This summer, the European Championship will be held in England. The previous attendance record of 240,000 was shattered with the sale of over 500,000 tickets. Everyone's guess is as to who will win the title.
It is building up to be one of the greatest football tournaments in recent history, but it would be wrong to ignore the great moments that led us to this place. The Euros have provided us with top-notch football and great moments of excitement. The Germany team who won six titles in a row and the final that was decided by the golden goal are some of the game's icons. Early versions of the tournament featured just four teams instead of the 16 we have now. There have been some controversial moments.
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This summer's event may be epic, but there is a lot of history in it.
It's not easy to chart the origins of the Euros. Unlike with the World Cup, there wasn't a lot of interest in running a tournament of this type.
In 1969 and 1979 the Italian Football Federation ran a European competition, but it wasn't until 1984 that the European competition for women's football qualification was held. There were only four teams in the final, but England and Sweden came out on top. The competition was increased to eight teams in 1997. 16 teams have competed since the beginning of the year.
This is the second year in a row that England has hosted the officially sanctioned event. This year's tournament will see teams travel across the country, but the 2005 edition was held in just two states. Despite being eliminated in the group stages, the English Football Association still viewed the event as a huge success. Over half a million people are expected to attend this month's event, but the combined attendance of 70,000 for the tournament was far less than that.
At the final in Sweden, there was the highest attendance of any game. The Friends Arena in Solna was filled with more than 41,000 people. In the 2005 group stage, the next biggest turnout was for England vs.Finland. It's amazing to think that this record could be broken at the opening game of England's summer tour against Austria. The home of Manchester United's men's side can hold up to 74,140 people. The original record was doubled, but that's not enough. Wembley is sold out and can hold 90,000.
The tournament used to have players competing in oversized jerseys with caps hand-stitched for them by friends and family, instead of their national associations. There were barely any spectators in the stands and media coverage was very sparse. Going forward, that will not be the case.
Johanna Rasmussen had a rocket.
This goal was the product of some remarkable individual skill from Johanna Rasmussen, but it was also a piece of team work by her team. After faking a run to the left before ducking inside the Sweden defender in front of her, she smashed the ball with her left foot into the far top corner of the net.
Jodie Taylor completed her hat trick.
The long ball was picked up by Ellen White. Jodie Taylor was able to chip the ball over the goal line for Scotland. That was Taylor's third goal of the day and it was the first hat trick in the tournament in 20 years.
The Sweden vs Italy game was called Super Sabatino.
This 3-2 group-stage win for Italy was a good day for the player, who scored twice in the 37th and 4th minutes. The impact was made when Linda Tucceri Cimini sent a ball towards the right post. She volleyed the ball straight into the net after she muscled off her defender.
The Italy vs Germany game took place in 1997.
The Italians were awarded a penalty just outside the penalty box. Carta was given a short horizontal ball and whipped it around the wall in front of her, into the top right corner of the net. Italy was beaten by Germany in the final despite being top of the group and drawing a single point.
There was a France vs Russia match.
A long ball delivered into the box by France was headed only as far as Roujas, who controlled the ball with the side of her foot before volleying it into the far left corner of the Russia net.
There was a Germany vs Russia match.
Let's not kid ourselves, this entire section could just be the goals of the woman who dominated Germany in the 90s and 2000s. You're guaranteed at least one rocket of a goal if you watch any of her goals from her time with Germany.
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The one that is deserving is this one. The ball lands on the right side of the box after Russia failed to clear it. She takes a moment to compose herself and let go of the ball. Something of beauty.
The golden goal was the deciding factor.
The 2001 final between Sweden and Germany was the only one to be decided by the golden goal rule.
The game would be decided by who scored the first goal. It was a difficult end for Sweden, who had lost to Germany in the group stage but still managed to hold them to a goal in the final. Instead, Germany worked the ball up from their own goal line and eventually, it was slipped through to substituteClaudia Muller, who slid the ball through the legs ofCaroline Jonsson in goal.
It's a way to win but what about the spectacle?
Germany had held the Euros for 22 years.
Germany has a great record in the Euros. They have won eight titles and have won six in a row. Their bid for a seventh consecutive title ended in the quarterfinals when they were beaten by the Danes.
The loss ended their 22-year reign and began a period of difficulty in major tournaments for the once dominant country. The last time they lost in a knockout match was in July 1993 against the same opponent.
Germany started the game well with a goal from Isabel Kerschowski in the third minute, but the Danes came back with two goals in the second half to blow the competition open.
After saving England's campaign, she interrupted a break-in.
The England's Euro campaign will be remembered. The Lionesses came into the competition, hosted by Sweden, as the fourth best team in Europe, but were dumped out at the group stages after losses to Spain and France. England's hopes were kept alive until the final group game against France, thanks to a 93rd-minute tie against Russia, which came after the Russians had taken a 2-0 lead.
She couldn't sleep after hearing someone break into the ice cream shop next to the hotel. The owner of the team was given flags and a ticket to a game by the team. She called the police when she saw someone breaking into a house. The young man had a dramatic day.
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