1979 European Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 1979 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Olympiastadion
, Munich
, on 30 May 1979, that saw Nottingham Forest
of England
defeat Malmö FF
of Sweden
1–0.
and Roy Andersson
– already ruled out with injury and with their captain and key midfielder
Staffan Tapper
breaking his toe in training on the eve of the final – Malmö FF
resorted to the same defensive tactics that Belgian team Club Bruges had used at Wembley in the final twelve months earlier
. With neither of the finalists being one of Europe’s major clubs, Munich’s Olympiastadion
was far from full for the Final, and the game itself was something of an anti-climax. There was, however, one memorable story still to be told. Back in February, Brian Clough
had elected to spend the money that Forest had made from winning the league title in 1978 on a forward from Birmingham City. Clough made Trevor Francis
Britain’s first £1 million footballer when he took him to Nottingham, but UEFA
rules stipulated that he could not play European football for another three months. The first game that Francis was eligible for, therefore, was the final itself and, with Martin O'Neill
injured and Archie Gemmill
not selected by Clough, Francis
was picked to play his first ever European club game, albeit out on the right wing.
sitting back in defence, the game was merely about whether Forest could break through. Despite constant pressure, the English side had still failed to score as first half injury time began, but then John Robertson, a man who was now one of the most feared wingers in European football, beat two Swedish defenders on the left hand side before whipping in a cross. Goalkeeper Jan Möller
, who had been solid up to this point, did not come out to clear the ball, and at the far post was none other than Trevor Francis
to head the ball into the roof of the net.
And that was effectively the end of the match. Both Garry Birtles
and Robertson missed good chances in the second half, but it did not matter, as Malmö FF
never looked likely to score.
It may have been an unremarkable final, but it was certainly the end to a remarkable story. Under their maverick manager Brian Clough
, Nottingham Forest F.C.
, a relatively small English provincial club, had won European club football’s biggest prize. In a competition that had started with the likes of Real Madrid
, Juventus F.C.
and Liverpool F.C.
taking part, it was Nottingham Forest who had run out winners, even knocking the current holders Liverpool (who had won the last two finals) in the first round. They had shown what man management and teamwork could achieve and they would be back the following season to defend their title, although Europe’s finest would be there to challenge them and they were unlikely to capitulate so easily next time around.
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MALMÖ FF:
|
GK
1
Jan Möller
DF
2
Roland Andersson
DF
3
Ingemar Erlandsson
DF
4
Kent Jönsson
DF
5
Magnus Andersson
MF
6
Staffan Tapper
(c)
MF
7
Anders Ljungberg
MF
8
Robert Prytz
FW
9
Tommy Hansson
FW
10
Tore Cervin
MF
11
Jan-Olov Kindvall
Substitutes:
DF
12
Mats Arvidsson
FW
13
Tommy Andersson
MF
15
Claes Malmberg
GK
16
Arne Åkesson
Manager:
Bob Houghton
Olympic Stadium (Munich)
Olympiastadion is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics....
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, on 30 May 1979, that saw Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
defeat Malmö FF
Malmö FF
Malmö Fotbollförening, also known simply as Malmö FF, are a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö. The club is affiliated with Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Swedbank Stadion. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are sky blue and white...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
1–0.
Background
The competition had provided many great stories and had thrown up a final that no-one could have predicted when it had started the previous August. Unfortunately, with two of their best defenders – Bo LarssonBo Larsson
Bo "Bosse" Göran Larsson is a former Swedish football midfielder/striker.Bosse Larsson was one of the national team profiles during the 1970s...
and Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson (footballer)
Roy Andersson is a former footballer from Sweden. He got a number of caps for the national team, and played three matches at the 1978 FIFA World Cup....
– already ruled out with injury and with their captain and key midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
Staffan Tapper
Staffan Tapper
Staffan Tapper is a former footballer from Sweden.Playing for Malmö FF, his career there was successful, becoming Swedish champion as well as runner-up in the European Champion Clubs' Cup. He represented the Swedish national team at the 1974 and 1978 World Cups as well as on a number of other...
breaking his toe in training on the eve of the final – Malmö FF
Malmö FF
Malmö Fotbollförening, also known simply as Malmö FF, are a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö. The club is affiliated with Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Swedbank Stadion. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are sky blue and white...
resorted to the same defensive tactics that Belgian team Club Bruges had used at Wembley in the final twelve months earlier
1978 European Cup Final
The 1978 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Club Brugge of Belgium on 10 May 1978 at Wembley Stadium, London, England. It was the final match of the 1977–78 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cup. Liverpool were the reigning...
