Euro '92 remembered: England's shame but a fairytale to inspire Denmark

England suffered ignominy on and off the pitch, but it was a very different story for the Danes

Fri, 11 Jun, 2021 - 19:09

Gerry Cox

The World Cup trumps the Euros as the biggest tournament on the planet, but it has never produced the kind of fairytale ending that Hans Christian Andersen might have scripted if the Dane was alive to see his compatriots win Euro ‘92.

It was the first championship I covered as a young reporter and came as a staging post between Italia ‘90 and Euro ‘96, the two tournaments that did most to relight the fire and desire among English football fans for their national game, the reputation of which had hit rock-bottom in the 1980s.

Hooliganism, Heysel and Hillsborough had blighted the sport in Blighty, and it took Gazza’s tears in Turin and the anthemic Three Lions six years later to confirm that England had fallen back in love with the game.

Their fate at Euro ‘92 was a different story, with humiliating defeats in the group stages, an ignominious end for Gary Lineker, and embarrassment off the pitch by hooligans. It was a million miles away from Graham Taylor’s pre-tournament exhortation to fans to “put your feet up and enjoy it”.

But for another country, Euro ‘92 was the stuff of dreams. Denmark had not even qualified for the finals, but two weeks before kick-off, when most Danish players and their fans were heading for the beaches of southern Europe, UEFA decided to disqualify Yugoslavia because of the worsening political and humanitarian situation in the Balkans.

Denmark had finished behind Yugoslavia in qualifying and were hurriedly drafted into action. They made the short journey across the Baltic’s Oresund strait from Copenhagen to Malmo, where they opened the tournament with a goalless draw against England.

Things did not improve in their second game, a 1-0 defeat by the hosts Sweden, but the Danes were not disheartened. Maybe they had an inkling of what was about to happen.

There was a relaxed mood about them and their manager Richard Moeller Nielsen would invite journalists in to chat in informal surroundings with his players about any topic under the sun. One seasoned reporter came away shocked that he had been in meaningful conversation with a footballer about European politics and socio-economics. “Imagine suggesting that as a topic to one of the England players,” he laughed.

I’d been chatting freely with Peter Schmeichel, who’d been kept out of the media spotlight at Manchester United the previous year, but was happy to talk about how playing handball as a youngster had helped with his soccer skills, and what he thought of his Old Trafford team-mates.

Peter Schmeichel of Denmark hold aloft the European nations trophy in June 1992

Moeller Nielsen’s ability to lighten the mood was seen when he was asked whether wives joining the camp might detract from their performances. “Love is good for footballers, as long as it is not at half-time!” he quipped.

It was a stark contrast to the buttoned-up tension in the England camp, where another draw, against a France side managed by Michel Platini and containing Eric Cantona, left Taylor’s men in danger of elimination unless they beat Sweden in Stockholm.

And the initially peaceful atmosphere in Malmo turned violent following the game with France.

I was with friends having a quiet drink in a bar off the main square, where the locals had welcomed fans from many countries with open arms. But when it all kicked off, prompted as we discovered later by a pre-arranged signal from Norwegian far-right group the Aryan Brotherhood, it was chaos. Hooligans fought with police, lobbed chairs and tables and a flying bicycle came smashing through the front window. The yobs trashed the town as well as England’s reputation, and not for the first time I felt ashamed to be an Englishman abroad.

Solace came from wonderful stories unfolding on the pitch. Sweden sent England packing, a brilliant Tomas Brolin winner coming 20 minutes after Taylor made the baffling decision to take off his top goalscorer and thus end Lineker’s career prematurely. And while Sweden won Group 1, Denmark finished second after goals from Henrik Larsen and former Luton Town striker Lars Elstrup saw off France, and also sent England home early.

Denmark had more than just journeymen, of course. Schmeichel was on the way to becoming the best goalkeeper in the nascent Premier League, formed a few weeks before Euro ‘92. In front of him was clubmate John Sivebaek, Fergie’s first signing at United, and John ‘Faxe’ Jensen of Arsenal. Up front, Flemming Povlsen formed a deadly partnership with the star of the show Brian Laudrup.

Brimming with confidence, and yet unburdened by expectation, Denmark went into their semi-final believing they could beat reigning European Champions Holland, who still had superstars Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and now Dennis Bergkamp. The Danes duly took it to penalties, scoring all five. Only one Dutchman failed from the spot – Van Basten, the hero of ‘88.

So Denmark were through to a final against Germany, a rivalry more bitter because of their land border and history, not least during the Second World War.

At the start of the tournament, we’d played the Danish press in a media match, where I was the designated ball-winner for an aging Bobby Charlton. Afterwards, a veteran Danish reporter told us of his country’s respect for England because the RAF had successfully targeted Nazi stormtroopers billeted in the SS HQ at a civilian hospital, without injuring a single patient. It is fair to say he had no love of Germans, even 48 years later.

Astonishingly, some of the German media also had it in for their team, and in particular the boss Berti Vogts, one-time World Cup-winning defender, but a less than popular manager.

When Jensen put Denmark ahead in the final, German journalists sensed an upset on the cards. When Kim Vilfort put the result beyond doubt, with a late second goal for Denmark, the same reporters were punching the air in delight. It was quite the surprise, but nothing like the shock these great Danes had pulled off in beating a side that had won the World Cup two years earlier.

The rank outsiders, late entrants with little proper preparation, had overcome the odds, and both the European and the World Champions in successive games, to win the Henri Delauney trophy.

Beat that for a storyline, Hans Christian Andersen!