This June, Germany will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1996 European Championship triumph - back then, the Germany national team picked up its third and, to date, last European Championship title. To mark the occasion, the DFB have invited head coach Berti Vogts and his class of ’96 to a two-day reunion in Paris for the current World Champions’ second EURO 2016 group game on Thursday against Poland.
16th June, 1996 in Manchester. 20 years ago to the day on Thursday, Germany took a big step on the way to their third European Championship title, beating Russia 3-0 in their second group game and qualifying for the knock-out stages. Exactly 20 years down the line, the current national team can take an almost equally huge step in the direction of their desired fourth title with a win against Poland, this time, albeit, into a Round of 16. Supporting the boys from the stands in Saint-Denis’s Stade de France will be Germany’s European Championship heroes of 1996, invited by the DFB to celebrate the 20th anniversary.
Curtius: "Ideal platform for thanking the European champions"
To kick start the two-day celebrations, the champions of ’96 will check in to a hotel in the centre of Paris on Thursday morning. They will spend the afternoon with the DFB delegation under President Reinhard Grindel on the DFB-EURO2016-Club, a boathouse restaurant on the River Seine, from where they will travel to the nearby Stade de France, by the gates of the French capital. After full time, they will make their way back to the hotel for the official get-together, before returning home the following morning.
"This gathering in the realms of EURO 2016 is the ideal platform for us the thank the European Champions of 1996 for their outstanding performance in England 20 years ago, for us to look back on fond memories together and of course for us to support our current team in the Stade de France," said the DFB general secretary Dr. Friedrich Curtius.
Bobic: "A good omen for potential progression"
Fredi Bobic, who started three of the five tournament games back in 1996, is not letting his recently acquired position as sporting director at Eintracht Frankfurt prevent him from accepting this invitation, and says: "I think it’s lovely how the DFB are remembering us European Champions from 1996, and I think I have earned this short trip to Paris with my old teammates. I see it as a good omen for our potential progression, that Jogi Löw’s team beat Ukraine 2-0 in the opening game, just as we beat the Czech Republic 2-0 back then."
Unfortunately, not all of the 1996 EURO heroes are able to attend the anniversary celebrations in Paris. Jürgen Klinsmann, for one, captain of the title winners and twice goalscorer against Russia, is occupied in the Copa America with the USA national team, together with Berti Vogts, his manager back in 1996 and his current advisor in America. Matthias Sammer will also be missed. Germany’s sweeper, whose phenomenal performances at the EUROS in England earned him the European Footballer of the Year award in 1996, has declined the invitation for health reasons.
