The European Championship is taking place. - Europa-Park hosts alumni gathering
Before the start of the home EU Championship, the most recent German EU champions met up for a fun event. The German team, who won the EU Championship in England in 1996, traveled to Europa Park. In attendance were the former national coach Berti Vogts (77) and his assistant Rainer Bonhof (72).
The players included Jürgen Klinsmann (59), who had come from Baden-Württemberg to Rust, along with Fredi Bobic (52), Andreas Köpke (62), Steffen Freund (54), Stefan Kuntz (61), and Thomas Häßler (58). Additionally, some staff members from the 1996 squad were also invited.
On the itinerary was a special evening to celebrate the 1996 European champions. Klinsmann and his teammates had a great time exploring the park and riding the roller coaster "Enzian." They also checked out the new Croatia themed area. It's worth noting that the German team had defeated Croatia in the EU Championship, winning 2:1 in the quarterfinals back in 1996. Later, on June 30, 1996, Jürgen Klinsmann raised the EU Championship trophy after a victory over the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium.
Symbolically Passing the Baton
As part of this visit, the '96 European champions played a symbolic role in passing the proverbial baton to the current squad. They did this by displaying a banner with "1996" and "2024" on it, along with the words "Now it's your turn!" in between.
This group of champions had previously visited Europa Park before, back in 2021, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their title win in Rust. Berti Vogts and Jürgen Klinsmann led the group there three years prior.
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At the Class reunion, Thomas Häßler joined the festivities, reminiscing about their triumphant EU Championship victory in England in 1996. The group of former teammates, including Fredi Bobic, Andreas Köpke, Steffen Freund, Stefan Kuntz, and Berti Vogts' assistant Rainer Bonhof, mingled at Europa-Park. The symbolic baton passing ceremony took place, as the '96 EU champions displayed a banner with "1996" and "2024" on it, encouraging the current squad with the message, "Now it's your turn!".
Having previously visited Europa Park in 2021 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their title win, Jürgen Klinsmann and Berti Vogts returned with their fellow champions. During this alumni gathering, they enjoyed rides such as "Enzian" and explored the newly built Croatia themed area, reminding everyone of their historic EU Championship victory against Croatia in 1996, where Klinsmann had raised the trophy at Wembley Stadium after a 2:1 quarterfinal win.
Andreas Köpke, the legendary German goalkeeper from the 1996 team, shared anecdotes from the EM 1996. Meanwhile, Rainer Bonhof and Berti Vogts spoke about their experiences as coaches and the evolution of German football. Lastly, Rust offered a nostalgic backdrop for these Class reunion events, evoking memories of their glorious Home European Championship in 1996.
