1988
A mix-feeling year – one hand was the dominant dull, mechanical, football established in the 1980s. On the other hand – the bright performance of Holland and USSR, Mechelen and Ajax, the recovery of AC Milan with its new team, not full built yet. It should be mentioned that in 1988 started in earnest the battle against time-wasting – the referees were instructed to add the wasted time to the regular. It was not perfect solution yet, not fully enforced, and entirely in the hands of the referee, but the now familiar extra-time added to every game started.
The European Championship finals were the big event of the year, of course.
The mascot Berni looked childish, but there was nothing childish in the organization and the venues. The Euro final tournament was played in Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover and Gelsenkirchen. The final was going to be in Munich, as usual when West Germany hosted big events. As promised to the Communist countries, West Berlin was excluded, although only USSR reached the finals from the Eastern Block – in any case, it was largely the Soviets making trouble over West Berlin, even during ‘perestroika’.