Euro 92 – Star Players

Tomas Brolin – Sweden

Brolin scored three goals in Euro 92, earning him the golden boot as top scorer. He scored the winning goal for Sweden against England that eliminated the English out of the tournament. Brolin played in the 1990 and 1994 world cup, he once again scored three goals in the 1994 world cup and was named in the world cup team of the tournament for that respective year. He played for Parma of Italy and then made a lucrative move to Leeds United for £4.5million and became an instant hit at Elland Road. He was loaned back to Parma before moving to Crystal place for half a year where he acted as player manager for that season. To this day he remains the youngest manager ever to manage a premiership side at the age of 28.

Karl Heinz Riedle – Germany

Riedle was Germany’s top scorer at Euro 92 with the 3 goals. He was also a member of their 1990 world cup winning squad. After the 1990 world cup finals he moved to Italian side Lazio for a staggering £5.5 million and was a great success. He moved to Borussia Dortmund in 1993 and he helped them win the German league titles in 1995, 1996 and 1997. He scored two goals in Dortmund’s 3-1 victory against Juventus in the Champions league final. In total Riedle appeared on 42 occasions for his country and scored a respectable 16 goals.

Chris Woods – England
England’s best player of Euro 92 was arguably their goal keeper Chris woods, he kept two clean sheets in their first two matches, and made fine saves throughout the tournament including in their 2-1 defeat against Sweden. Woods made his international debut in 1985 and was often second choice to Peter Shilton in goal, he was a member of England’s 1986 and 1990 world cup squad and he made an appearance for England in the 1988 European Championships. He was first choice once Graham Taylor took charge in 1990. In total Woods was capped an impressive 43 times for England. Woods won many honours during his spell in Scotland with Glasgow Rangers; he moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 1991 and appeared in the 1993 FA Cup final with them.

John Jensen – Denmark
The hero for Denmark during Euro 92 without a doubt is John Jensen, he went into the tournament virtually unknown and returned home as a national hero. He scored Denmark’s first goal in the final against Germany and had a sound tournament. Before Euro 92 he played for Brondby and Hamburger however his brilliant display during the European Championships earned him a lucrative move to English side Arsenal. Jensen made 132 appearances for Arsenal and moved back to Brondby in 1996. In total he played 69 times for Denmark.

Jean Pierre Papin – France
Papin was France’s most influential player during Euro 92, he scored two goals however they failed qualify from their group. Papin in fact was arguably the best player in Europe throughout the qualifying matches for Euro 92. He was honoured with the title of European Footballer of the year in 1991. He was the leading goal scorer in the French league for five seasons running whilst playing with Marseille. In total he scored 157 goals in 254 matches for Marseille. He also had spells playing for Bayern Munich and AC Milan.

Stefan Effenburg – Germany
Effenburg was Germany’s most influential player during Euro 92. He helped them reach the final which they lost 2-0 at the hands of Denmark. In total he appeared 35 times for his country scoring 3 goals, one of which came in Euro 92. He had two long spells playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach and had a short spell playing for Bayern Munich. He made his debut for Germany in 1991.

Jan Eriksson – Sweden
Eriksson was a key first team member for Sweden during Euro 92; he scored two crucial goals including one against England in their final crunch group match. He also scored in Sweden’s opening match against France. He was a member of Sweden’s squad for the 1990 world cup finals. In total he made 35 appearances for Sweden and scored four goals for his country.

Frank Rijkaard – Holland
Rijkaard was outstanding for the Dutch during Euro 92, scoring two goals and was influential for Holland all over the pitch. He is unfortunately remembered by many people for his sending off during Italia 90, when he spat at Rudi Voller in a second round game. He won the European Championships with Holland in 1988 and played a total of 72 matches for Holland. He had long spells playing his club football with Ajax Amsterdam and AC Milan before retiring from playing in 1995. He is now one of the most successful managers in the world.