Previous major European finals in Basel
Thursday, May 5, 2016
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The four previous major UEFA finals in Basel include landmark Eastern Bloc successes, a seven-goal thriller for Barcelona, and a famous night for Juventus.
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Basel stages its first UEFA Europa League final this season but, as UEFA.com discovers, St. Jakob-Park has pedigree when it comes to major deciders.
Slovan Bratislava 3-2 Barcelona
21/05/1969, European Cup Winners' Cup final
Massive underdogs, Michal Vičan's Slovan became the first side from the Eastern Bloc to win a major UEFA trophy. Leading 3-1 at the break, not even a goal direct from a corner – goalkeeper Alexander Vencel said he was dazzled by the floodlights – could unsettle them. "There were 15,000 people waiting for us at Tehelné pole stadium in Bratislava when we returned," said Ján Čapkovič, scorer of their third goal. "We were overwhelmed, with tears in ours eyes. It looked like a May Day parade."
Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 Ferencváros
14/05/1975, European Cup Winners' Cup final
Valeriy Lobanovskiy's team flattened their Hungarian opponents, Vladimir Onischenko netting twice before the interval, with a 22-year-old Oleh Blokhin completing the scoring. "After the warm-up, Lobanovskiy gathered us in the central circle for some sprints," remembered defender Volodymyr Muntyan. "As we were leaving the pitch, we could see the Ferencváros players who had been watching us, standing looking green. They were afraid of us."
Barcelona 4-3 Düsseldorf
16/05/1979, European Cup Winners' Cup final
The highest-scoring of the 39 Cup Winners' Cup finals ended with the competition's first Spanish success, Joaquim Rifé's men finishing off Fortuna Düsseldorf in extra time with strikes from Carles Rexach and Hans Krankl after twice being pegged back to make it 2-2 after 90 minutes. "We were the underdogs against this world XI from Barcelona," Fortuna forward Thomas Allofs said. "Seeing yellow-and-red flags everywhere was somewhat intimidating."
Juventus 2-1 Porto
16/05/1984, European Cup Winners' Cup final
Giovanni Trapattoni's class of 1984 are regarded as one of the best ever Juve sides, but they were given a run for their money by Porto, António Sousa cancelling out Beniamino Vignola's opener before Zbigniew Boniek hit what proved the winner on 41 minutes. "We made amends for last season's [European Cup final] defeat in Athens [against Hamburg]," Trapattoni said. "The fans were so sad and disappointed then but they can celebrate now."
Other major finals in Switzerland ...
West Germany 3-2 Hungary
04/07/1954, FIFA World Cup final
'Das Wunder von Bern' (the Miracle of Berne) remains perhaps the most celebrated international match in German history. Sepp Herberger's team recovered from going 2-0 down to the 'Mighty Magyars' inside ten minutes to triumph 3-2, Helmut Rahn getting the 84th-minute winner. "We really had no idea how important it was," said midfielder Horst Eckel as he recalled the nation's celebrations. "We only realised when we returned to Germany – as soon as we crossed the border."
Benfica 3-2 Barcelona
31/05/1961, European Champion Clubs' Cup final
The first own goal in a UEFA final – credited to goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets – turned the tide in European football, putting Benfica 2-1 up in Berne, Mário Coluna's volley extending the advantage after half-time before Zoltán Czibor replied for Barcelona. Benfica thus became just the second club to lift the European Cup, Real Madrid having monopolised the first five editions. "I never found players who felt such pride in their shirt as the ones at Benfica," coach Béla Guttman said.
Barcelona 2-0 Sampdoria
10/05/1989, European Cup Winners' Cup final
Johan Cruyff's Barça became the only side to pick up the Cup Winners' Cup for a third time, an injury-hit Sampdoria incapable of rising to the occasion in Berne. Julio Salinas fired the Catalan side in front on four minutes, though the Genoese team managed to cling on until right-back Luis López Rekarte hit the second on 81 minutes. "We played well and the important thing is that our tactical plan went well," Cruyff said. "We knew how to contain them and our substitutions worked."