Best ever 2nd place team(except Holand 1974, Hungary 1954)

[Excape Goat]

Forgot about Holland 1974 or Hungary 1954, or else this thread will be known as "Holland 1974 vs Hungary 1954".


Okay, so which team is the best ever 2nd place team or the best loser of a Final? This should include both club teams and national teams.

I am thinking of Brazil 1998, Barcelona 1992, Juventus 1983, Marseille 1990, West Germany 1976 or Soviet Union 1988.

[spoonman]

I think WC78 deserves a mention, we lost in xtra time after hitting the post in the dying seconds of regular time.

Plus Italy had a very good final at Euro 2000.

[comme]

If we are including clubs then Milan 1993.

That was probably the greatest group of players ever, phenomenal in every competition.

How they lost to OM I will never know, that final was also the last game Van Basten ever played.

[El viejo Matias]

Italy in 2002 is a good one, Bayern Munich when they lost in the last minutes to Manchester Untied and Germany 1986.

[El viejo Matias]

Sorry I meant Italy in 2000.

[Sempre]

I think WC78 deserves a mention, we lost in xtra time after hitting the post in the dying seconds of regular time.

Plus Italy had a very good final at Euro 2000.

Up until the final of Euro 2000, Italy had won 4 games
(2-1, 2-0, 2-1, 2-0), drawn one (0-0, 3-1 pk), and had
conceded just one goal with their first-choice defense.

They had played a decent group of teams, too--Turkey,
Sweden, Belgium, Romania, and Holland.

In the final they were all of 30 seconds away from beating
World Champions France 1-0, when Wiltord equalized. 93
minutes of near-perfect soccer. They definitely deserve a
nod as "best 2nd placed team."

Portugal in 2004 maybe deserve another nod. They beat
Spain, England, and Holland, but versus Greece they just
couldn't pull it off.

[dror_khayat]

I think it's Ajax 96'.
11 games:8 wins,1 loss,2 draws,scored 24 goals,and allowed only 3(!).
also,Milan of 93' and Juventus of 97' were awesome.

[Rakim_22]

Bayern Munich when they lost in the last minutes to Manchester Untied
What a comeback from Man U that was. :D

[unclesox]

Bayer Leverkusen in 2002
Perhaps the ultimate 2nd place side. :p

[sidefootsitter]

Italy'70- that final score wasn't really fair with the team coming back after that grueling 120 minute semifinal vs. West Germany.

West Germany'66 - need I say more? OK ... it wasn't a goal.

West Germany'76 Euros - PKs to determine a winner? Puh-leeease.

Borussia Mönchengladbach in ... (1977?) UEFA Champions Cup. Bonhof, Heinkes, Vogts, Simonsen, et al.

USSR'68 Euros. What's worse than a PK shoot-out? If you said a coin-toss, you got it right.

[Excape Goat]

USSR'68 Euros. What's worse than a PK shoot-out? If you said a coin-toss, you got it right.

Strictly speaking, the match was a semifinal. Soviet Union was not a 2nd place team.

[ForeverRed]

Bayer Leverkusen in 2002
Perhaps the ultimate 2nd place side. :p

In modern day football this is very true.....that team was extremely solid, too bad Basturk, Lucio, Ballack, Ze Roberto left afterwards...well...too bad for Leverkusen, good for us !

[argentine soccer fan]

Brazil in 1950. Obdulio Varela once said that if they (Uruguay) had played them at the Maracana a hundred times, they would have only won that one.

[Excape Goat]

In modern day football this is very true.....that team was extremely solid, too bad Basturk, Lucio, Ballack, Ze Roberto left afterwards...well...too bad for Leverkusen, good for us !

A month later, the top three teams from the World Cup Finals had at least one star player who played for Leverkusen.

[ChaChaFut]

Brazil in 1950. Obdulio Varela once said that if they (Uruguay) had played them at the Maracana a hundred times, they would have only won that one.You beat me on this one!

Yep. Brazil 1950. Are you kidding me? That probably was the best team the world had seen so far. In one of the multiple interviews that Obdulio gave regarding the Maracanazo, he used the phrase "nos llenaron a pelotazos..." ("they filled us up with balls" [message kind of lost in translation, but he was referring to shots, I believe]). That's one comment that I always remembered from the great captain.

Then put Netherlands 1978. one goalpost away from glory. That would have changed history a lot, IMHO.

[Gregoriak]

Brazil 1950 peaked in the 6-1 vs. Spain and the 7-1 vs. Sweden, allegedly these two games saw football culminating at its brilliant best, Brazil's inside forward trio of Zizinho, Ademir and Jair must be rated as one of the greatest attacks in football history.

And as has already been mentioned, West Germany in 1966 was a pretty decent team, played very entertaining.

[neovox]

Brazil in 1950. Obdulio Varela once said that if they (Uruguay) had played them at the Maracana a hundred times, they would have only won that one.

Have to agree.

[Excape Goat]

How about Soviet Union 1988? They beat Holland in the 1st round and was outplaying the Dutch until Van basten scored THE goal. Okay, they miught not be the best ever 2nd place, but certainly underrated by many.

[Aveirenses]

Italy 94' for me.

After that my heart would say Portugal 2004.

[Duck Manson]

portugal 2004 didnt really impress me that much. had that not been in portugal they would have been out in no time. to say theyre the best losing finalist team ever is kind of.. weird.