. With neither of the finalists being one of Europe’s major clubs, Munich’s Olympiastadion
Olympic Stadium (Munich)
Olympiastadion is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics....
was far from full for the Final, and the game itself was something of an anti-climax. There was, however, one memorable story still to be told. Back in February, Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
had elected to spend the money that Forest had made from winning the league title in 1978 on a forward from Birmingham City. Clough made Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
Britain’s first £1 million footballer when he took him to Nottingham, but UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
rules stipulated that he could not play European football for another three months. The first game that Francis was eligible for, therefore, was the final itself and, with Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
injured and Archie Gemmill
Archie Gemmill
Archibald "Archie" Gemmill is a Scottish former footballer, most famous for a goal he scored against the Netherlands in the 1978 FIFA World Cup...
not selected by Clough, Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
was picked to play his first ever European club game, albeit out on the right wing.
Road to Munich
| Nottingham Forest | Round | Malmö FF | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Opponent | Result | Legs | |
| Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... |
2–0 | 2–0 home; 0–0 away | First round |  MonacoAS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille... |
1–0 | 0–0 home; 1–0 away |
 AEK Athens |
7–2 | 5–1 home; 2–1 away | Second round |  Dynamo KievFC Dynamo Kyiv FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football... |
2–0 | 2–0 home; 0–0 away |
 GrasshopperGrasshopper-Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshopper is a Swiss multisports club based in Zürich. The oldest and best known section of Grasshopper Club Zürich is its football team... |
5–2 | 4–1 home; 1–1 away | Quarter-finals |  Wisła Kraków |
5–3 | 4–1 home; 1–2 away |
 Köln1. FC Köln 1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07.... |
4–3 | 3–3 home; 1–0 away | Semi-finals |  Austria ViennaFK Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. They are considered the most successful club in Austria, having won the highest Austrian Bundesliga 23 times, the Austrian Cup 27 times and the Austrian Supercup 6 times. They also reached the UEFA... |
1–0 | 1–0 home; 0–0 away |
Match Summary
With Malmö FFMalmö FF
Malmö Fotbollförening, also known simply as Malmö FF, are a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö. The club is affiliated with Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Swedbank Stadion. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are sky blue and white...
sitting back in defence, the game was merely about whether Forest could break through. Despite constant pressure, the English side had still failed to score as first half injury time began, but then John Robertson, a man who was now one of the most feared wingers in European football, beat two Swedish defenders on the left hand side before whipping in a cross. Goalkeeper Jan Möller
Jan Möller
Jan Möller is a retired Swedish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.-Football career:Möller had a successful 16-year career for Malmö FF during the 1970s and 1980s , appearing in the 1978-79 European Cup final against Nottingham Forest, a 0–1 loss in Munich.He also played for Helsingborgs IF,...
, who had been solid up to this point, did not come out to clear the ball, and at the far post was none other than Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
to head the ball into the roof of the net.
And that was effectively the end of the match. Both Garry Birtles
Garry Birtles
Garry Birtles is a retired English footballer, who played as a forward in The Football League between the 1970s and 1990s. He is best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, during which he won the 1979 and 1980 European Cup Finals...
and Robertson missed good chances in the second half, but it did not matter, as Malmö FF
Malmö FF
Malmö Fotbollförening, also known simply as Malmö FF, are a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö. The club is affiliated with Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Swedbank Stadion. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are sky blue and white...
never looked likely to score.
It may have been an unremarkable final, but it was certainly the end to a remarkable story. Under their maverick manager Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
, Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, a relatively small English provincial club, had won European club football’s biggest prize. In a competition that had started with the likes of Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
and Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
taking part, it was Nottingham Forest who had run out winners, even knocking the current holders Liverpool (who had won the last two finals) in the first round. They had shown what man management and teamwork could achieve and they would be back the following season to defend their title, although Europe’s finest would be there to challenge them and they were unlikely to capitulate so easily next time around.
