The 6th European Championship was entirely new – except for the trophy.
Like the World Cup, the finals had not only official logo, but a mascot, serving as a concurrent logo of the tournament.
The long nose of Pinocchio… endearing mascot, or a reminder of the long Italian tradition of cheating on and off the pitch? Totonero was just happening. Long noses all around. Nothing to do with the European finals, though. The tournament was played between 11th and 22th of June in Rome, Naples, Turin, and Milan. The draw placed West Germany, Holland, Czechoslovakia, and Greece in |Group A, and Italy, England, Belgium, and Spain in Group B. Winners were to play for the title, 2nd placed teams – for bronze medals. The new formula of the finals had no ½ finals. Like the World Cup finals, the host got a bye and did not have to qualify, but the reigning European champion had no such privilege – unlike the world champion. Another difference from the World Cup was that the final groups had no designated stadiums: games were scheduled in all hosting cities. But all is relative – Czechoslovakia played 2 games in Rome, one in Milan, and one in Naples, for example. Only Italy played on all 4 stadiums – and that was only because they did not reach the final. The ugly face of hooliganism appeared at the finals, just a sign of what was coming to characterize the 1980s, but compared to later years, nothing big happened. Group A was considered the easier group – West Germany and Holland were the favourites. Italy was also a favourite, but they had tougher competition – England. Spain and Belgium were very difficult to beat, so Group B was the ‘iron group’. The finals were supposed to draw big attendance – may be the only real disappointment of the finals. In football crazy Italy – and a country so close to all participants – only 4 games attracted more than 25 000 fans. Czechoslovakia – Greece was expected to be the lowest attended match, but 8000 was perhaps bellow the mark considered ‘low’ by the organizers. The hype over the new formula run counter to the reality of actual attending – the matter was hushed, of course. Television was partial reason for low attendance, yet, pointed proudly as a big success: after all, numbers are numbers. Stadiums were half-empty, but look at how many watched at home! But the low attendance was a verdict: finals of the club tournaments attracted much more fans than the European championship final.