2 Euro Proof

The final round was held in June 1976 in Yugoslavia. At that time, only four teams took part in the actual final tournament; beforehand, they had to qualify through group and quarter-final matches. In the semi-final, the Czechoslovak team defeated the Netherlands 3:1 after extra time. In the final in Belgrade, they faced the Federal Republic of Germany, which entered the match as the reigning European and world champion.

Czechoslovakia took a 2:0 lead through Ján Švehlík and Karol Dobiaš. Germany, however, equalised; the score reached 2:2 shortly before the end of regular time. As no further goals were scored in extra time, a penalty shoot-out decided a European Championship final for the first time. After the German player Uli Hoeneß shot over the goal, Antonín Panenka stepped up to take the decisive penalty. He deceived goalkeeper Sepp Maier and gently lifted the ball into the centre of the goal. This technique later became established in football under the name “Panenka”.

The team represented the then common state of Czechs and Slovaks. Eight players in the starting eleven for the final came from the Slovak part of the country, including captain Anton Ondruš and the goalscorers Švehlík and Dobiaš. Several of them belonged to Slovak clubs such as Slovan Bratislava. Panenka, by contrast, played for Bohemians Prag.

Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the beginning of 1993, independent Czech and Slovak national teams emerged from the common association. The success of 1976 is therefore part of the sporting history of both successor states. For Slovakia, the anniversary also provides an opportunity to recall the substantial contribution of Slovak players to the team at the time and a final that remains well known to this day.