Despite Henri Delaunay concocting the Euros in 1927, his countrymen hadn’t appeared in the finals since they hosted the inaugural one in 1960.
But 24 years later, they were back under the European spotlight on home turf, led by their mercurial captain Michel Platini, Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana and Luis Fernandez, collectively known as Le Carre Magique, or The Magic Square.
The competition remained a two-group, round-robin affair, but semi-finals were introduced, in which group winners would play the opposite group’s runners-up.
Euro 1984 began in Paris, Platini earning France a 1-0 victory over Denmark. Against Belgium, he secured a hat-trick in the final minute with a deft header and, three days later, got another hat-trick against Yugoslavia to set up a semi-final clash with Portugal. Platini scored in that,…
