Unusual facts

From partying Danes to petulant generals, here are some of the more unusual facts about the European championship, which starts in Poland and Ukraine on June 8

Danes' beer turns to champagne

Denmark's group of hardworking journeymen were all set for summer beach holidays until they got a surprise call-up to Euro 1992 after Yugoslavia was ejected because of the Balkans civil war.

But the holiday mood was maintained in their camp as they were allowed to bring their girlfriends and wives and permitted to drink beer. They were drinking champagne by the end of the tournament as they went on to lift the trophy.

Luxembourg's near miss

Denmark is at least regular qualifiers for major championships but the same cannot be said for the tiny state of Luxembourg. Usually cannon fodder in its groups, it enjoyed a rare moment in the spotlight at the 1964 championship.

Having eliminated the Netherlands in the last 16, it almost made it to the finals in Spain - only four teams went to the finals in that era - but lost 1-0 to the Danes in a quarterfinal replay after the two-leg clash had finished 5-5.

Never-say-die Turks

Spain may have won the Euro 2008 crown but if there was a trophy for resilience Turkey would have been handed it, earning itself the reputation as the masters of last-minute goals.

It beat the Swiss in the second minute of injury time in a group match and then scored in the 87th and 89th minutes to come from behind to beat the Czechs 3-2 in another group match.

Turkey took it to the limit again against the Croats in the quarterfinals, refusing to give up despite trailing to a late goal in extra-time and eventually leveling in the second minute of injury time. It went on to win the penalty shootout 3-1.

But having equalized in the 86th minute to make it 2-2 against the Germans in the semifinal, it lost 3-2 as its opponents scored a last-minute winner.

Yugoslav curse

For a nation that has produced some of Europe's finest footballers, Yugoslavia never enjoyed itself at a Euro.

It lost the two finals it contested - 2-1 to the Soviet Union after extra-time in 1960 and then 2-0 to Italy in a replay after the first match ended 1-1 in the 1968 edition.

After that, quite apart from its expulsion in 1992 as Yugoslavia collapsed into a bloody internecine war, for the 32 years it played as a single nation they recorded just one win - 1-0 against Norway in 2000.

It also holds the unwanted record of the two heaviest defeats at a finals - 5-0 against Denmark in 1984 and a 6-1 hammering by the Dutch in 2000.

(China Daily 06/06/2012 page22)