Carlsberg looks back at historic European Football Championships moments as countdown continues to first ever EURO tournament held in Eastern Europe

Shah Alam, 21st November 2011: The next chapter of European football history will be written in Kyiv this week. As fans around the world wait to find out which teams will go head to head at UEFA EURO 2012™ in Poland & Ukraine next summer, long-standing tournament sponsor Carlsberg has been reflecting on the key historic moments of the European Football Championships since the brand’s first involvement as official sponsor back in 1988.

Golden EURO moments

For almost a quarter of a century, Carlsberg has been committed to the European Championships and that passion continues stronger than ever into 2012. Since the beginning of Carlsberg’s relationship with the world’s third largest sporting event, there have been many historic moments and UEFA EURO 2012™ is set to be no different. This is the first ever tournament to be held in Eastern Europe and only the third time that the final tournament is jointly hosted by two countries (after Belgium/Netherlands in 2000 and Austria/Switzerland in 2008).

Keld Strudahl, Carlsberg’s International Marketing Activation Director comments, ‚I have been leading Carlsberg’s European Football Championships sponsorship programme since joining the company back in 1990 and in that time we’ve certainly witnessed some memorable and historic moments for the beautiful game. From Denmark’s tournament win in 1992 to the individually brilliant moments of Marco van Basten’s famous volley and Oliver Bierhoff’s golden goal, the tournament never fails to provide the fans with the action they love. As a brand and official tournament sponsor, we look to use our involvement to bring our customers and football fans as close as possible to the action that the European Championships tournament is famous for.‛

As the 16 teams of the UEFA EURO 2012™ finals prepare to compete in a total of 31 matches for a chance to make history, Carlsberg has taken a look back at the key moments that have helped make the European Championships into one of the world’s best sporting events since the brewer’s first tournament sponsorship back in 1988:

1988 (West Germany) 

• Carlsberg becomes an official sponsor of the European Championships
• Netherlands beat hosts and traditional rivals Germany 2-1 in the semi-finals, sparking huge celebrations in the Netherlands
• Marco van Basten scores one of the most memorable goals in footballing history against Russia in the final, volleying the ball past the goalkeeper and playing a vital part in Netherlands being crowned European Champions 1988
• Tournament top scorer – Marco van Basten (Netherlands) - 5 goals

1992 (Sweden)

• The first major tournament to have player’s names printed on their shirt backs
• A proud moment for Carlsberg as a Danish brand and European Championships sponsor as Denmark wins the tournament
• Tournament top scorer – Henrik Larson (Denmark), Karlheinz Riedle (Germany), Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands), Tomas Brolin (Sweden) – 3 goals each

1996 (England)

• The number of teams taking part in the tournament doubles to 16
• The hosts are knocked out of the tournament by old rivals Germany, who go on to win their first tournament as a unified nation
• Germany’s Oliver Bierhoff scores the first ever ‘golden goal’ in a major tournament, against Czech Republic in the final
• Tournament top scorer – Alan Shearer (England) – 5 goals

2000 (Netherlands & Belgium)

• The first ever European Football Championships to be held in two countries
• Reigning world champions France win the tournament after a thrilling final versus Italy, in which the French come back from 1-0 down with a Sylvain Wiltord equalizer in the final minute of the game. David Trezeguet goes on to score the winner in extra time
• Tournament top scorer – Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), Savo Milošević (Serbia) – 5 goals each

2004 (Portugal) 

• The tournament produces a surprise champion in Greece – a nation given little attention as potential winners ahead of the start of the Championships
• Greece defeat hosts Portugal 1-0 in the final, to the delight and surprise of Greek fans and neutral viewers alike
• Tournament top scorer - Milan Baroš (Czech Republic) – 5 goals

2008 (Austria & Switzerland)

• Spain wins the tournament for the first time in 44 years
• Iker Casillas becomes the first captain to lift the updated version of the Henri Delaunay Cup – an updated tournament trophy crafted from sterling silver, weighing in at 8 kilograms and standing 60 centimeters tall o Carlsberg sells more than 1,500,000 litres of beer in fans zones at the tournament
• Tournament top scorer – David Villa (Spain) – 4 goals

2012 (Poland & Ukraine)

• The first ever European Championships to be held in Eastern Europe
• The UEFA EURO 2012™ matches will be played in eight stadiums, four in Poland – Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw – and four in Ukraine – Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv and Kyiv.
• The format of four groups of four teams will be used for the last time in this tournament. The competition format will change for the next edition in 2016 as the lineup of participants competing in the final tournament will be increased to 24

Top three most successful teams of all time (1960-2008): 1. Germany (3 titles) 2. Spain (2 titles) 3. France (2 titles)

About Carlsberg Group

The Carlsberg Group is one of the leading brewery groups in the world, with a large portfolio of beer and other beverage brands. The flagship brand – Carlsberg – is one of the best-known beer brands in the world and the Baltika, Carlsberg and Tuborg brands are among the six biggest brands in Europe. More than 43.000 people work for the Carlsberg Group, and its products are sold in more than 150 markets. In 2010, the Carlsberg Group sold more than 135 hectolitres of beer, which is about 40 billion bottles of beer annually.

Carlsberg’s long-standing involvement with football

Carlsberg is one the longest standing sponsors of the European Football Championships having first started in 1988, and is Official Partner to UEFA EURO 2012™.

The brand has a long heritage of supporting football through major international sponsorships of national teams and international tournaments. Starting in the 1970’s, Carlsberg was the first commercial sponsor of the Danish national team and national league. The Denmark sponsorship continues today along with partnerships with the national teams of England, Ireland, Serbia and Bulgaria.

In club football Carlsberg has wide ranging partnerships throughout Europe and beyond including a long running association with Liverpool FC, a recently announced deal with Arsenal plus Tottenham Hotspur (England), FC Copenhagen, OB-Odense (Denmark), Hamburg SV, Hertha Berlin, FC St. Pauli (Germany), FC Porto (Portugal) and many more.