It might be 20 years since Andreas Möller’s penalty eliminated England from Euro 96, but the man in the hosts’ dugout that night is still immensely proud.
Terry Venables’ team were centimetres away from a golden goal victory that night, and have never come as close to a major final yet.
But the former national team manager firmly believes the conveyor-belt of young talent forcing its way into Roy Hodgson’s squad means Euro 2016 might just provide an end to 50 years of hurt this summer.
Speaking to JOE at the The Three Lions pub launching Carlsberg’s ‘Pubstitutions’ campaign, Venables recalls an “incredible” summer, which went beyond the action on the pitch.
“I was obviously very disappointed and upset, like everyone else, but the whole thing was bigger,” he explains.
“That time is maybe the most incredible time, the best summer of a lifetime. People who you wouldn’t expect came out and got in with the swing and the party of it.”
“It was absolutely amazing and I just can’t tell you how proud I felt and how happy I’ve been to have been involved in that competition.”
It is easy to forget how close England really were to the final.
Even before Gareth Southgate’s penalty miss, Venables’ team twice went desperately close as Darren Anderton hit the post and Paul Gascoigne couldn’t quite get enough on Alan Shearer’s cross to divert the ball beyond Andreas Kopke.
Had either of those chances found the back of the net, England would not only have gone ahead, but they’d have gone straight into the final. It was the first of two European Championships where the Golden Goal rule was in play, with both the 1996 and the 2000 finals decided by an extra-time winner.
And Venables remains convinced that victory over Germany would have given England the impetus to see off the Czech Republic in the final.
“That would have been the final, and we would have won it,” he insists.
The England squad in 1996 had a good blend of youth and experience, much like today’s crop.
Venables’ 22 players had an average age of 25.7, with six members (Nick Barmby, Sol Campbell, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Redknapp and Gary and Phil Neville) all aged 22 or younger going into the tournament.
Hodgson is yet to whittle his 26-man preliminary squad down to 23, but as things stand the average age is 25.4 with only four players (Gary Cahill, Tom Heaton, James Milner and Wayne Rooney) in their thirties.
Venables doesn’t expect a lack of experience to be too much of a hindrance, though, pointing to the need for fitness and athleticism above age.
“You keep seeing all these young players coming in and it’s brilliant,” he says.
“It’s not whether you’re young or whatever, but you’ve got to be good if you’re going to get into this team.”
But when it comes down to it, he acknowledges that being spoilt for choice across a 23-man squad doesn’t matter if the 11 men on the pitch aren’t able to deliver.
“You’ve got to beat the other guy, it doesn’t change,” he adds.
“You’re still going to have the same amount of players when it comes to the trophy.”
Terry Venables met England fans at The Three Lions pub in London as part of Carlsberg’s ‘Pubstitutions’ campaign. Carlsberg will be substituting pub names and renaming them ‘The Three Lions’ across England in the build-up to UEFA EURO 2016™. Follow @CarlsbergUK to discover how Carlsberg will be substituting the ordinary for the extraordinary for England fans in the build-up to the tournament.
