A view on the media and public reaction in France to Euro '96. Neil McCarthy reports
Two big news stories in France before Euro ’96 were Mad Cow Disease and the arrest of football hooligans in Birmingham and Newcastle. Some suggested that the shaky relationship between Britain and the rest of Europe coupled with England’s hooligans were a recipe for trouble.
A view on the media and public raction to Euro '96 in Spain. Phil Ball reports
Until the Daily Mirror’s outbreak of cultural sensitivity on Thursday 20th June, the Spanish press had, by and large, been serving up a positive view of all things English – describing in drooling terms the facilities on tap at the team’s hotel on the outskirts of Leeds, publishing photos of Zubizarreta signing an autograph for a smiling “bobbie” and of Caminero wolf-whistling at his English (female) security guard.
A view on the media and public reaction to Euro '96 in Bulgaria. Mark McQuinn and Boris Petrov report
If ever a country needed a break, in terms of football success, it was Bulgaria at Euro ’96. The run up to the finals saw the country in a state of economic collapse with over 100 banks folding, 65 major industries being closed and people having to queue for hours each days to buy bread, as the government had exported most of the country’s wheat supply to bring in hard currency.
Graham McColl looks back at Euro '96, yet another tournament in which a Scotland team tantalized supporters with qualification only to miss out at the death
Scotland’s performances at the finals of international football tournaments in the 1990s have become so predictable that they could almost be written into FIFA’s and UEFA’s rules.
Simon Kuper and Rutger Slagter explain why the upheaval in the Dutch squad following Euro '96 may not be quite what it seemed
“Kabel” is the new word in Dutch football. The kabel (cabal in English) people are talking about has four members, all of them black Dutchmen: Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Michael Reiziger. Winston Bogarde also wants to be in the kabel, but he can’t because he’s too old, not good enough at football, and wears too much jewellry.