Eindhoven remembers 1978

As the UEFA Cup final is played in the Dutch city of Eindhoven tonight, golden memories of 1978 will come flooding back.

Famous date
It was on 9 May 1978 that local side PSV Eindhoven established themselves as a major force in European football as they beat SC Bastia 3-0 on home soil to win the UEFA Cup, following a goalless draw in the first leg in Corsica two weeks earlier. By that time, PSV had already broken the cast-iron grip that the big clubs from the west of the Netherlands - Feyenoord and AFC Ajax - held on the Dutch title by winning the Eredivisie in 1975 and 1976, but in taking the UEFA Cup, they announced their presence to the whole continent.

Muddy pitch
With the final being contested over two legs in those days, PSV had not enjoyed an easy time in the opening fixture against Bastia. Heavy rainfall had turned the pitch at the Armand-Césau stadium into a quagmire and neither side were able to make much progress as they slithered through the mud. The second leg, however, was much more one-sided, and with the elements no longer blocking their route to goal, PSV shone with Willy van de Kerkhof, Gerrie Deijkers and Willy van der Kuijlen finding the target as they secured a famous victory in front of 27,000 fans.

Dutch victories
With Feyenoord and Ajax both having won major European competitions in the early 1970s, PSV were the third Dutch club to triumph in UEFA competition, and they were to add to their trophy cabinet by winning the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1988 before reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-finals last season. However, the memories of that first success back in 1978 will be celebrated as goalscorers Van de Kerkhof and Van der Kuijlen take their seats at the PSV Stadion tonight. Sadly, Deijkers died of heart failure at the age of 56 in October 2003.

Deijkers tale
Deijkers' story was an odd one. He had played as a defender in previous seasons but coach Kees Rijvers decided to hand him a chance to become a striker as PSV were having attacking problems in 1977/78. He went on to score 18 league goals and six in the UEFA Cup that season. While Deijkers was missing when the trophy was handed over to the city of Eindhoven in preparation for the final back in March, plenty of other PSV stars of 1978 were there to make up the numbers, with Willy's twin brother René van de Kerkhof, Jan Poortvliet, Adri van Kraay and Kees Krijgh all eager to get their hands on the trophy again.