The development of the UEFA Under 21 Championship - Italy has won five titles

The UEFA European U-21 Championship has developed into one of the most important and attractive of UEFA’s competitions over past decades. Similar to the UEFA European Footoball Championship™ for A national teams, several changes have been made. Since 1976, the year when the players’ age was limited to 21, 15 titles have been determined. Previously, UEFA U-23 teams participated. An important difference to the UEFA European Fotoball Championships™, with their finals held every four years, is that the younger teams determine their continental champion every two years.

Italy is the record holder at the UEFA European U-21 Championships with five titles. The senior “Azzurri” team has captured the UEFA Trophy only once. The UEFA U-21 teams of England and the former Soviet Union won two titles each. Yugoslavia, Spain, Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands who triumphed in the last final in June 2006, have all gained one since 1976 when the age limit was fixed at 21. Germany, the most successful nation in the senior UEFA European Football Championship™ with three titles, has never come top in the UEFA European U-21 Championship.

UEFA list Bulgaria as the first ever UEFA European U-21champion. This success, however, is not included in the above mentioned statistics. This victory was achieved in 1967. The senior UEFA European Football Championship™ by then had been held just twice. Thus the interest increased to create an attractive competition for the best junior teams. The system then may well have been assessed as being odd from today’s point of view: One match was sufficient to achieve the title.

In January of 1967, UEFA proposed to their member associations the introduction of a “Challenge Cup for UEFA U-23 national teams”. Seventeen associations agreed. Bulgaria and the then GDR were drawn together for the opening match. Bulgaria won 3-2 in Stara Zagora on June 7, 1967, and thus were virtually the first European junior champions. As in boxing, the Eastern Europeans then had to defend their title against challengers. They achieved that four times before they lost to Yugoslavia, who then took the Challenge Cup to Belgrade and could call themselves the European U-23 champions.

The first change to the system was made in 1970, when the challenge principle at world boxing championships was replaced by qualification groups. Twenty three countries were divided into eight groups, the group winners qualified for the quarter-finals, played in home and away matches and winners progressed to the semi-finals and final. Czechoslovakia (final matches against the USSR 2-2 and 3-1) were the first UEFA European U-23 champions after that; Hungary won in 1974 (against the GDR 2-3 and 4-0); the Soviets in 1976 (against Hungary 1-1 and 2-1). The teams from the former Eastern Bloc dominated the event.

In 1976 UEFA reduced the age limit from 23 to 21. In the first finals after this change Yugoslavia defeated the GDR 1-0 and 4-0 in the home and away matches in 1978. Then the USSR gained the UEFA juniors’ crown in 1980 (against the GDR, 0-0 and 1-0), England in 1982 (against the FRG 3-1 and 2-3), and in 1984 (against Spain 1-0 and 2-0), Spain in 1986 (against Italy 1-2 and 2-1/3-0 in a penalty shoot-out), France in 1988 (against Greece 0-0 and 3-0), the USSR in 1990 (against Yugoslavia 4-2 and 3-1) and Italy in 1992 (against Sweden 0-1 and 2-0).

A new system to speed up the development was installed in 1994 with the introduction of a final at the same venue with the four semi-finalists. Home and away matches now belonged to the past. The matches were played in Montpellier in France, where Italy and Portugal reached the final and the junior “Azzurri” won 1-0 after extra time. Barcelona hosted the finals in 1996, and the Italian title holders defeated the Spanish hosts in the final 4-2, with a penalty shoot-out after 1-1 after extra time.

The junior competition experienced further enhancement in 1998 when the quarter-finals were integrated in the finals. Romania hosted them. Spain won the U21 European title by beating Greece 1-0. Another change was made in 2000. As two years before, eight teams participated. However, they did no longer play quarter-finals, but were divided into two groups. The group winners met in the final, the two second-best teams played for third place. Once again Italy came top after a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Slovakia.

The current system was introduced in 2002 and is still valid for the 2007 finals in the Netherlands. There are two groups with four teams each, the group winners and the runners-up qualify for the semi-finals, the semi-finals winners meet in the final. The 2000 finalists Czech Republic won the 2002 title against France in Switzerland, but needed a 3-1 penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes. In 2004 Italy achieved their fifth title in Germany defeating Serbia and Montenegro 3-0. The Netherlands side finished top in the latest UEFA European U-21 Championship in Portugal crushing the Ukraine 3-0 in 2006.

Though the system has not been changed for the upcoming finals, there is still an alteration for the tournament in the Netherlands. The two-year rhythm has been changed. There is only one year between the U21 Europeans in Portugal and the finals in the Netherlands, with UEFA reacting to the demands of the Olympic qualification. The teams that will qualify for the Summer Games in China in June 2007 can now play the Olympic tournament with the same squads. The age limit for the Olympics is 23. There was also a separation between the UEFA European U-21 Championship age-groups and the A teams. Up to now there have often been conflicting competition dates. The Italian UEFA European U-21 champions of 2004 could theoretically have played the senior UEFA European Football Championship™ in Portugal starting a few days later, then the 2004 Olympic tournament in Greece that August. The new procedure will be retained so that future UEFA European U-21 Championships avoids the senior European and FIFA World Cup™ tournaments.