With the big tournament which started off in France on Friday, Goal looks back at the European Championship's 56-year history to rank the 10 most impressive players that the tournament has ever seen. Do you agree with your choices? Let us know in the comment box below...
10. PETER SCHMEICHEL: He played in four Euros in total but he is best remembered for his heroics in Denmark's stunning upset in Sweden in 1992. His penalty save from Marco van Basten in the semi-final shoot-out success over the Netherlands was an iconic moment and he made three world-class stops in the final against Germany.
9. PAOLO MALDINI | ITALY: At just 19 years of age, Maldini was tasked with the responsibility of man-marking Michel in Italy's Euro 88 group game against Spain. The AC Milan icon played in three Euros and made the team of the tournament every time.
8. DINO ZOFF | ITALY: The Azzurri ace is most famous for captaining Italy to World Cup glory at the age of 40 but his European Championship record was also outstanding.
7. GUNTER NETZER | GERMANY: When it comes to discussing the finest midfielders of all time, Netzer's name is often overlooked. However, it is worth remembering that no player has single-handedly humiliated England at Wembley like the German did during a now-legendary Euro 72 quarter-final first-leg encounter.
6. DRAGAN DZAJIC | YUGOSLAVIA: The Yugoslav winger was a truly special talent, as he so wonderfully demonstrated during Euro 68 when he eliminated reigning world champions England at the semi-final stage by lobbing the legendary Gordon Banks with two minutes to go. Dzajic struck again in the final, against Italy, but 'The Magic Dragan' failed to get his hands on the winner's medal he so richly deserved as the Azzurri forced a late leveller before triumphing in the replay.
5. ZINEDINE ZIDANE | FRANCE: Zinedine Zidane didn't just make the game appear easy - he made everyone else look good as well. Having inspired France to World Cup glory in 1998, Zizou repeated the trick at the European Championship in the Netherlands and Belgium two years later. 4. XAVI | SPAIN: Neither Barcelona nor Spain would have dominated football between 2008 and 2012 had it not been for their metronomic midfielder.
3. FRANZ BECKENBAUER | GERMANY: Beckenbauer had suffered his fair share of World Cup disappointment but there was no stopping 'Der Kaiser' and West Germany in Belgium. Gerd Muller scored four goals but Beckenbauer was the undoubted star, with the game's greatest sweeper turning in imperious displays that played a huge part in him winning that year's Ballon d'Or.
2. MARCO VAN BASTEN | NETHERLANDS: The Dutchman was at the peak of his powers in the summer of 1988 when he inspired the Netherlands to Euros glory. Van Basten did not begin the tournament as Rinus Michels's first-choice forward but his hat-trick against England changed the course of footballing history. Van Basten fired the Dutch to victory over West Germany before lighting up the final against Soviet Union with a volley that continues to take the breath away.
1. MICHEL PLATINI | FRANCE: The Frenchman only played in one European Championship, yet no player has ever made a greater impact on the tournament. At Euro 84, Platini was utterly unplayable. After netting the only goal in France's opener against Denmark, he then scored not one but two perfect hat-tricks against Belgium and Yugoslavia. His last-gasp strike against Portugal in the last four decided the greatest game in European Championship history in France's favour and he then sealed Spain's fate with a fortuitous free-kick in the final. He was, as Pele opined, "the European footballer of the 1980s".
10. PETER SCHMEICHEL: He played in four Euros in total but he is best remembered for his heroics in Denmark's stunning upset in Sweden in 1992. His penalty save from Marco van Basten in the semi-final shoot-out success over the Netherlands was an iconic moment and he made three world-class stops in the final against Germany.
9. PAOLO MALDINI | ITALY: At just 19 years of age, Maldini was tasked with the responsibility of man-marking Michel in Italy's Euro 88 group game against Spain. The AC Milan icon played in three Euros and made the team of the tournament every time.
8. DINO ZOFF | ITALY: The Azzurri ace is most famous for captaining Italy to World Cup glory at the age of 40 but his European Championship record was also outstanding.
7. GUNTER NETZER | GERMANY: When it comes to discussing the finest midfielders of all time, Netzer's name is often overlooked. However, it is worth remembering that no player has single-handedly humiliated England at Wembley like the German did during a now-legendary Euro 72 quarter-final first-leg encounter.
6. DRAGAN DZAJIC | YUGOSLAVIA: The Yugoslav winger was a truly special talent, as he so wonderfully demonstrated during Euro 68 when he eliminated reigning world champions England at the semi-final stage by lobbing the legendary Gordon Banks with two minutes to go. Dzajic struck again in the final, against Italy, but 'The Magic Dragan' failed to get his hands on the winner's medal he so richly deserved as the Azzurri forced a late leveller before triumphing in the replay.
5. ZINEDINE ZIDANE | FRANCE: Zinedine Zidane didn't just make the game appear easy - he made everyone else look good as well. Having inspired France to World Cup glory in 1998, Zizou repeated the trick at the European Championship in the Netherlands and Belgium two years later. 4. XAVI | SPAIN: Neither Barcelona nor Spain would have dominated football between 2008 and 2012 had it not been for their metronomic midfielder.
3. FRANZ BECKENBAUER | GERMANY: Beckenbauer had suffered his fair share of World Cup disappointment but there was no stopping 'Der Kaiser' and West Germany in Belgium. Gerd Muller scored four goals but Beckenbauer was the undoubted star, with the game's greatest sweeper turning in imperious displays that played a huge part in him winning that year's Ballon d'Or.
2. MARCO VAN BASTEN | NETHERLANDS: The Dutchman was at the peak of his powers in the summer of 1988 when he inspired the Netherlands to Euros glory. Van Basten did not begin the tournament as Rinus Michels's first-choice forward but his hat-trick against England changed the course of footballing history. Van Basten fired the Dutch to victory over West Germany before lighting up the final against Soviet Union with a volley that continues to take the breath away.
1. MICHEL PLATINI | FRANCE: The Frenchman only played in one European Championship, yet no player has ever made a greater impact on the tournament. At Euro 84, Platini was utterly unplayable. After netting the only goal in France's opener against Denmark, he then scored not one but two perfect hat-tricks against Belgium and Yugoslavia. His last-gasp strike against Portugal in the last four decided the greatest game in European Championship history in France's favour and he then sealed Spain's fate with a fortuitous free-kick in the final. He was, as Pele opined, "the European footballer of the 1980s".