Euro 1988 Top Goal Scorers

The UEFA European Championship 1988 was the eighth edition of the European football championship, which was held every four years and supported by UEFA and was hosted by West Germany from June 10 to 25, 1988.

Eight teams qualified for the final tournament and 15 matches were played in the tournament which was held at eight venues, including group stage all-play-all matches with eight teams split into two groups, followed by semifinals, and the tournament final.

In so far as The West German team was the European Champions of the 1980 edition and the runners-up in each of the 1982 FIFA World Cup and 1986 FIFA World Cup, along with being the host of the competition, they were naturally deemed to be the main favourite of the tournament.

Be that as it may,

were the ones who finally won their first UEFA Euro title. Captain Ruud Gullit and top scorer of the tournament Marco van Basten scored for the Dutch in the final match, as they grabbed a 2–0 triumph. Van Basten's goal in the match then turned out to be "one of the greatest goals in European Championships history."

Euro 1988 Top goal scorers

 The number of 34 goals were scored in 15 matches by 28 

Euro 1988 top goal scorers

, for an average of 2.27 goals per match. Here we would take a closer look at those phenomenal

top goal scorers 1988

who made the competition a spectacular event all of its own.

Top goal scorers scoring 1 goal

Intriguing as it may seem, among the 34 goals scored by 28 Euro 1988 top goal scorers, 25 goals were scored by 25 different players each scoring one goal. In this section, we would give you a brief insight into their international career especially in regard to their feat in UEFA Euro 1988.

Olaf Thon

Nicknamed The Professor, Olaf Thon who amassed more than 50 caps for the

national team, played all of Germany's matches and minutes for the eventual semifinalists at the UEFA Euro 1988 on home soil, as he scored a rare header against Denmark (2–0 group stage win). During the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he featured in his final international match against Iran in Germany's final group stage match.

Lothar Matthäus

Being the most capped German player of all time, Matthäus retired making a total of 150 appearances (83 for West Germany) in 20 years and scoring 23 goals.

Matthäus took the responsibility of captaining the team at UEFA Euro 1988 in West Germany, scoring a penalty in the semi-final against the Netherlands (the eventual champions) so as to give his team a 1–0 lead.

However, his effort turned out to be fruitless as Ronald Koeman levelled the score with a penalty, and Marco van Basten slid in the winning goal in the final minutes, yet scoring the goal saw him to included among one of Euro 1988 top goal scorers

Jürgen Klinsmann

As the West Germany fourth-most capped player, Klinsmann collected around 108 caps for his national team. He managed to score in all six major international competitions he contributed in, from Euro 1988 to the 1998 World Cup and as a result he became one of Germany's premier strikers during the 1990s.

He also won a bronze medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics, scored a goal in

UEFA Euro 1988

, reached the final in 1992 UEFA European Championships and became champion in the 1996 UEFA European Championships.

Andreas Brehme

Andreas Brehme is immensely popular for the goal he scored as a German national in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina from an 85th-minute penalty kick which was conducive to their winning.

He participated in UEFA Euro 1984, 1988, and 1992, Summer Olympics of 1984, 1986, 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cup, as he managed to earn 86 caps for his national team.

As one of

Euro 1988 top goal scorers

, he led Germany to the semi-finals of the tournament on home soil, while he put away a goal in the nation's 1–1 opening draw against Italy.

Míchel

While his spectacular crossing ability and his contributions resulting in a fair share of goals were specifically conspicuous, he earned about 70 caps for Spain from 1985 to 1992, scoring 21 goals and featuring in two World Cups and one European Championship.

He put away one goal in the latter one and became one of the

top goal scorers of Euro 1988

. He also featured in the 1990 FIFA World Cups, as he netted a hat-trick against South Korea in Spain's second fixture and also scored a penalty against Belgium in the Spain final group match.

Rafael Gordillo

He represented

national team in about 80 appearances while participating in five international tournaments during a decade.

That is to say, he contributed to two FIFA World Cups (1982 and 1986) and three UEFA European Championships (1980, 1984 and 1988, appearing in all the matches except one while he put away one goal in the latter one.

Emilio Butragueño

He represented the Spain national team in two World Cups as he became the second top scorer in the 1986 edition and took part in numerous European Championships. In a span that took long for several years, he put away 26 goals and earned 69 for his country, Spain.

Also, he was chosen for the 1986 World Cup as he played a major role, netting four goals as Spain defeated

5–1 in the round-of-16 match. Besides, he became one of Euro top goal scorers, as he participated in

UEFA Euro 1988

and scored a goal in the tournament.

