UEFA Euro 1996

The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations. It took place in England from 8 to 30 June 1996.

It was the first European Championship to feature 16 finalists, following UEFA's decision to expand the tournament from eight teams. Games were staged in eight cities and, although not all games were sold out, the tournament holds the European Championship's second-highest aggregate attendance (1,276,000) and average per game (41,158) for the 16-team format, surpassed only in 2012.

Germany won the tournament, beating the Czech Republic 2–1 in the final with a golden goal during extra time; this was the first major competition to be decided using this method. This was Germany's first major title won as a unified nation.

Bid process

At the time of the bid process, the event was still not confirmed to include sixteen teams. Instead, the bids were largely prepared as if hosting an eight-team tournament, meaning only four venues were due to be required. All candidates had to submit their plans by 10 December 1991.

Euro

The euro (sign: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of the eurozone, which consists of 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. The currency is also officially used by the institutions of the European Union and four other European countries, as well as unilaterally by two others, and is consequently used daily by some 337 million Europeans as of 2015. Outside of Europe, a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency.

Additionally, 210 million people worldwide as of 2013 use currencies pegged to the euro. The euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar.As of August 2014, with more than €995,000,000,000 in circulation, the euro has the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar. Based on International Monetary Fund estimates of 2008 GDP and purchasing power parity among the various currencies, the eurozone is the second largest economy in the world.

Paul Gascoigne

Paul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967) is a former England international footballer and football manager. He is also known by his nickname, Gazza. He earned 57 caps during his England career and has been described by the National Football Museum as "the most naturally gifted English midfielder of his generation".

Born and raised in Gateshead, the midfielder signed schoolboy terms with Newcastle United, before turning professional at the club in 1985. Three years later he was sold on to Tottenham Hotspur for a £2.2 million fee. He won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1991, before he was sold to Italian club Lazio for £5.5 million the following year. In July 1995, he was transferred to Rangers for £4.3 million, and helped the club to two league titles and two trophies. He returned to England in a £3.4 million move to Middlesbrough in March 1998. He made his debut in the Premier League in the 1998–99 season, having already featured in the 1998 Football League Cup Final. He switched to Everton in July 2000, and later had spells with Burnley, Gansu Tianma (China), and Boston United.

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer,OBE, DL (/ˈʃɪərər/; born 13 August 1970) is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team. He was widely regarded as one of the world's best strikers, being both Newcastle's and the Premier League's record goalscorer. Since retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer has worked as a television pundit for the BBC. In 2009, he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008–09 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation.

A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, Shearer made his professional debut with English top-flight club Southampton in 1988, scoring a hat-trick in the process. During several years on the south coast, he became known for his classic style of play, strength and goalscoring ability; he soon received an international call-up along with a transfer to Blackburn Rovers in 1992.