Match details
| style=font-size:90% cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> | NOTTINGHAM FOREST: | ||
| GK | 1 | Peter Shilton Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps.... |
|
| DF | 2 | Viv Anderson Viv Anderson Vivian Alexander "Viv" Anderson MBE is an English football player and coach, who played for clubs including Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday in the 1970s and 1980s... |
|
| DF | 3 | Frank Clark |
|
| MF | 4 |  John McGovernJohn McGovern (footballer) John McGovern is a Scottish former association football player and manager. McGovern is most famous for captaining the Nottingham Forest side that won the European Cup twice, under the management of Brian Clough.... (c) |
|
| DF | 5 | Larry Lloyd Larry Lloyd Laurence Valentine Lloyd was a footballer, a burly and tough central defender who won honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's all-conquering Nottingham Forest side of the late 1970s.... |
|
| DF | 6 | Kenny Burns Kenny Burns Kenneth "Kenny" Burns is a former Scotland international footballer, most famous for his time with Nottingham Forest, where he played a vital role in their European Cup successes.... |
|
| MF | 7 | Trevor Francis Trevor Francis Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player... |
|
| MF | 8 | Ian Bowyer Ian Bowyer Ian Bowyer is a former English footballer who spent much of his career at Nottingham Forest, and was part of their European Cup victories in 1979 and 1980. He has also had spells as a coach and manager... |
|
| FW | 9 | Garry Birtles Garry Birtles Garry Birtles is a retired English footballer, who played as a forward in The Football League between the 1970s and 1990s. He is best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, during which he won the 1979 and 1980 European Cup Finals... |
|
| FW | 10 | Tony Woodcock Tony Woodcock Anthony Stewart "Tony" Woodcock is a retired English international footballer who played professionally in both England and Germany as a striker. He won the European Cup in 1979 with Nottingham Forest.-Early career:... |
|
| MF | 11 | John Robertson |
|
| Substitutes: | |||
| GK | Chris Woods Chris Woods Christopher 'Chris' Charles Eric Woods is a former England international football goalkeeper, who played in the Football League and Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Southampton and Burnley, in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, and in Major... |
||
| DF | David Needham David Needham David Needham is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Notts County, Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest, and in the North American Soccer League for the Toronto Blizzard, in the 1970s and 1980s.Needham started his career at Notts County in 1966... |
||
| MF |  Martin O'NeillMartin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham... |
||
| MF | Archie Gemmill Archie Gemmill Archibald "Archie" Gemmill is a Scottish former footballer, most famous for a goal he scored against the Netherlands in the 1978 FIFA World Cup... |
||
| FW | John O'Hare John O'Hare John O'Hare is a Scottish former footballer. His clubs included Sunderland, Derby County and also Nottingham Forest and was part of their European Cup victory in 1980, coming on as a substitute in the final. He also won thirteen caps for the Scotland national team, scoring five goals.- Career... |
||
| Manager: | |||
| Brian Clough Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be... |
|||
Jan MöllerJan Möller
Jan Möller is a retired Swedish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.-Football career:Möller had a successful 16-year career for Malmö FF during the 1970s and 1980s , appearing in the 1978-79 European Cup final against Nottingham Forest, a 0–1 loss in Munich.He also played for Helsingborgs IF,...
Roland AnderssonRoland Andersson
Åke-Erik Roland Andersson is a former Swedish football player and coach. His most recent job was that as the assistant coach of the Nigeria National Team under Lars Lagerbäck....
Ingemar ErlandssonIngemar Erlandsson
Ingemar Erlandsson is a former Swedish footballer.- Career :Erlandsson played for Malmö FF in Allsvenskan. He became Swedish champion with the club 1977 and 1986, and was a part of the team in the European Champions Cup final in 1979 against Nottingham Forest F.C.. He was a member of the Sweden...
Kent Jönsson Magnus Andersson Staffan TapperStaffan Tapper
Staffan Tapper is a former footballer from Sweden.Playing for Malmö FF, his career there was successful, becoming Swedish champion as well as runner-up in the European Champion Clubs' Cup. He represented the Swedish national team at the 1974 and 1978 World Cups as well as on a number of other...
(c)
Anders LjungbergAnders Ljungberg
Anders Ljungberg better known as Puskas is a former Swedish football midfielder.-Club career:Puskas is most known for being part of the Malmö FF team that reached the 1979 European Cup Final...
Robert PrytzRobert Prytz
Robert Prytz is a Swedish former footballer who played as a midfielder from the late 1970s until the early 2000s. He earned 56 caps for the Swedish national team and is best known for his time at Hellas Verona, Malmö FF and Rangers...
Tommy Hansson Tore Cervin Jan-Olov Kindvall Mats Arvidsson Tommy Andersson Claes Malmberg Arne Åkesson Bob Houghton