Copyright yardbarker
There have been many great European soccer teams at both club and international levels. The Champions League is the top club football tournament, and the European soccer teams have also won the soccer World Cup many times. Many European soccer teams from the past are generally among the best in the sport’s history. These are five of the best European soccer teams in history. Hungary: 1954 To begin with, the great Hungarian team of 1954. To many, this Hungarian team was the best side that had never won the soccer World Cup. Before the 1954 soccer World Cup, the Hungarians had demonstrated their outstanding football against England both at Wembley and in Hungary. First, Hungary beat England 6-3 at Wembley. Then, a record 7-1 thrashing of England proved that this Hungarian team was quite simply too good for England, and perhaps most other teams as well. This team boasted such great players as Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, and Nándor Hidegkuti, who were most probably the most lethal forwards in the game. Going into the 1954 soccer World Cup, all seemed to be going to plan as the Hungarians swept teams such as Germany aside with an 8-3 victory against them in the group stages. They set scoring records in the soccer World Cup; however, when they reached the final against Germany, the Germans raised their game and ran out 3-2 winners. Despite this, there cannot be much doubt that the Hungarian team was a great side. Real Madrid: 1960 As the European Cup began, Real Madrid were by some distance the best club team in Europe. They won all the European Cup football tournaments up to 1959, and then in 1960, the great Madrid team reached the final of the European Cup again. The team starred such great players as Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano, and had defeated their Catalonian rivals Barcelona 6-2 in the semi-final. The final itself was one of the most exciting European Cup finals seen, and Real Madrid once again were too good for their opponents. The partnership of Puskás and Di Stefano scored seven goals between them, both with hat-tricks in the final. Needless to say, Madrid won the game 7-3 overall, with a couple of second-half goals for Frankfurt closing the margin of victory. With this, it was a record fifth European Cup for Real Madrid. Manchester Utd: 1968 Manchester Utd have won three European Cup football tournaments, but the 1968 team probably remains their most cherished. It was a team that Matt Busby had restored to glory in the wake of the Munich air crash, and with the likes of George Best and Bobby Charlton in their lineup, they were ready to lift the European Cup. In ’68, they reached the European Cup final and played Benfica at Wembley. After 90 minutes, the game remained level, but in extra-time, Utd clinched the title with three further goals to win 4-1 overall. With this, they were the first English club team to win the European Cup. Spain: 2012 The Spanish Tika-taka that emphasized short-passing, possession-based soccer was perhaps the most revolutionary and devastating playing style seen in the beautiful game for a long time. Spain’s 2012 team was the side that dominated international soccer from 2008 to 2012 by playing the Tika-taka. The highlight of that period was undoubtedly Spain’s 4-0 hammering of Italy in the 2012 European Championship, which secured a third consecutive trophy for the Spaniards after the Euro and World Cup glory of 2008 and 2010.
