General Francisco Franco forbade his national football team, Spain, to play a match against USSR in the first ever European Championship in 1960. The Soviets went on to win the tournament, beating Yugoslavia (on the 21st day of June) 2-1.
The tournament in 1964 was marred by political tension, Greece withdrew without playing a match after refusing to take the field against Albania. This time Spain, as hosts of the tournament, would not back out and the reached the Final, where they found the USSR opponents. Franco was there to witness the clash.
Spain were not allowed to field their great, naturalised Hungarian players, Laszlo Kubala and the very famous Ferenc Puskas, but they did have midfielder Luis Suarez, who in 1960 was the first and only player at the time, to win the European Footballer of the Year award.
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Romania | 6–0 (h), 1–3 (a) |
| Round of 16 | Northern Ireland | 1–1 (h), 1–0 (a) |
| Quarter-final | Republic of Ireland | 5–1 (h), 2–0 (a) |
| Semi-final | Hungary | 2–1 (aet) (neutral) |
In the quarter-finals, Spain beat the Republic of Ireland 7-1 on aggregate over two legs and then won the semi-final with an extra time goal from Amaro against the very talented Hungary, which later would be a bit "special" in the 1966 World Cup.
75,000 watched in the pouring rain at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the match they might have played four years previously. Spain went on to beat the Russians 2-1 to win their first European trophy. Jesus Maria Pereda, scored after six minutes to make it 1-0 but Khusainov equalised soon after and Spain hung on till the 83rd minute when Martinez headed a winner past the very famous Russian, keeper, Lev Yashin. Of course, Franco used the victory as a symbol of his Fascist Regime's superiority over Communism!
En route to the final, Spain defeated Romania, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland over two legged ties, before beating Hungary in the semi-finals. The Soviet Union received a bye in the qualifying round, before beating Italy, Sweden and Denmark en route to the final. Spain won the Final, 2–1 to earn their first European Championship title.
The Referee for the Final, played in front of an attendance of 79,115 spectators, was Arthur Holland from England.
Below, Referee, Arthur Holland (1916 - 1987) looks on as West Ham United Football Club team captain Bobby Moore (1941 - 1993) and Nobby Lawton (1940 - 2006), team captain for Preston North End Football Club shake hands before the kick off of their FA Cup Final match on 2nd May 1964 at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom. West Ham United won the game 3 - 2.
| Referee | Arthur Holland | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 26 November 1916 Barnsley | ||
| Died | March 1987 Barnsley He worked as a miner from 1935 and after his refereeing retirement as a publican, running The Paddy public house in Kendray, Barnsley. | ||
| International FIFA Referee 1959-64 | |||
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