form of a Romanian, a Russian, and two Scots.

Shortly before his move to Stamford Bridge in December 1992, goalkeeper Dmitri Kharine excelled for the CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States, created by the Soviet Union’s break-up) at that year’s Euros. In 1996, however, he made just a solitary appearance on the continental stage, a 3-0 group-stage defeat at Old Trafford to eventual winners Germany.

Forward John Spencer and midfielder Craig Burley were in Craig Brown’s Scotland squad and the pair featured in each group game, starting one apiece and coming off the bench in the other two. 

John Spencer challenges for the ball with England's Gary Neville.

They were both playing substitutes in Scotland’s opener, a goalless draw with Guus Hiddink’s Holland at Villa Park. For the next fixture, a Wembley clash with England, John Spencer started up front but was withdrawn between England’s two goals, scored by Alan Shearer and, memorably, Paul Gascoigne. Burley was introduced late on.

Then came Burley’s chance to impress from the off with Scotland completing their group stage campaign against Switzerland. They won 1-0 but it wasn’t enough to progress, the Dutch edging through on goals scored.

Dan Petrescu, a starter for Romania in all three group games, completed the Chelsea quartet falling at the first hurdle. Unable to repeat their heroics at the 1994 World Cup, when they reached the last eight, Romania lost to Spain, France and Bulgaria in the north of England. Better things would follow for our right-back and his country four years later.

2000

Paired in a tough-looking group with England, Germany and Portugal, the Romanians advanced to the quarter-finals after scoring a dramatic 89th-minute penalty against Kevin Keegan’s Three Lions in the final group game.

Romania had drawn with Germany and lost very late on to Portugal on matchdays one and two, but secured their progress to the knockout stage in thrilling style. Unfortunately for Petrescu, again an ever-present in the group stage, he picked up two yellow cards which ruled him out of Romania’s last-eight loss to an Italy side with Antonio Conte in its midfield. 

Dennis Wise celebrates Alan Shearer's goal against Romania with David Beckham. At that stage, England were going through...

Chelsea captain Dennis Wise was a victim of Romania’s success. A playing substitute in England’s first game, a 3-2 loss to Portugal, he then started and shone as old foes Germany were seen off 1-0. The Romanian debacle followed, and Wise’s withdrawal for the more attacking Nick Barmby with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining - when the 2-2 scoreline would have put Keegan’s team through - was highlighted by some as one of the turning points in England’s demise.

Chelsea’s increasingly cosmopolitan squad - one which had reached the last eight of the Champions League in our maiden venture in that competition in the season leading up to Euro 2000 – meant there were plenty of other Blues on show in Holland and Belgium, the tournament having joint hosts for the first time. 

Tore Andre Flo had played an integral part helping Norway qualify but fired blanks once the tournament got underway. Still, the Norwegians came even closer to progressing from the group stage than England; it was only a 94th-minute penalty from Spain’s Gaizka Mendieta in their game with Yugoslavia that took those two teams through, and not the Scandinavians.

Another country from that part of the world, Denmark, included Jes Hogh in their squad but he didn’t feature in any of their three defeats. Bjarne Goldbaek started the last, a 2-0 loss to the Czech Republic. Ed de Goey was another called up but unused, Edwin van der Sar the guardian of Holland’s goal on home soil.

Just as in 1998, it was France who stole the show, and just as then they had strong Chelsea representation in their ranks. Didier Deschamps, fresh from his one season at the Bridge and prior to a move to Valencia, captained Les Bleus to glory. Marcel Desailly was an ever-present at the heart of the defence while Frank Leboeuf played alongside him once, in a 3-2 group-stage defeat to Holland which restricted the World Cup winners to second place. 

In the quarters they battled past Spain in Bruges, and a 2-1 scoreline did the job in the semis and final too - both won on the golden goal rule - against Portugal and Italy respectively. Desailly was named in the team of the tournament, while Deschamps lifted the Henri Delaunay trophy high into the Rotterdam sky. For the second time in three years, it was the Blues’ Bleus who had triumphed on the international stage.