Forest's 1979 goal hero Francis passes away

Francis, who has died aged 69, produced the stretching far-post header from a John Robertson cross which secured him and Forest a place in history with a 1-0 victory over Malmö in the final in Munich – the first of two back-to-back triumphs for Brian Clough’s side.

It came just three and a half months after he had joined Forest from Birmingham City in English football’s first £1m transfer. Indeed, the final was the first European Cup game that Francis played for Forest, as the timing of his record transfer in February that year had left him ineligible for the previous rounds.

In a statement, Nottingham Forest said: “Forest are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of two-time European Cup winner, Trevor Francis, a true Forest legend who will never be forgotten.”

Francis had made his name as a free-scoring teenager at Birmingham City, where he made his debut aged 16 – a club record which stood until 2019 when it was broken by Jude Bellingham. He was still not yet 17 when he struck four goals in a game against Bolton Wanderers in February 1971.

'Forever revered' - first club Birmingham

“Trevor will forever be revered as a giant of the club, the player everyone wanted to see,” read a statement from Birmingham. “He represented Blues on 330 occasions, scoring 133 goals. Blues sends its thoughts and deepest sympathies to Trevor’s family and friends.”

Absent from Forest’s second European Cup final win because of injury – this after scoring the opening goal in the 2-0 semi-final home victory over Ajax – Francis left the City Ground for Manchester City in 1981, but after a single season he departed for Italy, where he had spells with Sampdoria and Atalanta, winning the Coppa Italia with the former in 1985.

Francis won 52 caps for England and scored 12 goals – including strikes against Czechoslovakia and Kuwait at the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals. “We are deeply saddened by the news that Trevor Francis has passed away aged 69,” said the English Football Association on social media. “All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and former clubs.”

Managerial career

On returning to Britain from Italy in 1987, Francis spent six months in Scotland with Rangers, where he won the Scottish League Cup, before later spells at Queens Park Rangers – where he was player-manager – and Sheffield Wednesday. He was a non-playing substitute in Wednesday’s 1991 League Cup final triumph over Manchester United. Then, as player-manager, Francis led the Sheffield side to third place in the English top flight in 1992, and took the club to the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1993, when Wednesday finished runners-up to Arsenal on both occasions.

Francis later managed Birmingham for five years from 1996, losing another League Cup final – this time on penalties to Liverpool in 2001 – before concluding his managerial career with a two-year spell at Crystal Palace (2001-03).

Francis passed away suddenly in Spain. In a statement, his family said: "This has come as a huge shock to everybody. We are all very upset. He was a legendary footballer, but he was also an extremely nice person."