1972, West Germany

The fourth European Championship was held in 1972, the year of the infamous Munich Olympics. The final tournament was held in Belgium. This was to be the year when West Germany made their mark on the world stage and a certain Gerd Muller, one of the most prolific goal scorers of all time, came to the fore on the big stage with a bang.

The qualifying stage saw Soviet Union, England, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, Italy, Yugoslavia and West Germany top their individual groups.

In the quarter finals, Belgium defeated defending champs Italy, West Germany overcame England, Soviet Union triumphed over Yugoslavia while Hungary had to go that extra mile to defeat Romania. It was all square after two legs and no penalty shoot outs meant that Hungary and Romania had to face each other in a play-off once more. Hungary beat Romania 2-1 to ensure a place in the semi-finals.

Belgium were looking to follow in the footsteps of Italy and Spain and become the third hosts in succession to win the European Championships. But Gerd Muller had other ideas. Although he himself considered his team to be fortunate, his predatory instincts got the better of the hosts on the day. Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer assumed control of the game after half-time, slowing it down to his team's pace, while Gunter Netzer was pulling the strings upfield. Indeed, the latter also set up Germany's second, pinging the ball into the penalty area and to Muller, who controlled before finishing past Belgian goalkeeper Piot.

The second semi saw Soviet Union reach the finals for the third time in four attempts. Anatoliy Konkov's goal was the difference between the two sides. Although five minutes from time, Revaz Dzodzuashvili's infringement resulted in a penalty. Sandor Zambo took the spot kick but Evgeni Rudakov guessed correctly, diving to his left to preserve his team's advantage. The Soviet side were through.

Gerd Muller had scored 4 goals against the Soviet Union in an encounter in the previous month. They were wary of his threat and looking to contain the attacker in his tracks. West Germany's three most influential players were all involved in the first goal, Beckenbauer bringing the ball out from the back and Netzer volleying almost nonchalantly against the bar. Evgeni Rudakov produced a brilliant save to keep out the rebound but there was Muller to control the ball before pushing it in. His tally of 68 goals in 62 international matches is an astounding total in such a defensive era. Muller then scored another in the second half. The Soviet fears had come true and Beckenbauer's side took the trophy home.