Vasyl Rats

From 1986 until 1990, he was a member of the Soviet Union's national team, earning 47 caps and scoring four goals. In 1986 and 1990, he participated in two World Cups.

In the group stage of Euro 1988, his goal grabbed a 1–0 triumph for the Soviet Union against eventual champions, The Netherlands. The USSR made it to the final, but they were unable to repeat their success from the group stage, losing 2–0.

Viktor Pasulko

His debut for the Soviet Union took place on February 20, 1988, in a friendly against Italy. He took part in the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament and put away a goal in a group match against England and appeared in the final against the Netherlands as well.

Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko

He totally appeared 36 times and scored nine goals for the USSR. He won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics and was among the silver medal-winners of the Soviet squad at Euro 1988 as he scored one goal in the tournament.

Hennadiy Lytovchenko

He was among the Soviet team that finished second in the European Football Championship in 1988 while he put away a goal for them in the competition.

Sergei Aleinikov

From 1984 to 1991, he was a member of the Soviet national football team, earning 73 appearances and scoring six goals.

He also took part in the Soviet squad which reached the final of Euro 1988, losing 0–2 to the Netherlands. He represented the CIS in 1992, earning four caps for

after the country's independence as well.

Ronnie Whelan

Whelan was an indispensable part of the Republic of Ireland national football team at one UEFA European Football Championship (1988), becoming one of

Euro top goal scorers

with his feat. He also featured in two World Cups (1990 and 1994) and earned 53 caps for the national side during 1981 and 1995.

Ray Houghton

As he represented

73 times and scored 6 goals for them, he is also known by Irish supporters for scoring two of the most prominent goals in the national team's history.

The goals were scored in a 1–0 triumphs over England in Stuttgart during the 1988 European Championship and in Italy at Giants Stadium during the 1994 World Cup as well.

Ronald Koeman

Koeman won UEFA Euro 1988 and represented the Netherlands at the FIFA World Cups in 1992, 1990, and 1994, captaining the team at the latter. He earned a total of 78 caps for the Netherlands, scoring 14 goals.

Koeman made his tournament debut in West Germany in 1988, when Rinus Michels' squad defeated the hosts in the semi-finals, with Koeman scoring a crucial penalty to tie the game at 1–1.

Wim Kieft

He played for his country in three major international tournaments: UEFA Euro 1988, FIFA World Cup 1990, and Euro 1992. Kieft appeared three times for the eventual winners in the first competition, all as a second-half substitute.

On 18 June 1988, after coming on as a substitute, he scored a header in the 82nd minute of the 1–0 group stage victory over the Republic of Ireland, as he led the Dutch overtake their counterparts in the match and finish second in Group 2, securing a place in the semi-finals.

Ruud Gullit

Commonly revered as one of the greatest players of all time, he was a part of UEFA Euro 1988, 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1992 squads. He took the responsibility of captaining the Netherlands national team that were the ultimate winners of UEFA Euro 1988.

In the final match against the Soviet Union, he opened the scoring with a header and Marco van Basten scored a volley from a narrow-angle to cap a 2–0 win. Therefore he became the first Dutch captain to hold aloft international silverware.

Gianluca Vialli

While scoring 16 goals for

and 11 goals with the under-21 national team, Vialli took part in two FIFA World Cups, of 1986 and 1990 on home soil. He also participated in UEFA Euro 1988, as he led his nation to a semi-final finish by scoring a goal. Hence he was chosen for the team of the tournament and became one of the top goal scorers of Euro 1988.

Roberto Mancini

While he earned 36 times for Italy, he contributed to UEFA Euro 1988 and the 1990 FIFA World Cup, achieving semi-final finishes in both competitions.

But he did not take any part in the 1990 tournament. When he was a starting player at Euro 1988 squad, he put away a goal in a 1–1 draw against hosts West Germany and therefore is considered to be one of Euro 1988 top goal scorers.

Luigi De Agostini

While appearing 36 times and scoring four goals for Italy, he took part in the UEFA Euro 1988 and FIFA World Cup 1990. In Euro '88, he netted against Denmark, as they ended up reaching the semi-finals.

He also featured in Italy's football team at the 1988 Summer Olympics, when they finished fourth after reaching the semi-finals for the second time.

Alessandro Altobelli

Popularly known by the Nickname of Spillo ("Needle") due to his slender build, he was such a prolific goalscorer that turned out to be one of the greatest and most effective Italian strikers of the late 1970s and 1980s. Altobelli was Italy's sixth top goalscorer with 25 goals in 61 appearances between 1980 and 1988.

