The development of the U21 European Junior Championship - Italy won five titles

The U21 European Junior Championship has developed into one of the most important and attractive competitions of the European Football Association, UEFA, over past decades. Similar to the UEFA European Championship™ for A national teams, several changes have been made. Since 1976, the year when the players’ age was limited to 21, 16 titles have been determined. Previously, U23 teams participated. An important difference to the UEFA European Championships™, with their finals held every four years, is that the younger teams determine their continental champion every two years.

With five titles, Italy are the record champions at the UEFA U21 European Championships. The team celebrated their most recent final victory in Bochum, Germany, in 2004. (Photo: Rzepka/Augenklick)

Italy is the record holder at the UEFA U21 European Junior Championships with five titles. The senior “Azzurri” team has captured the UEFA Trophy only once. The U21 teams of England, the former Soviet Union and the Netherlands won two titles each. The “Oranje” team triumphed in Portugal in 2006 and on home soil in 2007. Yugoslavia, Spain, Czech Republic and France have all gained one title since 1976 when the age limit was fixed at 21. Germany, the most successful nation in the senior UEFA European Championship™ with three titles, has never come top in the U21 Championship.

Bulgaria defeated the then GDR 3-2 in Stara Zagora on June 7, 1967, in a competition from which today’s European championships of the oldest age-group stems. The first change to the system was made in 1970. 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, also played in home and away matches. Czechoslovakia were the first U23 European champions (1972) after that change, followed by Hungary (1974) and the USSR (1976).

Many superstars competed at UEFA U21 European Championships, such as 1990 FIFA World Cup champion Juergen Kohler, here in a match between Germany and Portugal in 1985. (Photo: Kunz/Augenklick)

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), England in 1982 (against the FRG) and 1984 (against Spain), Spain in 1986 (against Italy), France in 1988 (against Greece), the USSR in 1990 (against Yugoslavia) and Italy in 1992 (against Sweden).

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 4-2 in the final, with a penalty shoot-out after 1-1 after extra time.

The current system has been played since 2002

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 2009 finals in Sweden. 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 2006 UEFA U21 European Junior Championship in Portugal crushing the Ukraine 3-0 and successfully defended their title the following year with a 4-1 victory over Serbia.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was the outstanding striker at the 2006 UEFA U21 European Championship. The Dutchman moved from Ajax Amsterdam to Real Madrid in 2008. (Photo: Firo/Augenklick)

In between the two titles for the Netherlands, the rhythm of the finals had been changed. There was 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 qualified in June 2007 for the 2008 Summer Games in China could play the Olympic tournament with the same squads. The age limit for the Olympics is 23. There was also a separation between the U21 European Championship age-groups and the A teams. Up to then there had often been conflicting competition dates in the even years. The new procedure to hold the UEFA U21 European Championships in the odd years has passed the test successfully and so will be kept to in the future thus avoiding the senior European and World Cup tournaments.