Italy 2000 for me. Seconds away from winning it against the mighty French. Two golden chances for Juventus golden boy Alessandro Del Piero to clinch the championship. Beat host nation Holland after surviving 90 minutes reduced to ten men and Holland blowing two spot kicks. Very good Italian team with a solid defence consisting of Maldini, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Nesta, Albertini, Toldo, Del Piero and the emergence of Francesco Totti.
How do you define best? Most competitive? If so, USSR 1988 might be it. They actually defeated the Euro1988 champs, Netherlands, in the group stage and had to beat Italy and England to get to the Finals. Regardless, that Euro88 was the most competitive, the toughest Euro ever, in my opinion. No misfits there.
Makes sense. It also makes me feel old... The first Euro that I paid significant attention to was 1984.
I did not see it. West Germany 1976 was also strong too. They were a penalty shootout from winning three straight tournaments in a row.
I'd have to vote for Italia 2000. The last 2 finalists were really outclassed in the final by Spain. In 2004, Portugal was aided by home advantage yet still lost to Greece twice so they can't get my vote either. FWIW, I think Czech Republic of 2004 was the best non-finalist in the Euros since 1996.