France, led by Michel Platini, won their 1984 EC home match and scored 14 goals. Five of them were made by none other than the incredible Michel Platini. Now the national hero is in disgrace.
European Football Championships on channels 14.6.–14.7. Go to the competition website from this link.
In the summer of 1984 Juhani Tamminen I started as the head coach of the French national ice hockey team still had 10 years to go, and the original Sun King, i.e. of Louis XIV 269 years had already passed since the end of the reign.
But the Sun King was indeed crowned in France in the summer of 1984 as well. Turned 29 during the final tournament Michel Platini set an unbeaten record in the European Championship by scoring nine goals in five matches. France’s championship journey was crowned by a 2–0 final victory over Spain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on June 27. Goal average of 1.8, in men’s football rankings!
The dominance of the French midfield genius 40 years ago is perhaps best described by the goalscoring statistics of the Games. Denmark, who played well, also took second place Frank Arnesenwhich hit three times.
Seed of Victory 1982
The seed of the host country’s victory was already sown in Seville in the summer of 1982. France led the World Cup semi-final match against West Germany in extra time already 3–1, but tragically lost after a penalty shootout.
France’s midfield trio Jean Tigana–Platinum–Alain Giresse however, was so brilliant at the World Cup in Spain that top success was expected at the home games – especially when the trio was completed by an excellent Luis Fernandez.
Platini, who became the best player in Serie A and Europe at Juventus, already scored the only goal of the match against Denmark in the opening round, but then made the games ring: against Belgium and Yugoslavia, he scored a clean hat-trick, and of these goals, the Gallic striker specialist scored only one.
Even his most important hit was scored by Platini against Portugal in the semi-final. In the last minute of extra time, the powerful Tigana continued to press the ball to the end. There was no launch line, but space was found for the backslant pass: Platini scored the 3-2 winning goal.
In the final match, the goalkeeper of Spain Luis Arconada gave strong assists to Platini’s last European Championship goal by diving in the free kick.
After Spain (1964) and Italy (1968), France became the third and previous team to win European Championship gold at home.
Disgraced man
However, Platini is now very well-known in his home country for other things than his goal streak in the EC home championships. After his active career ended in 1987, he became the head coach of the national team almost immediately.
First, Platini’s team didn’t make it to the Italian World Cup in 1990, and then even as the pre-favorite of the entire tournament, it made it to the first group at the Swedish European Championship in 1992.
In addition to the EC gold, Platini got to celebrate the world championship on his home field, as the chairman of the organizing committee of the final tournament in 1998.
Great games were followed later by his presidency of UEFA, the European football confederation. The shenanigans of a corrupt Fifa president Sept Blatter’s however, he also took Platini to his knees.
Platini was banned for eight years in 2015, and Fifa demanded millions in compensation from him. In 2019, Platini was even arrested on suspicion of corruption, but in 2022, he and Blatter were acquitted in court.
A national hero with his face covered doesn’t exactly present himself at public events these days.