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Great Footballers who never played in the EURO

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A number of great footballers in the past never had a chance to play in the UEFA EURO Championship in their careers.

EURO is one of the major international competitions that are seen as important as the FIFA World Cup, especially for Europeans. It is a top-tier international tournament, and each player expects to make an appearance there at least once in their life.

However, there have always been unlucky names who missed the competition. Surprisingly, they were the great players of their time. One of them was even a World Cup winner. Today, there is Erling Haaland, who has yet to lead his country, Norway, to qualify for any major tournaments, including EURO. Check out the other unfortunate top footballers who missed EURO (since its modern tournament format in 1980) in their playing careers.

Roy Keane (Rep. of Ireland)

He was one of the most legendary players at Manchester United and one of the top figures in the Republic of Ireland during his playing years. Keane was the skipper during the Red Devils’ glorious era, when they won a treble in 1999 and lifted six Premier League trophies. In the national team, the former Nottingham Forest man was part of Jack Charlton’s squad in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, when Ireland reached the round of 16, and in the 2002 FIFA World Cup before his dispute with his boss, Mick McCarthy.

Unfortunately, EURO was never part of his career. The Boys in Green did not qualify for a single EURO edition in the 1990s and early 2000s. Their closest campaign to the final round was in 1995, when they faced off against the against the Netherlands in the EURO 1996 playoff in Anfield. Sadly, they were beaten 2-0.

Ryan Giggs (Wales)

Keane’s teammate at Old Trafford was also unlucky to never play in the Euro. The left winger, who was a Manchester United star from the 1990s to the late 2000s, He enjoyed the trophy-laden years under Sir Alex Ferguson before he retired in 2014. 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League titles, plus the UEFA Super Cup 1991, the Intercontinental Cup 1999, and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008.

Unfortunately, Giggs was not as lucky as Gareth Bale. He was never part of the major international tournaments, either the Euro or the FIFA World Cup. A winger with 64 caps had only managed to bring Wales to the Euro 2004 playoffs. They took on Russia in the two-legged games and suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Yegor Titov and Co. Giggs did have a chance to appear in the 2012 Olympic Games with the Great Britain team, but it is not on the FIFA calendar, so it is not considered a major tournament.

Roberto Baggio (Italy)

The Italian attacking midfielder in the 1990s was the star in Gli Azzurri and his clubs, Fiorentina, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bologna, and Brescia, before he hung up his boots. He won the Italian Serie A twice, with La Vecchia Signora in 1995 and Rossonerri in 1996. He was also one of the key figures in Italy for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, as well as the other two editions, 1990 and 1998. Baggio helped Gli Azzuri reach the semifinals in Italy in 1990 and become a finalist in the USA 1994.

However, he never had the same luck in EURO. He was still too young to be included in EURO 1988. Then, Italy failed to qualify for the 1992 edition. In EURO 1996, the player known as ‘Il Divin Codino’ due to his distinguished ponytail also missed the squad due to his conflict with the manager, Arrigho Sacchi, while Baggio was snubbed again for EURO 2000 because he already lacked minutes playing regularly for his club.

Zbigniew Boniek (Poland)

Before Lewandowski, Poland had Boniek as their most widely sought-after striker in Europe. He had won major titles with Juventus during his three-year stint in Turin. Boniek won a league title and the Cup Winners Cup in 1984, plus the European Cup in 1985, before switching sides to AS Roma.

In the international fixtures, Boniek helped Poland reach the semifinals of the 1982 FIFA World Cup and advance to the second round in Argentina (1978) and Mexico (1986). Sadly, Poland never qualified for the EURO final rounds in the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, they had to wait until 2008 to qualify to the final round.

Dejan Savicevic (Yugoslavia)

The current president of the Montenegro Football Association was one of the unlucky ones too. He was one of the brightest stars in Yugoslavia, as he helped the U20 team win the 1987 FIFA U20 World Cup and the senior side go through the quarterfinals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. At the club level, he clinched the Champions League twice, with Red Star Belgrade in 1991 and AC Milan in 1994.

However, when it comes to EURO, he did not have a chance to make any appearances in the tournament. Yugoslavia did not qualify in the 1988 edition and was suspended in the 1992 and 1996 editions because of the Balkan War. Meanwhile, at EURO 2000, he was injured, resulting in his exclusion from the final squad.

Paulo Rossi (Italy)

The World Cup winner was the star of Gli Azzurri in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a prolific striker who was always on the top scorer list in two editions of the FIFA World Cup, 1978 and 1982. He won it in the latter edition as well as lifting the trophy.

At the club level, he was part of the Juventus squad when they won Serie A twice in 1982 and 1984, the Winners Cup in 1984, and the Champions Cup in 1985. The only major tournament he missed was EURO 1980, which was held on his own home soil. Rossi had to serve a two-year ban due to his involvement in thematch-fixing scandal, Totonero, from 1980 to 1982. Meanwhile, in the 1984 edition, Italy did not qualify for the summer tournament.

 


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