His most famous international goal came in the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, in which Italy won 3–1 over West Germany. He also captained Italy at Euro 88, as he led the team to the semi-finals for the second time.

Bryan Robson

Robson, often known by the nicknames Robbo and Captain Marvel, played 90 times for

between 1980 and 1991, making him the fifth-most capped England player at the time. His 26 goals ranked him eighth on the record back then, while he also captained his country 65 times.

Tony Adams

His debut for England came in 1987 against Spain and then he took part in UEFA Euro 1988. Although they lost all three games, Adams put away one of England's two goals in the tournament in a 3–1 losing to the Soviet Union, thus he is revered as one of Euro top goal scorers.

Between 1987 and 2000, he earned 66 caps for England and competed in four major tournaments. Adams was the first and only England player to appear in competitions for three separate decades and he remains so until now.

Flemming Povlsen

He became immensely popular as he won the 1992 European Championship with the Danish national team. From his debut in 1987 until his retirement, he was a regular member of the Danish national football team.

In 62 international appearances for Denmark, he put away 21 goals and represented the country in the 1988 European Championship (Euro 1988) and the 1992 European Championship (Euro 1992) in which Denmark won. In March 1995, he retired due to a knee injury.

Michael Laudrup

Being voted as the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the preceding 25-year period in 1999, from the time that he made his debut for the Denmark national team in 1982 until his retirement, he managed to appear 104 times and put away 37 goals for them.

He featured in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1988 European Championship and from November 1994, he took the responsibility of captaining Denmark for a total of 28 matches, including the successful 1995 Confederations Cup tournament.

Besides, he featured in the Denmark team that reached the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup along with his brother Brian.

Top goal scorers scoring 2 goals

In our quest to

know the top scorers in UEFA Euro 1988

, here we have come up with those who hit 2 goals from the matches they played during the tournament.

Only two players managed to become top goal scorers Euro 1988, with netting two goals in the tournament. Let's see who they are.

Rudi Völler

When West Germany hosted the Euro 1988, Völler got himself among Euro-top goal scorers as he scored twice in a 2–0 victory over Spain but Germans were defeated by eventual champions the Netherlands in the semi-final.

Völler played 90 times for Germany, putting 47 goals, as eight of them were in the World Cup finals. He featured in three UEFA European Championships, beginning with Euro 1984, where he scored twice in a 2–1 win over

in a group match.

Völler scored the equalizer for West Germany in a 2–1 triumph over Scotland in the 1986 FIFA World Cup group stage. In the tournament's final against Argentina, he also scored an equalizing goal in the 81st minute to make it 2–2, but Argentina won 3–2.

Besides, he was a part of the 1990 World Cup-winning team in Italy. He scored three goals in the tournament, including one in a 4–1 victory over Yugoslavia and two more in a 5–1 victory over the United Arab Emirates.

Oleh Protasov

During the 1980s, he was a prominent member of the Soviet Union national team, scoring 28 goals, second only to Oleh Blokhin's 42 in the team's history. In 1983 he participated in the Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR in the team of Ukrainian SSR.

Protasov netted 2 goals from matches he played in the tournament of Euro 1988 and as a result he is considered to be one of Euro top goal scorers. His team, Soviet Union, went on the final of UEFA Euro 1988 yet fell short of the title.

He also represented the Soviet Union 68 times, participating in the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups as well. He also featured in a game for the Ukraine national team, in 1994.

Top goal scorers scoring 5 goals

In our effort to know the top scorers in UEFA Euro 1988, now it's due time to get to the bottom of the leading goal scorer who managed to distinguish himself from the others by scoring the number of goals that has stark difference with those scored by the others.

That is to say, by putting away 5 goals in the tournament, he is revered as one of

Euro 1988 top goal scorers

and their most impressive one. Aren't you curious to know more about such a phenomenal goal scorer, come along with us to take a look.

Marco van Basten

While he is immensely popular as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he flourishingly won the Ballon d’Or the three times, in 1988, in 1989 and 1992, as he was also adjudged the FIFA World Player of the Year in the latter one.

In his nine years span with Netherlands national team starting from 1983, he netted 24 goals from 58 games of his international career.

Most amazingly at UEFA Euro 1988, he played a significant role in the victorious campaign of the Netherland national team, in such a manner that he was awarded the Golden Boot for his incredible feat.

He put away five goals in the tournament, consisting of a hat trick against England in the first round, the winning goal in the semi-final against West Germany, and a fantastic volley from an acute angle in the 2–0 final against the Soviet Union, in which he provided the assist for Gullit's opening goal as well.

Hence, he ended up the competition being revered as the top scorer and anchored the title of player of the tournament to his name.

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