1969/70: Feyenoord establish new order

Feyenoord 2-1 Celtic FC (aet)
(Israel 31, Kindvall 117; Gemmell 29)
Giuseppe Meazza, Milan

New decade, new order. For the first time in the competition's 15-year history, two northern European teams contested the final of the European Champion Clubs' Cup - Feyenoord and Celtic FC.

The latter, winners in 1967, had played a key role in knocking out the traditional Latin heavyweights. Jock Stein's men beat SL Benfica on the toss of a coin before despatching AC Fiorentina in the quarter-finals. Feyenoord, meanwhile, were responsible for the demise of AC Milan, a 2-0 success in Rotterdam seeing off the holders 2-1 on aggregate in the second round. So with the usual suspects gone - Fiorentina were the only southern European side in the last eight - new dramas unfolded.

First up, the semi-final meeting of Celtic and Leeds United AFC, aka the Battle of Britain. Celtic were the neutral's choice and did not disappoint, winning 2-1 at Elland Road then 1-0 at Hampden Park. Feyenoord's run-in was rather less demanding, with victories over Vorwarts Frankfurt/Oder and Legia Warszawa. Yet there was no chance of Ernst Happel's men being unprepared for the final at San Siro. Here, after all, was a club that had changed its name from Feijenoord to the more Euro-friendly version used today with just this kind of occasion in mind. Still, it needed an extra-time goal from Ole Kindvall for Feyenoord really to become a name to conjure with, after Rinus Israel had equalised Tommy Gemmell's first-half effort for Celtic.