1976: PANENKA SPOT ON

UEFA EURO 1976 FINAL

YUGOSLAVIA

CRVENA ZVEZDA STADIUM, BELGRADE

CZECHOSLOVAKIA (PENS 5-3) 2-2 WEST GERMANY

One image dominates the 1976 Championship, perhaps the most famous the tournament has ever produced. Yet Antonin Panenka's extraordinary dinked penalty to seal Czechoslovakia's victory in the final was just one of many highlights from a thrilling tournament, whose four matches provided 19 goals.

The qualifying tournament saw a rampant Dutch side obliterate Belgium 7-1 on aggregate, Robert Rensenbrink netting a first leg hat-trick in Rotterdam.

The USSR missed out on the finals for the first time as they fell to a highly motivated Czechoslovak side over two legs. The Soviets froze in front of a hostile Bratislava crowd, and failed to overturn the 2-0 deficit on home turf.

The finals, in Yugoslavia, got off to a tempestuous start as three men saw red in Czecholsovakia's semi-final summit with the Netherlands.

BALKAN GOAL RUSH

Czechoslovak captain Anton Ondruš scored at both ends and the game went to extra time.

Playing ten against nine, the extra man finally paid off as goals from Nehoda and Vesely in the last five minutes decided a classic encounter, sending Czechoslovakia into the final.

In the other semi-final Yugoslavia also took the holders West Germany to an extra thirty minutes. Goal machine Gerd Müller dropped two more bombs in the 115th and 119th minutes to wrap up his hat-trick and an extraordinary 4-2 win.

After the Netherlands snatched third place with another extra time win, 3-2 over Yugoslavia, the stage was set for a fittingly exceptional final.


Goals from Dobias and Svehlik appeared to set Czechoslovakia on their way top an easy win, but the Germans, as always, fought back.

Gerd Müller reduced the deficit shortly before the half-hour mark before Hölzenbein struck two minutes from time to send the game into extra time.

This time there was to be no extra time winner, and the title went down to a penalty shoot-out.

At 4-3 to the Czechoslovaks Uli Hoeness blazed over, and Antonin Panenka stepped up for the most famous penalty of all time.

As Sepp Maier dived to his left, Panenka, under colossal pressure, chipped the ball impudently down the middle, and Czechoslovakia were European Champions.