What is a top-level competition? It can be compared to the World Cup. As long as it is at the same level as the World Cup and has the same specifications, it can be called a top competition. If I had to take another example, it would be the European Cup. And the Asian Cup, the African Cup, and the Copa America, which is not even a good holding cycle, don't come to touch porcelain. Also, the emphasis here is on the national team, so don't talk about the Champions League. In the mid-to-late 50s, Real Madrid did reach five finals in a row and won five consecutive titles, but that has nothing to do with today's topic, today we are only talking about the national team.
When it comes to the example of reaching the finals more times in a row, veteran fans may immediately think of two. One is Germany from 1982 to 1990 and Brazil from 1994 to 2002. Both have reached the final of three consecutive World Cups, and interestingly, these two examples are connected in terms of time. As soon as Germany stepped down from the altar, Brazil immediately went up, and there was no gap or blankness at all.
However, today we are talking about 4 times in a row, Brazil and Germany, one more time away. Unfortunately, Germany had a strong performance at the 1994 World Cup and had the momentum to defend their title, but in the quarter-finals, they were upset by Bulgaria and stopped in the quarter-finals. Without this upset, Germany still has a chance to reach the final after reaching the semi-finals.
The situation is similar in Brazil. In the 06 World Cup, Brazil's lineup, on paper, even felt a bit of the strongest in history, but the actual combat effectiveness was not played. Also in the quarter-finals, Brazil were eliminated by France, which was not an upset, but the result was a bit of a surprise given Brazil's strength.
With that said, let's go back to the example at the beginning. When benchmarking against the World Cup, we mentioned the European Championship. In fact, there was another event in the early days of world football, which was no less than the World Cup in terms of scale and level.
Olympic men's football competition.
When it comes to the Olympic men's football team, many young fans must be disdainful, isn't it the U23? At most, there are a few overage players, but the strength of the team is definitely not comparable to the first-class national team. But don't forget, in the early Olympic men's football team, there was no age limit, and the participating teams were all first-team national teams.
In fact, in world football in the black and white era, the Olympic Games are the most authoritative and weighty event. At that time, the World Cup had just been created, and many teams were on the fence about this new event, and due to the lack of information and transportation, many teams didn't think the World Cup was a big event at all. Great Britain, the men's champion of the previous two Olympic Games, did not bother to go to the World Cup at all.
Therefore, at that time, being able to win a men's football gold medal in the Olympic Games was definitely no less than a World Cup champion in terms of weight. With that in mind, let's announce the answer to today's topic. In 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, four consecutive Olympic Games, there was one team, all of which reached the final and won the championship once.
Yugoslavia.
What a retro name. Many long-time fans still remember Yugoslav football. Yugoslavia has always been the top team in European football and even world football, and many fans criticize them for not winning the World Cup and the European Cup, but the men's football championship in the 1960 Olympic Games, in terms of quality, is definitely not worse than the World Cup in the same period. And, before that, Yugoslavia had won three silver medals in a row. Reaching the finals of the tournament four times in a row, such a feat, such a consistency, absolutely made Germany and Brazil have nothing to say about later.
In fact, in the World Cup and the European Cup, Yugoslavia's results are also reasonable. They have reached the last four of the World Cup and the final of the European Championship, but they are not too far from winning the championship.
Today, the territory of Yugoslav football has been divided into Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and our nostalgia for Yugoslav football can only be pinned on these teams. I don't know when Yugoslav football will be able to regain its glory of reaching four consecutive top-level finals.